~ hujan turun rintik-rintik

Hari ni hujan turun...dah lama aku menunggu saat ini...musim panas macam ni seronok betul kalau hujan..teringat kat kampung...tapi hujan kat sini takde laa selebat macam kat kampung aku...masa aku perabih zaman kanak-kanak dan remaja kat Kota Tinggi dulu waktu hujan laa paling tak seronok..sebabnya tak boleh keluar bermain...tapi bila dah meningkat dewasa waktu hujan laa paling seronok sebab ada masa untuk berhenti seketika dari berbuat sesuatu..contohnya tengok tempias air hujan kat tingkap...

pagi ni aku bangun awal betul...rasanya dah hampir seminggu aku tidur awal...rasanya kalau kat KL mesti aku orang yang akan bangun paling awal..masakan tidak, kalau ditukar waktu maunya aku bangun pukul 4 pagi...tapi okay laa tu kot..bangun pagi pun seronok apa..mujur bilik aku takde air-condition...kalau tak mesti aku bangun pukul 10 pagi....hai tak sabar betul aku nak balik Malaya...jumaat ni aku ada appmt. dengan Brian..harap-harap laa pakcik tu bagi respon baik sikit...kalau tak terpaksa laa aku delay flight aku lagi....

The summer days are gone too soon...

Dear Shah,

Great to hear from you. Summer seems to have disappeared from Adelaide too. We've used our heater for the last three days; it has been cold. However, not much rain. It pelted on Thursday in the city. The carpark at Target was leaking with sheets of water on the top floor, but it did not rain at Aldgate. More rain would be good. I had been at uni in the morning returning a script to one of my colleagues from creative writing (I saw Katie C and John McConchie in the Plaza). Then I went into the Barr Smith to read a book in their rare book collection because the copy that was a Flinders has gone missing. While it rained I had lunch at Knoodle -- very tasty.

I sympathise with your supervisor problems. At least you are well ahead. I have yet to define my project and present my proposal. I am cross this milestone has not yet eventuated and would feel happier and more secure about what I am doing if only... Still, I am working towards an absract for a Creative NonFiction conference at the Uni of Newcastle in May, and hope it comes to pass -- focused work at least. Two nights ago I went to see the Bangarra Dance Theatre at Her Majesty's Theatre. It was a brilliant experience. The work is based on Indigenous Culture and the dancers seemed to breathe at one with the Land -- recreated with a wonderful set and lighting effects. The performance was at the same time deeply traditional and ultramodern in style and movement. The contemporary music score is superb. The outing put me in the mood for The Fringe and Festival of Arts, and of course Writers'Week here on the Torrens River by the Parade Ground.

I had a great holiday and enjoyed my stay in Canberra with my sister -- civilised kind of city. But I've come back to many admin and working chores -- concentration required. My brother, his wife and my nephew are arriving from Scotland at the end of Feb for a month's stay, mostly to see my mother who is growing frail. Val and Sam are busy clearing the middle room of Sam's stuff so we can make a spare bedroom. So if you do make it to Adelaide for a break, remember you are welcome here. The washing machine is also on its last legs. It is funny to see it hopping about the laundry and whining like a jet engine. The smell of burning wires is appalling. Val has ordered a new front-loader which arrives on Monday.

Molly is pleased I am home; I think the "boys" have not bothered to walk her properly. Frisky is holding her end up well for her age. Yoyo and Merry are cuddlesome and adorable as usual. Alex is moving to a house near the Ashford hospital and sharing with two friends. He will be much closer to his work in the city, have more space and be closer if we need to fetch him for anything (he still does not drive). Gotta get some work done now.

Cheers, Christine

greeting from Amina ~ Scotland

Hello Shah,

thank you for the greeting e-mail. Australia might be so far away, but once you test it and you meet those wonderful friends you can never forget them. Sorry to hear you are not going to UK to study, but I am sure your time Down Under will be more rewarding and enjoyable. So, the very best of luck with your new position. Everything here is going ok, in my free time I travelled to some places in Scotland, there is the megabus, a cheap bus that gets you everywhere. I attached some pictures of Edinburgh. I hope to get some good results for my project, so I would like to present in Australia. How is Deljian doing? Please give her my greetings.

