Randomness 3

1. I am starting to think that blogging is boring simply because I find what I can say here is extremely limited. At least in a personal diary I can blab about anything and everything. Here, I have to be politically and emotionally correct all the time until it gets tiring. Maybe I'll stop writing for a while after this.

2. Gold Coast is not as nice as I expected it to be. I guess I had too high of an expectation for the city that upon seeing how much it resembles KL (especially the heart of Gold Coast - Surfers Paradise), I got kinda disappointed. I think Melbourne is nicer because of the cooler weather, nice architectural landscape and cheaper everything! Riding a bus in Gold Coast can cost up to $20+! But at least I have been to the Gold Coast. Plus, Movieworld is AWESOME!

3. When I was younger, I did not travel a lot, not even during school holidays. There were no family holidays for us except the stops in Pahang, Perak or Terengganu we made on our way back to and from Kelantan. Otherwise, we didn't go anywhere. I first went overseas last year when I followed my sister and her family to Singapore. And then I came to Australia. But that's it. My parents don't like travelling. Well, I cannot blame them. There are six of us kids and it would have been a hassle to herd all six everywhere. Plus, the cost would have been quite too much for my civil servant parents. But now that I'm all grown-up, I enjoy travelling a lot. I wish I have the time and money to do it more often but so far, not yet. One day, InsyaAllah. =)

4. Can you outgrow a person? Like when you realize you just don't fit in with him or her anymore. Can you? (Ni influence tengok 'How I Met Your Mother' where in Season 3, Ted ended his friendship with Barney when he found out that Barney slept with his ex, Robin, breaking their Bro Code.)

5. Sekarang terasa nak marah orang tu walaupun saya tahu dia tak salah but I just feel like blaming and being angry at him.

6. My house is a mess because I am packing up to move out. I never thought that in my less than a year stay here, I could accumulate a lot of stuff and I mean, A LOT. I have two boxes full of books and a lot of clothes I never thought I have.

7. Melbourne is scorching hot now and it is only the beginning of summer. Subhanallah.

Til then... (I don't know when).

Salam Gold Coast

I'm in the Gold Coast. It's not as nice as I expected but it's okay. Leaving for Melbourne tonight. Had fun for the past three days. But I wish I'd have spent more time at the beach, enjoying nature rather than just lepak at the theme parks and the mall.

Pictures will be up soon. Movieworld BEST gile!

Applying Bhabha's theory of hybridity

Bhabha's theory of hybridity says that individuals need to negotiate instead of negate the differences between their culture and other cultures in order to recognize the myriad of cultures from different societies around the world. He says that hybridity is necessary in order to avoid the dominating society to suppress the culture of the minority - to avoid hegemony. The consideration towards another culture also allows us to choose the best out of both worlds and make a space for our own identity. Well, that's just a gist of what he theorized. The concept is actually more complex and it doesn't help that Bhabha's writing is almost impossible to understand. But the more I understand his theory, the more I think what he says makes sense. Well... sometimes, at least.

In the era of globalization where there are virtually no boundaries, human beings around the world are exposed to the Western dominating culture. We need not become diasporic individuals to experience the culture of the West because it is readily available on the media and the world wide web. So, this is where his theory comes in. This is where we need to consider the best in the Western world in order to assimilate their ideas with Eastern culture.

But, of course it's easier said than done.

What I notice is that instead of paying attention to what is worth the attention, we tend to choose the ones we think as cool. We accept their cleavage-showing and butt-tight clothing, binge drinking, club hopping, concert going, women (and men) loving, hedonism - just to name a few - and seep these ideas into our culture. Then we label the ones who reject these ideas as backwards, not up-to-date and boring. We champion these liberal principles as modernity and forward-thinking. So, like Bhabha warns us, we let the West dominate us (again!) until we become ashamed of who we are.

I wonder why we can't follow the good things the West does. Living in Australia for the past year or so have shown me that there are plenty of things that we can emulate from the West. It is terrible that we only choose the ones that do not fit into our own Eastern identity. Have we considered:

- saying 'thank you' to everyone who serves us, be it bus drivers or cashiers or waiters

- holding the door for someone who is behind us

- offering excellent and honest customer services to the public (the customer is always right policy)

- outlining strict traffic laws to avoid deaths in accidents

- keeping public places clean

- offering spotless public toilets

- reading more

Furthermore, this is also what Islam champions: accept the good and avoid the bad. Ammal maaruf nahi mungkar.

