Sakinah Abdul Aziz

'When you know that language, it's easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it's in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning. "Maktub", thought the boy.' ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

This is a much delayed post. But I think Life of Pi is probably the best movie I've watched in 2012. You'll probably be marveled by the awesome visual effects and the unrealisticness of the plot, just like I was. But at the end of any story, we always look for the general takeaways we can bring with us home. And we would like to know what are the lessons we can learn from the story and what is the meaning behind it. Life of Pi is a story about hope, faith and perseverance. It's personally an inspiring movie for me with so much meaning, wisdom and symbol behind the actual story itself. Faith is a house with many rooms. But no room for doubt? Oh plenty, on every floor. Doubt is useful, it keeps faith a living thing. After all, you cannot know the strength of your faith until it is tested.

I made myself read The Perks of Being A Wallflower before catching it at the movies last week. It's the kind of book that is predominantly mysterious, but as you read on, things slowly start to unravel. The movie was good, but it wasn't half as sad as a reader can probably feel from reading the book. You might just feel like offering Charlie a hug, not because being a wallflower is pathetic, it's not. It's actually good because he sees things from the outside and he observes so much. But because you know how much it will mean to Charlie to be noticed and accepted. “There’s something about that tunnel that leads to downtown. It’s glorious at night. Just glorious. You start on one side of the mountain, and it’s dark, and the radio is loud. As you enter the tunnel, the wind get’s sucked away, and you squint from the lights overhead. When you adjust to the lights, you can see the other side in the distance just as the sound of the radio fades to nothing because the wave...

I've recently started reading John Green's books and I thought this one is a good read. John Green has an amazing sense of humour. If you read the book, you would know what I mean. It's how he injects a good amount of light-heartedness for a book exploring themes that are supposedly heavy, dark and sad. I wouldn't say that the plot is particularly tragic, but rather it reels in and brings readers through the thought processes of teenagers who are battling cancer. And how they approach life, love, and people. And how they struggle in between life and death. And how they make out of that. This book brings a whole new dimension of flirting. Flirting, is an art, really. I reckon John Green is a good flirter himself, the way he strings these words together. And to be the recipient of such level of flirting is indeed an honourable thing. Again, if you read the book, you would know what I mean. And of course me being me, there would be some striking excerpts that jump out ...

I've been currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I must say that it's the kind of book one should read in bites and pieces, and every now and then do some self-reflections and put some thought into what's been read. It's really the kind of book you can leave on the shelf and after a week of leaving it to collect dust, you can still pick up the book and read from where you left of. It's been insightful so far and there are always ways to go from "being ok" to being contented. And most of the things are really the simplest things which are actually within our control. Feel like sharing Gretchen's 12 Commandments: 1) Be yourself (in this case for me, Be Sakinah). 2) Let it go. 3) Act the way I want to feel. 4) Do it now. 5) Be polite and fair. 6) Enjoy the process. 7) Spend out. 8) Identify the problem. 9) Lighten up. 10) Do what ought to be done. 11) No calculation. 12) There is only love.

One of those days when I feel like looking up the excerpts and quotes from The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: “We are walking down the street holding hands. There is a playground at the end of the block, and I run to the swings and I climb on and Henry takes the one next to me facing the opposite direction. And we swing higher and higher passing each other, sometimes in sync and sometimes streaming past each other so fast that it seems we are going to collide. And we laugh and laugh, and nothing can ever be sad, no one can be lost or dead or far away. Right now we are here and nothing can mar our perfection or steal the joy of this perfect moment.”  “Long ago, men went to sea, and women waited for them, standing on the edge of the water, scanning the horizon for the tiny ship. Now I wait for Henry. He vanishes unwillingly, without warning. I wait for him. Each moment that I wait feels like a year, an eternity. Each moment is as slow and transparent as g...

So my friends are awesome really. I had to go to the toilet, and they listed down several reasons why ladies shouldn't go to the toilet alone. But because amongst the reasons there were Harry Potter references, I let them get away for instilling terror in me. Muahaha. Why girls shouldn't go to toilet alone: - The possibility of the re-apperance of the Basilisk who was responsible for Moaning Myrtle's murder - A troll lurking, who attacked Hermione while she decided to hide in the cubicles to cry (because of Ron sheesh)

“The resting place of the mind is the heart. The only thing the mind hears all day is clanging bells and noise and argument, and all it wants is quietude. The only place the mind will ever find peace is inside the silence of the heart. That's where you need to go.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

Love the thought of good books! I'm planning to read these once school's out! Ok, this is quite an odd range of books. Seems to suggest I'm depressed when I'm not haha. I'm planning to read more books in the psychology section as well. Time to read more psychology-related books that are non-academic :)

I. CANNOT. WAIT. TO. CATCH. THIS! I am so moving on to read the second book. And oh, Peeta Mellark, how can I not love you?

Hello earthlings! Woa, just like that time flew. I withdrew myself from this blog and I realized that it REALLY does need a lot of updating. For one, I had a temporary job for 2 months at People's Association. I was back in the same department I worked in exactly a year ago. For another, there was one point in time when I thought my life was a mess, it wasn't all so long-lived though (or so I hope). As they say, when it rains, it pours. But also, there's this saying that time heals all wounds, and that there's always light at the end of the tunnel. I, for one, believe that there are truths in such cliché-d sayings. And also, I went to Bangkok for a short, awesome shopping trip. I honestly do not know how three months fly. I attempt to update my blog more, not for the sake of readers (I don't even know if there's anyone reading this anymore), but purely for myself. I remembered the humanistic feel I had a couple of years back, completely in touch with my feelings...