Take care, amina

an e-mail from Peter Kemp ~

Hi there Shah
I like your list and LOVE your pithily cryptic captions...OK, here goes my list:

1) Meet Me in St Louis: for Judy Garland at her heart-tugging best, and because it's about the family I never had.

2) The Night of the Hunter: the age-old battle between utter Evil and benevolent Good, as witnessed by the fairy-tale-like innocence of children.

3) Mary Poppins: the most philosophically profound film ever to emerge from Hollywood: magical. mysterious, joyous, politically subversive, and genuinely sad.

4) Notorious: Hitchcock's glamorously sexy, emotionally complex suspense classic with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman at their peak.

5) La Belle et la Bete / Beauty and the Beast: Versatile Jean Cocteau weaves a visually sensual cinematic spell around a classic 17th Century children's-fable-for-adults...

6) The Awful Truth: the supremely talented Cary Grant once more, matched every step of the way by gifted co-star Irene Dunne in Leo McCarey's witty, giddily romantic, deeply meaningful screwball farce.

7) Rio Bravo: Howard Hawks's almost transcendental 'chamber Western' about the heroic potential of friendship and 'making negatives into positives'.

8) Une Partie de Campagne / A Day in the Country: Jean Renoir's sublime and sensually charged adaptation of a 18th Century Guy de Maupassant short story into what can be justifiably claimed as 'a perfect film': idyllic, benignly good-humoured, pantheistic, unbearably poignant.

9) Happy Together: Wong Kar-Wai's iridescently hued psychodrama addresses many different kinds of love between three different kinds of men, who also, incidentally, symbolize three different kinds of 'China-ness'. An existentially tuned post-modern classic, superbly lensed.

10) Topsy-Turvy: Mike Leigh frames the story of Gilbert and Sullivan staging 'The Mikado' around a richly observed, wonderfully funny, humanly bitter-sweet, musically splendid portrait of life in the theatre, life-as-theatre. theatre-as-life. One of my favourite endings to any film.

Cheers, PETER KEMP

Canberra ~ another postcard from Christine

Hi shah,

Just thought I would show you an aerial shot of Canberra. I'm impressed with the city. Yesterday I swam in the Murrumbridge River at Casurina Sand ~ lovely. Today up early and looked at the City Centre, before walking around Lake BG to the National Museum ~ brilliant building. Bus travel so efficient - if you have a bike, easy.

Cheers, Christine

Canberra - a postcard from Christine

Dear Shah,

Canberra is a beautiful city ~ vey clean and excellent bus service. I've been doing the sighst in the morning and working in the Chiffley Library at the ANU in the afternon. The Australian national Film and Sond Archive was very interesting. I went to Old Parliament House yesterday and the Bushfire Memorial. Today visited the Bus Market.

cheers, Christine

penatnyer

selepas berhempas pulas selama lebih 3 minggu akhirnya aku berjaya juga siapkan struktur kasar ulasan susastera utk tesis...hehehe..sukanya aku..walaupun aku tak jamin tepat atau tidak mengikut keperluan school tapi aku rasa macam okay..keh keh keh..apa laa...tapi not bad laa..at least aku dah tulis sekitar 10k...cuma aku nak menyuntik ayat-ayat menggoreng bagi nampak ayu siket...cuaca hari ni sedang elok..tak panas dan juga tak sejuk...aku ingatkan nak pergi ke Melb. Central beli baju tapi aku melencong ke bookshop...hari ni sheryl takde..selalunya mak cik tu laa yang sibuk tolong aku tempahkan buku....rasanya dia off kot...aku dah tempah empat buah buku...nasib baik dah dapat elaun untuk beli buku..at least berguna jugak buku-buku yang dibeli tu nanti...

laptop aku dah meragam sejak akhir-akhir ni..mungkin dah terlalu banyak virus yang kurang ajar menyerang beliau dari segala sudut..hehehe...takpe..tunggu laa rosak...nanti boleh beli Mac...ceh perasan..macam ada banyak duit nak beli Mac...nak tak nak kena la kumpul duit dari sekarang...aku inagt nak pergi merayap ke rumah Rosya laa esok..tapi tak tahu pulak mak cik tu ada ke tak..kalau ada boleh laa aku ajak si zam pi merayap sekali...bosan betul akhir-akhir ni..rasa macam nak balik kampung ajer..harap-harap Chris balik cepat dari Thailand..aku nak suruh dia baca jugak ulasan susastera yang aku dah buat tu....kalau tak lambat laa nanti..aku nak semuanya selari dengan pelan yang aku dah rancang....

