New Hobby

I've picked up a new hobby - knitting. But, knitting is not new to me. When I was little, my aunt used to knit. So, whenever I had the chance, I would watch her knit and she also taught me a couple of basic knits. That was when I was 6 or 7, I think. And that was my only introduction to knitting. After that, I left knitting until recently.

I was watching 'The Big Bang Theory' when I noticed a beautiful crocheted throw on the couch in Amy Farrah Fowler's apartment. That has already sparked my interest. And then, I was watching 'Modern Family' when I noticed Claire, also, folding a beautiful crocheted throw. This fueled the spark of interest even more. And then, the final one. Catching up with The Ellen DeGeneres show on YouTube, I watched the episode with Amanda Seyfried. She brought a knitted hat for Ellen. So, this is when I decided I wanna start knitting. Plus, I thought to myself, if someone as busy as Amanda can slots in knitting into her hectic schedule, then I can knit too. I've got plenty of time.

Notice the throw on the couch behind them?

I had no idea what type of yarn to buy, which needle or hook size. But, I went on buying a couple of yarn balls and a couple of crochet hooks, anyway. I bought them from a local store (Kim Lai in Pertama Complex). Five Minlon yarn balls for RM 9.50 and two crochet hooks for RM 2.00. I'm not satisfied with the quality of the yarns, though. But, I'm a beginner, so I'll start with the cheap yarns first.


At home, I studied a bunch of YouTube videos on crocheting. I tried making granny squares using the yarns and hooks that I bought earlier. I tell you, crochet is freaking hard! For me, at least. But, I think, the yarn is too small for the hooks, or vice versa. And maybe the yarns are not suitable for crochet projects. They break easily.

Then, I decided to buy knitting needles, which are damn hard to find! So, I bought a pair of bamboo knitting needles (5.0mm) from Cotton House Store, for RM 8.00 (RM 15.00 including postage fee). And I tried knitting.

Now, the needles are too big for the yarns. When I thought I have come to a dead end, I had a hunch to Google "Daiso knitting needles". So I did. Because there is nothing that you can't find in Daiso, right? Of course, I'm right! I spent RM 30.00 on knitting stuff at the evil store. Here's what I've got:-

Three new yarns, one pair of knitting needles, three crochet hooks,
and the cute pink basket.

Btw, that was Daiso in The Curve, Mutiara Damansara. I had another visit to the store in Sunway Pyramid. I'll keep you posted on the store visit, as well as the project's progress.

Till then.


Au revoir,
Shima

I Write

By now, I think most of you can already tell that I love writing. I have a couple of original pieces that I've posted here; under the label 'Poems'. I got inspired by various of things around me. Love celebrations, heartbreaks, life, war, birthdays, anything.

My mother's birthday was in last December. I wrote something for her:-

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Midnights were tiring
restless and sleepless
'cause she was always there
chasing away nightmares and bogeyman
keeping her baby safe in dreamland.

Over the rainbow, under the rain
either with taxi rides or jetplanes
she desires for her child to see the world
and whether her nights were warm or cold
she prayed so hard that sand turns into gold.

Tangled up with chores and with work
from laundry to cooking
dishes and then cleaning
but time, she will always spare
for bedtime stories of the tortoise and the hare.

Her hands are always there
for her child to catch whenever they fall
the same hands that wipe off tears
the same ones that foster skinned knees
and the same ones that cradle her baby to sleep.

Every song, every word
she taught her child every high and every low
for she fear the roads would be rough
and the world would be tough
for her child to walk the path.

Rise and set of the sun
rise and eclipse of the moon
as certain as night and day
she will always stand nearby
for every leaning soul and hearts that cry.

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And recently, my father's birthday was on March 2nd. So, I wrote this for him:-

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Fly high above the clouds, beyond the sky
run far through the field, pass the meadow
he will always cheer for us
pushing us to the farthest
to be the best and beat the rest.

A shield like no other
the safest refuge, the warmest shelter
where there is warmth in the coldest winter
and gentle breeze in the warmest summer
a tender love like no other.

Thunderous voice
and a face so furious
no one would have thought
there is a caring heart full of affection
shelled by the coarse, rough skin.

Hovering above our heads
not too close, not too far
just a shepherd to guide, to lead
to lay the path before our eyes
worried that we might go astray.

Eagle eyes he have
watching over the herd
piercing away evil and harm
foreseeing hardship, foreseeing corollary
so that contentment is guaranteed.

Rise and shine
sweet dreams and sleep tight
from bright, beautiful day
to dark, creepy night
he will make it alright, with all his might.

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They don't sound as poetic as you might have expected. But those are the best words that I can find and put together in stanzas. If you notice, the first letter of every stanza spelled 'MOTHER' and 'FATHER'. Ok, that part I may be a little bit creative. Haha. I wish I could write more that I can, so that I could polish my writing skills.

Share if you like.


Au revoir,
Shima

Similarly Unique #3: Difference vs. Different

As requested by my fellow comrade, Meen Eunos, here is the difference between 'Difference' and 'Different' :)

'Difference' is commonly a noun. It means noticeable change or effect on something. Malay: perbezaan.

'Different' is commonly an adjective. Generally it means 'not similar'. Malay: berbeza.

Let's use the picture below as an example:-

At a glance, these pictures look the same.
But, they are actually different. Find the differences.

The things that you are looking for in the pictures are the differences, which made the two pictures different from each other.

The same goes to 'silence & silent', 'patience & patient', 'absence & absent', and so on. The former is a noun and the later is an adjective.

Just sharing :)


Au revoir,
Shima

Similarly Unique #2: Safe vs. Save

'Safe', depending on it's context, could be both adjective and noun. It is an adjective when we describe (adj.) a situation that is secure or free from harmful things (Malay: selamat). It is a noun when we are referring to the container (n) that stores valuable things (Malay: peti besi).

