Thursday, August 30, 2007

Tagged.. lagi?!?! 8 Random Things About Me :)

Hmm.. I always pretend that I'm annoyed of tags. Truth is, sometimes I just plain love 'em heheh.. Especially when I've had no entry for a long time and I don't have any idea on what to write.

Anyway, a few days ago, Adi wrote a comment on my Yahoo! 360 saying that he had tagged me. A bit confused on what he meant, I took a visit to his blog and found this entry. Then I noticed Ana's comment and true to what I thought, Ana had also tagged me.. weiittt, tak aci la, mane leh due orang tag orang yg same.. no fair!!! Heheh..

So here's my entry on 8 random things about me.

Firstly, I noticed that Adi and Ana had posted a picture of themselves in the entry.. aiyak! Kene letak gambo sendiri ke? Hmm, I don't actually have any pictures of myself but since a lot of people say this picture of me during my convo shows me at the happiest (Happiest ke? Hmm.. dalam hati, sape la yang tau kan? <--Ape Ayu merepek ni? :D) I guess I'll just put this one la kot ye..
*******

The Rules:

.:: Post these rules before you give the facts
.:: List 8 random facts about yourself
.:: At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names (linking to them)
.:: Leave them a comment on their blog letting them know they've been tagged!

8 Facts About Lil' Miss Nurikhwani Idayu :)

1. I'm a day-dreamer.. BIG TIME
Most of the time, I just wanna escape from the dark abyss of reality. But then again, I'm human and I know, this is the real thing. However, luckily for me, I've got a hell lot of imagination hahah.. thus, I lose myself in the labyrinth of the complex mind all of us have.. except, while some people chose to think about reality, I'd rather postpone those thoughts and go walk along the wonderland of sunshine and flowers!

Then, after a peaceful walk through my day dreams, sometimes (Yeah, I know.. ONLY sometimes je lah..), the world would seem so much friendlier, huh?

2. I blush too easily
Oh God! This must be a curse or something haha..

When I was younger, it was worse. The slightest thing would make me blush, earning me the nickname of Miss Red Riding Hood or Tomato and my friends just loved to tease me about anything they could, knowing I'd instantly have rose tints in my cheeks and I don't understand why they find it amusing when I find it a bit uncomfortable. I mean, it was as if I was announcing to the whole world, "Hey, I'm embarassed right now!"

Even a few months ago when Sentot was getting married. Someone commented (I'm sure its either Soraya or Baizurah herself) that they were afraid I'll be blushing even more than the bride when I became Baizurah's bridesmaid haha..

And I don't only blush, my face gets red even when I laugh, so much that even my students notice it. I once caught one boy looking at his watch intently after he had made a joke. When I asked why, he solemnly told me he wanted to record the time it took for my face to go all red when I laughed.. cett!!

3. I'm imsomniac
Yeah! This has been going on eversince I was in my teens. In fact, I used to pop pills that I knew would help make me sleep (NO! Not actual sleeping pills, but pills that you know would make you sleepy when you take them), without my parents knowledge, that is!

I was also such a light sleeper, that even on night I could sleep, the slightest noise (even the cats mating waaaaaaaaaaayyy out there or the owls hooting) would wake me up and it'll be a chore to make me go back to sleep.

Sheesh, when I think about it, it seems so.. stupid! Haha.. I mean, I'd toss and turn and when I can't stand not being able to sleep (It'll usually be around 3am by then..), I'd go downstairs and take those yellow pills. Already a drug addict in my teens, huh, heheh.. Mama would always wonder why those pills were always missing.

But I stopped doing that when I started my undergraduate studies.. besides, by that time, the end of each day was usually so exhausting, I'd sleep as soon as my head touches my pillow.

However, the past not-so-very-few months have been quite difficult as my imsomnia seemed to be coming back at full force. And I kinda hate it as when I can't sleep, my thoughts wander to the things I'd rather not think about. Luckily, I'm wiser this time to NOT resort to pills but to other measures that sometimes help..

..which leads to my next item on the list..