Thanks Christine for cheering my life :)

Dear Shah,

Thank you for your e-mail. Sorry the weather is getting to you and your literature review is a pain. It will get better when you can talk to your supervisor. We are at Falls Creek just now. I can receive e-mails but cannot sned them - so a postcard. We move on to Thredbo on Tuesday. After a forthnight there, Val is goping home and I go on to my sister's in Canberra. I return to Adelaide in early February.

Keep cheerful, Christine

summer's words from Christine

Dear Shah,

Thank you for the short story: I will read it shortly. I have also finally downloaded the attachment you sent about supervisors. I can't do it from my laptop inside but I have done it now in the "study." There are many useful tips there. Hot here also. Fortunately, we are air conditioned because I have been cooking and cleaning today. Some of my old school chums, teachers with me from 1975 to 1983, are coming tomorrow for a small celebration. We meet three or four times a year and all have children about the same age. It is good to relax and chat with friends.

Yesterday, Val, Alex, Sam and I went to see "The Golden Compass." I was disappointed. It is nowhere near as satisfying as the books. The script is pretty awful, although the mise-en-scene is rather lush. None of the characters were well rounded, nor did they grip my heart. Some nice special effects and some terrible repetitious ones. It's a pity Miyazaki Hayao did not get a hold of the rights and animate the story. That would have been stupendous. Phillip Pullman's polyvalent trilogy could be done justice to in anime. However, we did have gourmet woodoven pizzas beforehand in O'Connell Street -- very tasty. We've eaten lots of icecream to counter the heat, not durian, though. My favourite is vanilla.

Cheers, Christine

The Famous Five

Dear Shah,

I probably learnt to read on Enid Blyton. When I was at primary school in Nairobi libraries were non-existent. I remember a "collection" of books contributed by parents and friends from various sources, to keep children busy when set work was done. "Five at Smugglers' Top" was my first chapter book and I smuggled it home and finished it under the bed covers with the aid of a torch. Subsequently I discovered the kids next door (a family with five or six children), had most of the author's books. I begged and pleaded to borrow them, until I had read them all. Both my brother and I adored Enid Blyton.

I also used to devour my brother's "Biggles" books, about the ace World War pilot and his adventures. These days the 'political correctness' of such stuff is suspect, but I didn't care. Appalling maybe, but such fun reading, like the "Harry Potter" books. I read all of Enid Blyton's books to Sam when he was small. Both Sam and Alex also enjoyed Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" series, about the adventure involved in messing about with sailing boats. Blyton created two sets of children's adventures. The Famous Five -- Julian, Dick, George, Anne and Timmy the Dog -- and another set of children who went to more exotic places abroad than the Famous Five.

I forget their names, but the books were "The Castle of Adventure," "The Island of Adventure" and so on. Kiki the Parrot is the main non-human character, adding more than a touch of humour. You told me the names of the children have changed for the Malaysian version, and for Uncle Quentin the 'do not disturb I'm busy' mad, bad-tempered scientist. Somewhere I still have Sam's box of Blyton books. He liked collecting them.

Cheers, Christine

summer days gone too soon....

At last, my task in Adelaide is over.

I went to adelaide last week for my delayed graduation ceremony and I have had so much fun for the entire six days with Christine and Tristan. After twelve months since I left Adelaide, everything still remained the same as it was. Yeap, the smell of summer scent and windchime sounds in Adelaide hills. I've seen a lot of awareness growing inside myself about emotional sphere. That dynamic of structure of feeling will lay beneath inside me and it will not gonna be changed forever.

summer greetings

Hi Shah,

The weather is great at the moment, but it will be hot by the end of the week. I'll meet you at 12 noon on Thursday in the Plaza. I'm happy to take you to Raffles House afterwards. I remember the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Not that we ever went there -- too posh. But I think you could see it from an oval near a big swimming pool where we went to watch a tattoo -- once upon a time, a long time ago. Cole has been in touch about the get together on Tuesday, after your graduation.