I know I haven't been blogging for at least a month. Falling sick is indeed a double-edged sword cos for one, I have a reason to slow down and rest. I realised I haven't done some of the things I totally deserve, like catching up on Glee, and perhaps this blog, which I've been neglecting a lot, woops. There has been a lot of good music lately. I chanced into this one. Nearly screamed cos it's REGINA SPEKTOR MEETS RADIOHEAD! She did a cover on 'No Surprises'. Awesome or what!? Regina, please come to Singapore!! If it's anyone, it should be her because she's an exquisite singer. So on updates, there has been a lot going on lately. Deadlines, assignments, presentations. A traumatizing encounter with a stranger. And, a sudden death of a friend. May he rest in peace. Dear God, please heal the people who love him and may they move on with their lives for in Hereafter, we shall all meet again. Death has been a looming subject at one point of time. It has ingrai...

One of the best things about the school holidays is the fact that I finally have "me" time I've never had enough of during the buzzling school semesters. True that I've been going out every single day last week ever since my last paper, but spending time at home and doing the things I've wanted to like catching up with my shows, movies, reading, music, stoning, lying down but not sleeping, television, lingerrr.blogspot, tumblr, have never felt so blissful for these couple of days. My playlist/soundtrack as of late :) Fade Together - Franz Ferdinand Fidelity - Regina Spektor Foundations - Kate Nash Mushaboom - Feist Le Festin - Camille L'Uomo Che Amava Le Donne - Nina Zilli Uncharted - Sara Bareilles The Goldfish Song - Kina Grannis Drumming Song - Florence + The Machine I cannot imagine a better world without good, awesome music in it. I just recently watched 'Love Happens' on HBO and I cannot help but to share some of the quirky words they used: 1) Qu...

"Destiny, I feel, is also a relationship - a play between divine grace and willful self-effort. Half of it you have no control over; half of it is absolutely in your hands, and your actions will show measurable consequence. Man is neither entirely a puppet of the gods, nor is he entirely the captain of his own destiny; he's a little of both. We gallop through our lives like circus performers balancing on two speeding side-by-side horse called "free will". And the question you have to ask every day is - which horse is which? Which horse do I need to stop worrying about because it's not under my control, and which do I need to steer with concentrated effort? There is so much about fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under my jurisdiction. There are certain lottery tickets I can buy, thereby increasing my odds of finding contentment. I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I ca...

Howdy har har everyone! I know it's been sometime since I've written. I feel like there's nothing much to write because the truth is, you never know what's really in store for you. Remember four months ago I was excitedly writing about how I cannot wait for the summer break to come and the list of plans I mentioned? One thing I learnt is that, we can make endless plans, but they don't always go our way all the time. Some may look promising at first but they fail and turn their backs on you towards the end. Yes, because human beings are only capable of planning, otherwise we have no control over the outcome. And look where we are now! It's almost coming to the end of July. I'm not expressing disappointment though, I am actually glad that these couple of weeks I've been pretty much rotting away and slacking. So I didn't get an internship just like I wanted to (and yes, NOW I finally believe my seniors when they said that psychology majors would face di...

I know this is probably another random entry. But I'm excited for Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows movie and I suddenly thought about the day when I read through the final pages of Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince. I must admit, I was actually mourning for the great Albus Dumbledore when he died (or got killed rather). Not the kind of mourning that goes on for days, just a momentary one. And I pictured in my mind, how everyone in Hogwarts were mourning for their beloved Headmaster and how solemn the environment must have felt to the extent that I actually thought that the bedroom where I was, in this tiny, little Singapore, felt equally dull and grey as well. It's impressive how characters come alive like that and reel me into the world of stories. I even had texted Revathi about how sad I felt when I was done with the book. Pardon for the melodrama, but it's the power of narration, and of course the brilliant writer herself, J.K Rowling. And certainly, the mo...

I just finished reading Queen of Babble a couple of days ago, and apart from the bimbotic funness of it, I think it's nice. Meg Cabot knows how to enrich the book by imparting certain quotes and also excerpts on vintage fashion that makes the book a whole lot interesting. What totally capture my attention would be some quotes. Gossip is charming! History is merely gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality. - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist and poet. Woo this is Oscar Wilde sayin'. Never to talk about ourselves is a very noble piece of hypocricy. - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German Philosopher, classical scholar, and critic. Anyone who has obeyed nature by transmitting a piece of gossip experiences the explosive relief that accompanies the satisfying of a primary need. - Primo Levi (1919-1987), Italian chemist and author. Talk is pure art. Its only limits are the patience of listeners who, when they get tired, can always pay for thei...

I just got back from attending this talk by an Iranian woman, who apparently can speak Malay. My mom kept harping about the fact she could speak Malay (this was before I witnessed it myself). But when I really got to hear her and realise the immense use of vocabulary involved, I thought she's excellent although the bits of inputs of Persian accent. Thought the talk was pretty good. Really like how her partner preached about sins. Uh somewhere along the line of how small we derive pleasures from the sins and forever will the mark remain. Somewhere amidst the talk, I couldn't help noticing how beautiful these middle-eastern women are. A friend/acquiaintance expressed to me how stupid he thinks women wearing burqa are because it's unsuitable with such humidity and the hot weather. Like dude, look, if you think they're not showing off enough skin for you, I still think they're beautiful. Which is why I think they don't need much colours on them, just black. And to Q...