4. ..I hafta hug things (small pillow/soft toy) to go to sleep
Hahah! Yeah, I know, I'm 27 :D

Though I no longer sleep with all my soft toys and favourite cushion (the ones I still arrange on my made bed in the days are mostly tossed outta the bed when I sleep at night), I HAVE to have something I could hug before I go to sleep.. and since I don't have SOMEONE to hug (Ohhh.. kenape bunyi ayat ini sangat gatal!!! Hahah..), I resort to just a favourite toy or cushion. But I really MUST have (someone?? Hahah..) something to hug, or I just can't sleep at all.

Another thing is, I need to use a blanket no matter how hot the night is. I dunno why, but this has been a must for me eversince I was small, I just need to use a blanket and if it feels quite hot, I'd just switch on the fan at a faster speed.

Hmm, I suddenly have two theories on this. When I was small, I don't think I was that coward to be afraid of ghosts or monsters at night (unlike some people I could name hahaha..!!) But somehow, I hated the idea of if there ever was a ghost/monster, they'd be pulling at my toes. Another theory is, I've always had sneezing fits whenever I woke up in the morning eversince I was a kid. One day, I read this petua that this could be avoided by making sure our feet weren't cold when we sleep at night so I used the blanket to cover my feet.

I guess thats why I had to use a blanket when I was smaller, but the habit had already grown on me so I still need a blanket even now, and if there aren't any blankets, socks would do :)

5. I'm naively clueless nearly all the time
Hahah.. I thought of this suddenly right now. Something that happened to me a few months ago triggered this thought..

I always think that I know a lot of.. well, things. I mean, like I said, I blush too easily that I figured one way to help curb this was to make sure I was 'knowledgable' in some things that could make me blush in situations that.. God! What am I trying to say?

Lets put it this way: My close friends were mostly some guys I knew who just talked about whatever they wanted in front of me regardless of the fact that I was a girl. Yeah, I was a naive girl even in my early twenties but these guys don't care if I'm embarassed by what they say (in fact, sometimes they'd just say that to laugh at me when I pretend to not notice about what they're talking about) up to the extent that sometimes I manage to fake an I'm-not-embarassed face when they talk about whatever they wanna talk..

However, sometimes I find that I'm not THAT Miss-know-it-all, thus, resulting in embarassing situations that make me wish the earth would open up and swallow me whole. Sometimes, I'd even be eagerly listening to them, only to realize they were talking about things I'd rather not know haha..

6. I'm at the end of two extremes: I laugh a lot, and I cry just as much!
Whoooaaa, this is something I sometimes don't understand myself. To me, I'm someone who really loves to laugh. I can laugh at anything, then laugh at it again just as hard when I suddenly remember the joke again.

I love people with a good sense of humour, and who could see the joke.. well, not cruel jokes la! Tu sangat tak baik la.. but simple jokes that make you smile or burst out in laughter. I remember a guy who asked me what was wrong with him and I had to supress the urge to tell him he had no sense of humour whatsoever. I'd be laughing at him about something funny and he'd directly ask me, what was the joke. Sheesh! Thats annoying.. especially when millions of other people can see the joke clearly!

Sometimes I'd be reading something and my friends won't be suprised to hear me laughing out suddenly as I sat there alone with my reading material (magazines usually do the trick, but books have their moments too!). I've some friends, in fact A LOT of friends who are like that, and those are the people who appreciate some humour in their lives.. and I love them all for being that kinda person :)

And my students always comment on how much I love to laugh. The same class who timed the seconds it took for my face to go red also loved to count how many times I laugh throughout the class haha.. I can't even be mad at them for doing that coz those guys also love to laugh. Even my form 1 class tell me that laughter is infectious (so young, but they understand the importance of laughter) and they like it when we always laugh in class :) :) :)

However, I also love to cry.. not love as in 'like' but love as in 'always'. Sometimes, I think I'm mentally disabled in the emotions department as I seem to chose both extremes haha.. Luckily, though I seem to cry a lot too, I usually do this in the sanctuary of my room, in the comfort of my bed.. and NOT in public like how I love to laugh!

Enough said!

7. I've NEVER been in love haha..
Ohohoh.. Some people are gonna laugh at this :)

Well, I've had crushes on people for as long as I can remember and I've even managed to fall in love.. but to be really mutually in love, hmmm, I don't think so.. almost maybe, but 'almost' is just as equal to 'never', right? :)

God has other plans for me right now, I guess!