See you on Thursday, Cheers,Christine

Christine says:

Dear Shah,

I've just had an email from Cole saying he has some spare time 17-19 December. That is a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Would you like to come to my place on one of those days for lunch? I think I can manage something in accordance with halal customs. Of course your friend is welcome too. Let me know what you would like to do and do not be afraid to speak out. Whatever suits you. Ask. I'm happy to pop up to uni anytime, if you would like to meet for coffee. Time and place is up to you. And if you would like to go on an excursion somewhere let me know, but there is no pressure if you are otherwise occupied. However, I have other obligations on Saturday 15 December, so that day is taken; otherwise it's up to you.

Looking forward to seeing you, Cheers,

Christine

Cole says:

Hi Shah,

Very good to hear from you. It would be great to catch up. I'm not sure about Thursday because I have interviews with students, Friday-Saturday 14-16 december I am on a film shoot, but 17-19 december I can certainly meet you! I would be very pleased to see you and talk, and hear more about your life in Melbourne. I really like Melbourne as a city, my favourite Australian city. Yes, I have been researching for my PhD. The major work will start next year and run 2008, 2009 & 2010. I have Christine's DVD, can you let her know I will bring it with me when we meet.

Cole

Summer scent from Christine

Hello Shah

Great to hear from you again. I am very glad your presentation went well and you have your conversion to PhD with no problems. I am putting theory on the back-burner for a while and beginning writing for my creative piece. I'm going ahead independently because I will have a new primary supervisor in creative writing when staffing is sorted out in the department for next year (many regular staff will not be there). Nick Prescott is still my second supervisor. I have only seen Cole in passing this year. In fact he has a DVD (Werner Herzog) of mine that I must remind him to return. It will be lovely to get together when you are in Adelaide, excursion, meal, whatever -- you say and I'll oblige. I would like to see you graduate, so be sure and reserve me a ticket if you can.

Asian Cinema is finished now and I miss the lectures and films. I loved some films by Zhang-ke, Zhang Yimou, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Kim Ki-duk and we finished with a most amusing Bollywood movie by Farah Khan called " Main Hoon Ha" (unless I have my titles muddled). But best of all I enjoyed the work of the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. I've watched " A Taste of Cherry", " The Wind Will Carry Us" and " White Balloon" (which he scripted but was directed by another young director, I believe). I am waiting for the library to receive more of his films, and I have put them on hold. Gotta go now and do something like work.

Cheers, Christine

entah kenapa

satu-satunya perkara yang paling tidak menyeronokkan hidup di perantauan ni ialah bila rasa sunyi dan bosan. Bila bosan satu kerja pun tak boleh jalan. pulak tu bila masuk musim summer. dah ler panas. bertambah-tambah laa kebosanan ku ini. rasa macam nak balik kampung jer. tapi nak balik pun kena fikir tiga empat kali juga. kalau setakat nak balik tambang macam dari KL ke JB tu hari-hari pun boleh. alahai, apa laa aku nak buat lepas ni. soalan interview dah selesai. proses identify responden pun dah nak hampir selesai. proposal dan approved. ethics clearance dah submitted. begitu juga dengan research permission ke EPU. satu lagi yang tak selesai. litt review.

aku jumpa terry last friday. saje nak korek siket ilmu beliau tentang litt review. kalau aku tanya chris bertambah pening kepala otak aku. dah ler rosya pun sibuk tanya benda yang sama. lagi laa bertambah berpinar-pinar bijik mata aku. nasib baik terry bagi a few tips. nampaknya aku kena ke library esok. oh, dah pukul 2.30 pagi. dan aku tak boleh tidur. susu dah segelas aku minum tapi tetap tak boleh tidur. dah dua filem aku tonton. mr bean dan in the mood for love. best. tapi bila rasa diri keseorangan semua jadi tak seronok. tiket ke Adelaide pun dah ambil. tak sabar nak jumpa cole dan christine. pasti banyak perkara yang boleh dibualkan.

berborak dengan miss sepanjang petang musim panas. sekurang-kurangnya dapat menghiburkan hati. satu-satunya member baik yang jauh di mata dekat di hati. membesar bersama-sama di kawasan luar bandar. sama-sama berjalan kaki ke sekolah sampai kulit pun naik rentung. tapi itu semua cerita dulu dan cerita itu kami kekalkan untuk dikongsi segala rasa pahit dan manis. jika masa boleh diputar semula mahu saja kembali ke zaman itu. belajar betul-betul dan menjadi seorang profesional di usia yang muda. walaupun tak praktikal apa salahnya pasang angan-angan. oh cepat betul masa berlalu. dah pun hampir 22 tahun. masa yang begitu panjang hanya untuk belajar.