'Save' is a verb. There are two common context for this word. One, to rescue (v) from harm. Malay: menyelamatkan. Two, to put aside (v) something for future use. Usually money; remember your bank account is called 'saving account'. Malay: simpanan.

'Save' could also be a noun in sports.

So, is it 'Safe the Best for Last' or 'Save the Best for Last'?

Just sharing :)


Au revoir,
Shima

Similarly Unique #1: Breathe vs. Breath

'Breathe' is a verb. 'Breeth' is how we pronounce it. It's the act of (v) inhaling and exhaling air, that's what we call 'breathe'. Breathe in = inhale. Breathe out = exhale. Malay: bernafas.

'Breath' is a noun. 'Breth' is how we pronounce it. The air (n) that we inhale and exhale, that's what we call 'breath'. Malay: nafas.

Breast is a totally different thing, though. And it's a noun.

Just sharing :)


Au revoir,
Shima

So long. Farewell.

You were one of the greatest. Thank you for the music. I will always love you.

Au revoir,
Shima

Things I Wonder..

When I'm alone, I always find myself wondering about random things. Some of them..

• When I watch strangers pass by, I always wonder what their lives are like. Do they have the same routine as I do everyday? Do they have fun families and friends like mine? Are they happy? Are they sad? Are they suicidal? Hope not.
• If we go into the outerspace. What happen if we float and drift away? How far can we go before we die? And which one will be our cause of death - hypothermia or ran out of oxygen to breathe?
• After we are all dead. After the Final day. After the Final Judgment. Will all of these reset back to square one? Will it start all over again? You know, like the game Jenga. It starts with a strong tower. Then when block by block are pulled out and the tower is messed up, we start over. Maybe. Who knows if this happens over and over again for thousands of years and will happen again and again for thousands more years!
• This galaxy that we are in, is it the only one out there? Or is it possible that it has duplicates? And there are duplicates of 'me' doing the same thing as I do right now and have the same family and friends. Are they better than me or are they my doppelgängers?

Ok, those are kind of heavy thoughts. But yeah, sometimes my head wanders that far. Maybe because I'm not knowledgeable in that field, and I may never know the answers to those questions. It is actually not good to wonder about things that are too big or complicated in life. They say it could mess up our mind. Whoever 'they' is. Now I'm about to wonder who 'they' are. Haha. Jk. But, seriously, when I feel like I have wondered too far and thought to deep, I let it go and istighfar. I know I would go crazy if I don't.

How about you? What do you always wonder about?

Au revoir,

Shima

The Moon

I just bought a 75-300mm telephoto lens for my camera last month. It's nice to take a close up picture from afar; easier to get candid shots. The other day, I just wanna try my luck with the lens. How far can it zoom to get a picture of the moon.

So on August 14, the moon was almost full and the sky was clear. I took out my Sony A200, I tried on a couple of settings, and snapped a few pictures. On the camera's LCD monitor, I was frustrated to see that the image is too small. You can't really see the details of the moon.

So I transferred the images onto my computer and cropped one of the pictures, here's what I got. No additional editing, though. I just cropped it, and used Picasa 3 to add the watermark.

Nice isn't it? I love that we can see a little bit of the craters on the surface. I wonder how breathtaking it would be to see this from the outerspace. Masya Allah.. :)


p/s: ♫♪ Fly me to the moon, let me sing among those stars..♫♪

The Social Network

Since I started being active on Twitter, my blogging activities became much, much more passive. Maybe because I tweeted just about everything that happened as it happens, I don't feel like re-writing it in longer sentences. What’s more fascinating is, I got to tell everybody what I’m doing in just less than 140 characters (not words!). Well a blog entry might need at least a hundred words. Otherwise, I might as well put it on Facebook.

Oh, that’s another one. Facebook. I gradually left Friendster and Myspace for Facebook. But, after a while, Facebook bores me as much as Friendster and Myspace did. Now, Facebook is just a platform for me to play online games and share pictures with friends and family, which I can totally do on Twitter (via Twitpic, Yfrog, etc.). Besides, Twitter has a personal touch to it. The accounts of famous people are usually verified, unlike Facebook, Friendster, and Myspace. Any lowlife-attention-craving-loser could’ve created a Facebook account using a famous name, or any name for that matter, and adding the 'The Real' prefix to convince people that they are who they say they are. And using pictures other than your own as the profile picture is just sickening. #JustSaying

For now, I favor Twitter. And I hope that Twitter will always stay this way. Though I always wish for Twitter to have a ‘Like’ button, please don’t add that function. Please. It won’t be Twitter no more. For me right now, Twitter has never been better. I love it just the way it is. Thank you, Twitter.

But, I will definitely continue blogging. Writing is my passion. I won't let it die.


p/s: ♫♪ When I see your face. There's not a thing that I would change. 'Cause you're amazing, just the way you are. ♫♪

The Iron Monger

Do you guys remember Jeff Bridges, the man who played 'Obadiah Stane' in Ironman? Yup, that bald old man. You know something? He has such an interesting website. Browsing through it, one thing that I can say about him is that he is a very very very talented artist. He's good at artsy drawing, he's working on an album, and he's obviously a great actor.

And from his website, I know now that he's good at photography too. Here are some of my favorites taken from the website.

I love all of the pictures, actually. Because they are all monochrome.

The way he arranges the stuff in the website is very interesting and somewhat refreshing. There is a personal touch to every single thing. And the captions for the pictures, I believe it was his own handwriting. *God, those lines rhymed* So were the menus and labels. No need to say more, take a look at the website yourself, here.


p/s: ♫♪ He was turned to steel. In the great magnetic field. When he traveled time. For the future of mankind. ♫♪