P/S to Baizurah: Don't even THINK of commenting on what you know I don't want you to comment publicly :p

8. I have no sense of taste in my tastebuds
I'm a hopeless case! Whenever my friends wanna have contests on whose favourite 'nasik ayam' is the best, they DON'T wanna make me the judge.

The reason: My response is always the same, "Ok je!"

Hahah.. really, I never find anything as 'tak sedap'. Okay, tipulah.. once in a while I stumble on something really tak sedap but most of the time, I find it okay. Even delicious food, I seldom find something betul² sedap.. but when I do, I'd haunt that place whenever I can hehe..

Even when cooking, people hate to ask me how does their cooking taste like as I'd always give my standard answer, "Ok je!" C'mon la, 'okay je' to me means sedap laaaa.. When I say 'tak sedap' je it means 'tak sedap' (Which I actually find a bit hard to do as I always find everyone elses cooking better than mine haha..). Sangat jarang I'd say 'sangat sedap' la, just as jarang as I'd say 'tak sedap', as I reserve that for the food I'd go ga-ga over.

The same thing happens with my own cooking. I cook and if I THINK it tastes fine, then its ok with me. But don't ask me to cook for people haha.. I'm not confident enough as my tastebuds are like this. Like I said, whats okay with me might not be okay with others so usually I avoid cooking for other people.. except at home la for my family :D

Once, when going out for a bite at this new restaurant, we ordered different things and shared it amongst us so we could taste the different dishes. As usual, everyone would ask, "Sedap tak?" at everone elses dish. Then one friend said, "Jangan tanye Ayu, dia sumer dia rase ok!" Haha.. should I be offended or should I laugh?

I choose the latter :)

*******
And for the 8 people I'm gonna tag.. Hmmm, lets see:
1. Sentot
2. Soraya
3. Ayeen (I'll get to your link later :p)
4. Syuhada
5. Amer
6. Yuhyi
7. Pojie
8. Aiman (?) (Your's too!)

P/S
Btw, I found this picture in an old folder. Guess not many people have seen me in my spectacles which I actually ONLY where during class or presentations. I look like a mak cik lah hehe..

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Congrats Spy :)

Seem like the warning of "Jangan langkah bendul" is beginning to become old news haha.. Last Saturday, another junior of mine had his kenduri.. Spyder a.k.a Spy a.lesser.k.a Khairul Nizam (?).. huhu, just gotta know his REAL name.

Like most of the others whom I close with, I got to know him during MIMOL nearly 5 years ago. Even then, I could see how enjoyable his company is. He, along with Sahar could turn everything you say into a song, complete with a dance routine. And suprisingly, he is very soft-spoken and polite despite the sing-and-dance impromptu they always do together that could make you feel he is one of those 'gile²' type.

I went with Salimin, Azam and one of their friends whom I dunno the name (btw, Azam is one of the juniors I said I forgot his name in the last entry haha..). When we arrived, we noticed Spy outside of the hall, still waiting for his bride, Nisa', whom I also know, who was having problems as the car she and her family were using suddenly had a breakdown in the middle of the highway. Up there is a picture of Spy and me. Sile jangan tertipu dengan ketinggian Spy di dalam gambar itu hehe.. He's TALL, and I'm not only saying that coz I'm short!

We waited along with him for a while but after a few minutes, it was apparent that Nisa' would be rather late so we went to feast on the yummy food. Hmm, nasik kenduri is always yummy, huh? :)

Anyway, truth is, Spy sorta expected Nisa' to be very late as it was already 2 something by then so when we wanted to take pictures, he wanted to take them at the hidang pengantin table so that he's at least have a picture there haha.. I guess Nisa' must've arrived towards the end of the kenduri, if not missing it totally (this is because even when it was nearly 3, she still was at the Sg Perak R&R and the kenduri was supposed to end around 4pm anyway).. Takpe la Spy, dah selamat nikah dah pun :)

Still, congrats to you, Spy! May you lead a happy life with Nisa' :)

P/S This is what we got there. The bunge telur was made from paper cups shaped like a Japanese Crane (Hmm, creative!) and we got the now-custom face towels everyone seems to be giving out now :)

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Convo 2007.. finally!!! Hahah.. :)

How about that?