You see, imperialism doesn't stop after the British left our country. We are still mentally colonized. We need to break free.

I'm happy because...

1. I've submitted my thesis! Alhamdulillah, managed to finish it just on time. Now everything is in Allah's Hands. I hope He'll have Mercy on me and let me continue my PhD next year, InsyaAllah.

2. The search for a new house is settled. Signed the lease and paid the bond last weekend. It's a five-bedroom house, in front of Monash. Quite big and it's fully furnished but I don't like the idea that it only has one bathroom and one toilet. Hopefully, we'll manage. The rent is waaaay cheaper than the rent I'm paying now!

3. I went shopping today. Bought a new pair of jeans and a t-shirt I don't need. Bought a sweater I need (to replace the one I lost at the gym a few weeks ago). Bought the new book by Jhumpa Lahiri, one of my favourite authors. And yeah, I have been testing e-bay Australia lately so I kinda erm... spent more than I should. But I love them all so I don't care! =p

4. It's only 3 more weeks to go before I can go home!

5. I'm going to Gold Coast next week! Woohoo!

6. The weather here has been nice. I've decided that spring is my favourite season!

7. "It's a diamond on platinum. Nice." =)

Thank you, Lord

Allah is the Greatest and Kindest.

I was skeptical. Then the phone rang, made me smile and saved my day.

My confidence was running low. Then an email came in and showed me that there are no impossibilities.

He showed me what is possible through His Guidance and through His Love. I can't even begin to explain the great Love He showers me with.

May I always be humbled by Your Greatness. May I always be clouded by Your Kindness and Rezqi. May I always remain in awe of Your Power.

Ya Allah, I am nothing without You.

KKS

I am so stressed out now.

I don't know why actually. Nak kata stress belajar pun tak juga. Tidur banyak jek.

But all I can think about is home. I don't even have the mood to cook now because everything they sell here bores me to death.

Perhaps I need a breathing space. I haven't left Clayton town for a month now.

Nak balik.

Beyonce vs. Malaysia

I'm supposed to be writing the conclusion for my thesis but this has been on my mind since yesterday so I better get it out of my system: Beyonce's indefinitely cancelled concert in KL. Let me establish myself first. I am not a goody two shoes who condemns any type of entertainment whatsoever and neither am I pretending to be one. I have nothing against concerts. In fact, earlier this year, Suraya and Eena suggested that we attended the Katy Perry concert here in Melbourne and I totally agreed. In the end, we didn't go but yeah, I wanted to go. Plus, I can't promise that if Maroon 5 decides to drop by Melbourne, I would give them a miss. But yeah, personal stand aside, all I want to do here is to attempt to understand the logic behind the cancelled concert.

It angers me when people use the argument of culture every time this sort of things occur. The cancelled concert is a war against culture. First things first: whose culture are we talking about here? As far as I know, in Malaysian multicultural context, a concert featuring a scantily clad female singer, bellowing out her oh-so-beautiful voice and shaking her bootylicious self does not reflect any of our myriad of cultures. Yeah sure, you can argue that it is popular culture but my argument would be that this particular popular culture does not reflect out identity as an Eastern country. One look at Beyonce, you can see the ideas she represent: sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy! She is the embodiment of Western sexual object. If we put her in Malaysian cultural context, she stands out like a sore thumb. She doesn't fit into the representation of Eastern women. Moreover, she is a glaring contrast of the Islamic teachings and doctrine about women.

So, Malaysia, which is made up of 60% of Muslims, should consider these whenever a singer expresses interest in performing in Malaysia. We have our identity to protect. What is more important is the protection of our values as Muslims. Beyonce goes against these values so why should she perform in KL? Some people say that it is merely for entertainment but there should be no contest against religion: be it Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism or any religion at all. Once we start making exceptions against religion, that is when the believers lose their strength. If we can't stand up for what we believe in, who will?

Sure, Beyonce brings money, a boost for the economy. Sure, she brings money for herself. Can you imagine how much money she could rake from concerts like this? And yeah, she brings entertainment but are we keen on becoming a hedonistic community? Plus, even if she covers her whole body and wears purdah when performing in Malaysia, she already has an established sexual identity well-known throughout the world. So now, can you think about any pure goodness she can offer to our culture?