Ayu finally graduated?!?!!

Is it true.. or is it just the same thing she says every year? "I wanna graduate this year! I wanna graduate this year!"

OMG! It IS true!!!!! Hahaha..

Help!!! Seems like hell is freezing over as she did the impossible (Impossible for me la.. kacang je for everyone else :p)

Hehe.. yup! Finally (the word me and Aznor said at exactly the same time when we looked at each other in the DTSP haha.. we've been promising each other to graduate together EVERY YEAR but this year, our wish was granted, yeay!!) I'm officially over with my M.Sc studies. It felt so surreal, in fact, I wasn't in the spirit of graduating a few weeks prior to our convo.. but it actually is true haha..

Though I DID have a few problems, knowing that Umi was more excited than Abah about my convo but I couldn't possibly give her the invitation as I should give them to Mama and Abah (still, for a while I considered giving them to Mama and Umi instead haha..) Thankfully, Erwan gave me an extra ticket as his family couldn't come.. and I'm glad I gave them to Umi. As Mama said, Umi was excited for me :) and since Abah chose this day to ignore Mama (God! Why did he have to do that?). Thank God Annisa was allowed to go in, at least Mama had a 'friend' in there looking out for 'Ayong' graduating :) :) :)

Iwan and Adi couldn't come however.. though I don't really mind about Iwan not coming (nasty sister I am!!) His behaviour doesn't actually wanna make me look forward to meet him just yet.. and no, I'm not gonna talk about it in this blog.. Only those FEW people who know about HIS blog know why I'm mad at him right now.. well, not only me la whose mad at him right now! But thats another story.. However, I regretted not having Adi around as he's been one of those great supoorters for me throughout my M.Sc.. Still, he asked Izati to buy me flowers-the biggest bunch I got that day :)

Thanx Adi :) *though I don't seem to see the flowers in my smiling like crazy picture below!*

Even my cousin Nurul who had a class that day (she's in Management) came down there, mekasih ye Nurul.. :)


Yeah, coming outta the DTSP and being 'greeted' by the other postgrads was really something. Thanx to Farah, Dgon, Winnie, Puga, abg Fadzil, Ramadhan, Remy, Rashwan, Lie, Min, kak Ina (who actually didn't wanna come as she couldn't graduate this year hehe..), kak Kt, Yana, Helmi, Afizal (who handed me the flowers from Yokies and kak Maria.. waaah! My friends remember me even when they can't come :) ).. erkk, some students I don't quite catch their name but excitedly took pictures with me jugak hahah.. (Ayu, you sgt teruk laaaaa!!!)


And hey, thanx to kak Shima too for finally agreeing to gradute with me haha.. We've been housemates for almost 3 years, eversince before I started my M.Sc and we finally graduate together.. Sebenarnye, I'm thinking that I've forgotten so many names here haha.. well, lets just cross our fingers and hope those unintentionally forgotten names don't read my blog haha.. but thanx to all who came, took pictures with us, and gave me all those wonderful flowers, gifts and chocolates.. :) :) :) Sakit tangan oooo nak bawak sumer tu..



The next day was the convo for the mixed mode students (Pitot, Dgon, Puga..) and I met with Farah at the expo before going off to find our graduating friends. Here's Pitot, the sweet mother just as she came outta the hall..

Then off we went to find Dgon.. and luckily Puga was also there. Abg Fauzi and Shahril proceeded to interview them (I had run away from them yesterday as Shahril had already told me about them having to interview us haha..). Puga looke beautiful in her silver-grey sari and Dgon was all puckered up in her new lipstick she bought when going out with me and Jenet hehe..

Then I went to find kak Wahid (that was after I sent my robes kot?) and here's a picture of me and her family, along with her Parit Buntar friend whom I can't remember the name.. thanx for the lovely mug kak Wahid.. sayang la nak gune!!!

And to those who've been wondering WHO is Soraya.. behold! My long-time friend!!! This is the first picture in so many years I have with her haha.. doesn't look like a mum of two, huh? :)

When I first went into the room, her eldest son, Ayman greeted me by hugging my legs so tightly that I was a bit suprised as this is only the third time I met him (first when he was a new born, second at Baizurah's reception). Very friendly boy, but when I looked around again, he was already missing hehe.. His brother Ammar was a bit shy, I think.. or s it because he regards me as a stranger, huh?

By this time, my feet were killing me. Even Farah was tired following me around haha.. would you believe it, I sent my robes then went to Indah Kembara only to find out the ONLY the pictures and frames were to be collected there, the scrolls and transcript were to be collected at the IPS (which is just a few steps away from the robe storage room..) sheesh! Buat keje dua kali la pulak..

Adeh, by the time we headed back here, my body was already screaming bloody murder telling me I'm neglecting it haha.. Yup, I've also worn my heels (only an inch long, I think.. but thats a first for a flat-shoe-and-sandals person like me) for the two days straight and was I glad to finally wear my perfectly sensible flat sandals that night when I went for my class.. this is what happens when you leave your comfy foot wear at home by mistake..

It took me a few days to finally be in the mood to open my other gifts (Thanx Ajha, adiah 1st akak dapat tapi bukak nye lambat.. sayng nak bukak awal² :p) and here's a poyo me arranging them in my rented home.. minus the flowers I've hung up on the walls (and a few flowers form each bouquet which I pressed, hoping to make a collage outta it--rajin ke idak ntah?) and the choclates which are now in a nice basket on the dining table :)


*Still, nape la tak leh shake off rase terkilan dalam ati ni ye?? :'(*

P/S Oh ye.. there's so many picture I would've liked to put in here.. tp kang byk sgt plak so I'll just update them in my fotopages.. one day nnt haha..

Thursday, August 09, 2007

I don't wanna be in love..

Dance Floor Anthem-Good Charlotte

She’s going out to forget they were together
All that time he was taking her for granted
She wants to see if there’s more
than he gave she’s looking for

He calls her up
He’s trippin on the phone now
He doesn’t want her out there
And alone now
He knows she’s movin it
Knows she’s using it
Now he’s losing it
She don’t care

Everybody put up your hands
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love
Feel the beat now
If you’ve got nothing left
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love
Back it up now
You’ve got a reason to live
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love
Feelin' good now
Don’t be afraid to get down
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love

He was always giving her attention
Looking hard to find the things she mentioned
He was dedicated
But most suckers hate it
That girl was fine
But she didn’t appreciate him

She calls him up
She’s tripping on the phone now
He had to get up
And he ain’t comin home now
He’s tryin to forget her
That’s how we come with him
When he first met her
When they first got together

Everybody put up your hands
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love
Feel the beat now

If you got nothing left
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love
Back it up now
You got a reason to live
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love
Feelin' good now
Don’t be afraid to get down
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love

To the beat (x3)
You got nothing to lose
Don’t be afraid to get down

We break up
It’s something that we do now
Everyone has got to do it sometime
It’s okay, let it go
Get out there and find someone

It’s too late to be trippin' on the phone here
Get off the wire
You know everything is good here
Stop what you’re doin'
You don’t wanna ruin
The chance that you got to
find a new one

Everybody put up your hands
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love
Feel the beat now
If you got nothing left
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love
Back it up now
You got a reason to live
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love
Feelin' good now
Don’t be afraid to get down
Say I don’t wanna be in love
I don’t wanna be in love

Nooo...Noooo

Now you know what to do, so come on feelin' good



Good Charlotte - I Don't Wanna Be In Love lyrics

Thursday, August 02, 2007

100 000km and a few stiches.. *updated*


Know something?

My car has reached the 100 000km mark.. yeay!!

And to think that I thought this day would come like another 10 years hahah..

Its still hard to believe.. and those who knew me when I first got the car would understand. I was terrified of driving. I mean, really petrified. But I guess, that feeling has gone away totally now hehe.. I've driven my PFK throughout Peninsular Malaysia. From Perlis to Johor and to the East Coast of Kelantan and Terengganu, up the Banjaran Titiwangsa and all that.

I remember the first day I got my PFK 4 years ago (Gosh! Is it actually that long now?). I had gone to Lenggong with Amer, Medof, Lili and Hasni for the MIMOL project and when we came back, there was my car waiting for me.. okay, technically, its not my car fully yet. I still haven't paid Abah the full sum of my car, but from that first day, it has never been anyone elses car except mine :)

At first, I was afraid. I mean, I took my license only a few years back but I've never driven eversince. However, due to having to stay outside (more outta choice, it was getting a bit bored staying inside anyway-suare hati org tak sedo diri kene bayo sewa umah sorg² skrg hehe..) I knew I had to get a car, thus my PFK.

The first person other than me to drive it was Alem when they had to go to Lenggong the next week. I dunno why I trusted him even then as I had never even had a full conversation with this now lil' brother of mine.. plus, my car was still way under the 1000km mileage. Hehe, turns out my instinct then was quite right, I trust him till now :)

Anyway, PFK had taken me nearly everywhere I wanna go now. The only time I had to take a bus was when I had sent my PFK to the timing belt change and since I had to wait for more than 3 hours, I rather felt it was better for me to go and enjoy myself at Prangin so I took the bus..

I've ventured new places with her (her?) and gone to a lot of places with friends and loved ones.. and though sometimes I wishfully look at other cars (Ooohhh, the Honda Jazz and Nissan March have caught my eye hehe..), other than the fact I don't really have the money yet, I also love my PFK too much to wanna part with it yet..

*sigh* Guess all first cars do this to us, huh? :)

*******

Okay, guess some of you are wondering WHAT THE HELL is the picture below hehe.. (Hmmm, me thinks, I'm being a bit of a narcissus here, thinking EVERYONE's wondering about what I'm gonna write about hahah..)


Anyway, the picture above is actually the lower part of a skirt I bought a few years ago. I loved the design and eventhough I noticed the high slit in front of it, I ignored it, thinking I'd sew it up or something.

However, being a not-quite-good-with-needlework type of person, I kept putting off doing something to the skirt UNTIL the day came when I gained those 10kg a few years back, making it impossible for me to wear the skirt (sew-up or not) without feeling conscious haha..

Then again, a few week ago, while clearing up my closet, I came up with this skirt again. I was suprised when I found out I could wear this skirt.. yeay! (Okay, this doesn't mean that I've lost the whole 10kg I gained.. but I guess I have lost a few, huh? Yippee!!!)

Still, the problem of the 'slit' was annoying me.. as can be seen here, its right upward my calf, nearing my knee. Anyway, Yun and Jenet gave me and idea, so..

Tadaaa!!

Haha, this is what I did for nearly 3 hours.

Okay, I'm not exactly Martha Stewart, nor am I her long lost twin or something.. but hey, I tried my best.. so here, I have a wearable skirt heheh..


*******

And whats this?

Thee hee, this is a present from Remy and Hana. They recently went on their second honeymoon at Sabah.. Wow! I'd like to go there someday.. I love pearls hehe.. owww, c'mon, pearls are like the most inexpensive kinda jewellery anyone could have!

Anyway, since Remy knew I loved collecting bracelets, he had asked if I wanted anything from Sabah but since I didn't actually have much money in hand, I wasn't sure if I could afford anything, especially since the convo coming up in a couple of weeks.

But suprises of suprises, I DID get something, compliments of Remy and his wife, Hana.. thanx!!! I love it :) :) :) I would've worn it to my convo if I hadn't planned on wearing something blue or green for my other new bracelet I bought a few months ago but haven't worn yet.. besides, though pearls are meant to be worn with anything, I don't think this colour compliments a blue-green outfit, do you?

Still, thanx to the both of them.. sgt chumel! I've even already worn it a couple of times :)


Wednesday, August 01, 2007

My brape-lame-nak-tunggu-daaa review of HPATDH hehe.. *updated*



I miss Hogwarts!

I miss Quidditch!

I miss the Gryffindor Tower!

I miss Hogsmeade!

I miss Dumbledore!

I miss Hagrid!

I miss platform nine and three quarters, as well as the Hogwarts express and the candy cart lady!

..and I miss a whole lot more! All of which were not mentioned as much as before and as much as I would've liked in the final book.. but then again, its the finale, huh?

*sigh*

Still, I won't say its not a good book.. not the best maybe, but still very good..

Hahah.. ok, for Baizurah: Sorry for the delay hehe.. I've been a bit busy the past week (busy ke?)

Anyway, it took me quite a while to read the book as I had some classes to attend to (unwillingly haha..) and it took all my willpower to stop me from ignoring my class while giving full attention to THE book. However, it also took all my willpower NOT to fall asleep as I was really tired that day AND I wanted to finish the book on the same day haha.. so ta-daaa, at 12.30am the mission was accomplished *applause to self with a pat on the back*

All in all, I'd say I enjoyed it. Though there were no longer the fun-school-days in it. The only time Hogwarts was mentioned was when the death eaters had come to attack the school and Voldemort had gone there for Harry.

I enjoyed reading about Neville. Rowling managed to potray him as his mother and father's (both ex-aurors who are now admitted to St Mungo's) true son. With the absence of Harry, Ron and Hermione, Neville leading the way with Ginny and Luna went into rebellion haha.. I can just imagine him (though whenever I imagine him now, I see the face of the actor who played him in the movie) being a leader.. yeay for Neville! I've always had a soft spot for him, especially eversince I read about his parents and how his grandmother always seemed to be disappointed in him.. but this time, his granma was sure proud of him. Bravo!

Then there was Luna. I've always imagined her as plain looking with bottle-thick spectacles. I admit, I like the movie-Luna better. She's so cute, so soft-spoken, so.. I dunno, I just really like her. So in this book, whenever I read about her, I see the 'movie-Luna' which I like better than the one I've been imagining all along. When she was first added in the series, I always though she'd just be a small part, but it turned out, I wouldn't want the book without her and her eccentricities. I pitied her father though when the death eaters had abducted her but I was pissed when the tricked Harry, Ron and Hermione.. still, I'm not a parent yet, what do I know, huh? He really loves his daughter..

..and I was touched when Harry went up to her room and saw painted pictures (not moving magical ones if I'm not mistaken) of himself, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny that Luna had decorated on her ceiling with a golden chain surrounding them that was actually the word 'friends' written all over again.

Dobby proved to be a great friend too. I was stunned that he had to die but he died helping the only friend who had taught him trust: Harry! Even his last words were Harry's name but I guess he was glad to die helping Harry get away from the Malfoy's mansion that had somehow turned out to be like Voldemort's fort (though Draco here, to my delight-I never really thought he was THAT 'evil'-was seemingly uncomfortable of being on the dark side)

And hey, how 'bout Kreacher? Turned out, he only wanted attention.. and once Harry and Ron were able to be nice to him (as Hermione had ALWAYS told them to), he was really sweet to them. Always cooking their favourite meals and being the obedient house-elf he was supposed to be to Harry. It helped when they realized his favourite master had always been Regulus, Sirius's brother, who had always treated him kindly as opposed to Sirius who treated him dreadfully.. it goes without saying, you reap what you sow (or is it you sow what you reap??? My English is getting worse haha..) Well, they realized Regulus had actually disobeyed Voldemort and had wanted to make things right by stealing the first horcrux and destroying it and knowing that Kreacher was somehow involved made them see the house elf in an entirely different light (Me too, I always thought Kreacher was.. well, a 'creature' if you know what I mean!)

And whats a HP book without the prankster twins haha.. I laugh nearly everytime their names are mentioned and I guess, for the fun parts, I love their character the most! Like the time George had his ear blown off, he still managed to crack a joke, feeble as it was haha.. and I thought he was dying! They somehow manage to change EVERY dark moment into a jovial one with the punch lines and all.. but when I said 'nearly', it really meant EXCEPT the time Fred died.. though in a way, he did die they way he would've wanted.. while laughing at Percy (Oooooh, I'll come to Percy next).. but still, I felt quite lost for a while as I said, I really love George and Fred and I do wonder why Rowling didn't speak of what happened to George (though Percy WAS mentioned) in the 'Ninteen Years Later' chapter..

The loss of Lupin and Tonks were also sad parts in the book, though I think they deserve more recognition than just being mentioned as fatalities in the battle. I mean, Lupin was the one who taught Harry how to produce a Patronus and haha, this sounds crazy but I almost wish he was Harry's godfather as Sirius was actually too reckless in his own cheeky way while Lupin always seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Yeah, I know, Sirius was caught so Lupin was the one who was always there, but for someone who wanted a father figure, gimme Lupin anyday.

And Tonks, I must admit, for the recent movie, I was really anticipating who would become Tonks and the actress (don't ask me her name) was really good.. in my books at least. She didn't disappoint as Tonks and I have always been quite fond of Tonks and her clumsy ways. And yeah, that Colin boy who worshipped Harry also died, guess he just wanted to be in the front rows with his hero too.. quite sad though!

Anyway, I loved how Rowling bought back most of the characters from the series during the battle at Hogwarts. There was Percy (ooohh, I wanna talk bout him), Neville's gran, Dean (who was not allowed to go back to Hogwarts as he wasn't pure-blooded and has been on the run eversince), the Patil twins, Ernie whateverhisnameis whom I used to get annoyed with in the DA, Cho Chang, the head full of dreadlocks of Lee Jordon (whom if you don't remember, were the twins bestfriend) and the old quidditch team: Oliver Wood, Alicia something, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson (?).. and thats just to mention a few :)

Hahah.. I always thought Percy would, well, be Percy-ish till the end (He still is bossy anyway 'Ninteen Years Later' though I'm not sure what post his was holiding and why his voice was heard booming at the station) . turned out, he couldn't stand being too ambitious anymore and turned back to his family. It was quite a suprise as he wasn't mentioned that much in Half Blood Prince so I thought his character had somehow faded. But I'm glad as I always feel as if the Weasleys are the kind of family everyone wants to be in :) I laughed when Percy apologized to his family while Geroge/Fred rubbed it in (called him all sort of names haha) BUT while holding out their hands to him in a peaceful gesture.. awwww!

So, in a nutshell, its not the best book (I love happy books better), but I guess it has the greatest ending and is a fine finale for the series (C'mon, you can't expect a happy book for the end, right.. what with Voldemort and all those death eaters and dementors walking around like having a brisk in the park?)

Anyway, I keeping the book now. Don't think I can read it again in a few weeks as I'm quite full of it now.. AND since a lot of people seem to wanna borrow it.

Gee, I wonder if another book could ever make me feel this excited again??

*updated*

Forgot bout Dumbledore and Snape, btw..

For a while, I was disappointed to find out that Dumbledore had his flaws. I always saw him as.. well, as perfect. Turned out, like any normal knowledgable person, he loved power.. that finally explains the question in my head since The Philosopher's Stone on why he never accepted the job at the ministry. I thought he'd be perfect as the Minister of Magic but turned out, he was afraid he'd hunger for more power.. and when you look at it that way.. hey, he's a normal human being after all. Doing his best the best way he could and avoiding anything that could feed the hunger of his weakness for power..

And he's a real great brother. Wanted so much to bring his sister back to apologize to her.. awww! He turned out ok, dispite my initial disappointment.. in fact, I like him more when I know he's actually human. And yeah, I'd still want him as my headmaster anyday :)

As for Snape, wonders of wonders. I was happy to know that I wasn't wrong when I felt that Snape was to be trusted. I mean, DUMBLEDORE trusted him so there must be something there. A pity that we all only knew the truth after Voldermort killed him.. but at least, Harry knew the truth at last. I always wondered why Snape took care of Harry in the first book.. I guess that was why I felt that Snape was more than meets the eye (Ecehh.. Transformer lakkk!!)

The chapter on Snape being in love with Lily was quite an eye opener for most eh.. it proved what Dumbledore kept saying about Voldermort's weakness.. about his inability to understand love.. be it Lily's love to her son, Harry.. or Snape's love to Lily..

But I really laughed when Dumbledore had asked Snape to kill him in the end and Snape had answered sarcastically about wanting to do it now.. or after Dumbledore had written his epitaph or something like that haha.. those who don't read might not understand, but to those who follow the series, I guess you must've laughed along with me. I mean Snape has always been so 'straight' and 'rigid'..

Hmm.. I'm gonna miss waiting for the book to come out now..