dan dalam jangka masa itu kejayaan dan kegagalan silih berganti. ke mana pergi semua rakan sepermainan yang lain? itu kata-kata miss pada satu petang di musim panas 2007. soalan itu tidak terjawab dalam satu hari. sayang aku hanya menulis diari bermula pada tahun 1994 sehinggalah 2003. jika aku mula menulis pada tahun 1985 mungkin aku dapat menyimpan semua kenangan tersebut. tak apa. untuk generasi baru keluargaku nanti biarlah mereka bertatih menulis diari pada usia yang muda. sepatah kata Ella, "pasti aku abadikan zaman riang kanak-kanak"

selamat malam.

leganya!

hey hey hey...

GRC dah selamat....sekarang ni kena fokus utk post-GRC plak...perhaps, Chris will ask me for meeting sometimes next week to discuss another steps further in this research. Anyway, I am very happy as I did very well presentation, even though speechless sekejap in the q & a sessions. Apa pun depa puas hati, esp Dr Stephen dari NUS...siap sebut nama aku and point his finger on me waktu dia present keynote...oh bangganya...riak laa sekejap....keh keh keh...walhal research aku bukannya hebat sangat pun...mungkin it seems very ethnographic and the way I conceptualised the theoretical framework yang buat dia excited tanya lebih-lebih...

Ok lupakan GRC...aku baru jer dapat name list dari Azah - iaitu insan-insan yang digelar wanita yang menggemari televisyen drama...ada lapan orang semuanya dan rata-rata dari perlis...mak cik normah, mak cik rafida, mak cik fauziah, mak cik rokiah, mak cik misah, mak cik pura, dan mak cik Asma....alahai...nama pon tahap mak cik2 semuanya...ni yang buat aku exciting nak berjumpa dan bertentang mata...harap2 laa semua mak cik2 ni boleh bercakap dan ramah-tamah...bimbang jugak aku nanti jumpa semua jadik patung cendana tak bercakap-cakap...

Oh ya sebelum aku lupa, waktu GRC dengan tak sengajanya aku terjumpa Allison Wootherspoon, bekas penyelia sewaktu aku study kat Flinders dulu...memang lawak sampai dia pun terperanjat tengok aku study kat sini....apa lagi dia terus peluk cium sebab terlalu excited...memang lawak...terus aku teringat Cole dan Helen...Al beritahu aku Helen mengandung lagi untuk anak yang kedua..Cole pula semakin sibuk sekarang...dah lama rasanya aku tak e-mail Cole dan Helen....Al tanya sama ada aku akan buat filem lagi sepanjang aku di Melbourne...sorry laa Al, aku dah tak larat ler....dengan timbunan buku yang boleh membunuh sesiapa kalau jatuh kat atas kepala ni, macam mana laa aku nak buat filem?

tak sabar aku nak terbang ke Adelaide...walaupun ramai yang marah kt aku sbb tak pergi ke benua lain, tapi aku rasa selesa kat OZ...other than that, I learn a lot of things here and I will never stop....Kak Mira will be here somewhere around end of this year and Puan Liza plus Kak siti as well....hmmm...what would you think if we build another school of thought in term of cultural and media studies in the dept? this time an australian school of thought - that would be fun, hey! Ok laa..cukup laa takat ni...letih ler...nak rehat jap..ta!

christine says:

Dear Shah,

You are busy indeed. Your conference looks very interesting. I wish I could be there to hear the papers. I've been attending Mike Walsh's lectures and screenings in Asian Cinema, and I must say some of the auteurs and their films are fascinating. Tomorrow we move on to Iranian film. Last week we worked on Korean film, and before that Chinese. We are near the end of the course: next week is Bollywood, and that wraps up the year.

I read your abstract. Do you watch soaps? You know you must indulge if you are going to write about them. You must ask your mother what she likes, and her friends. I don't think you have sisters, from memory. Better ask Nora what she thinks, for the modern woman. When is your graduation in December? Does it take place atFlinders or in the city? Do you have somewhere to stay? You are welcome here, if you don't mind a mattress in the study. We would be happy to accomodate you. Molly is very friendly: she may bark but she wont eat you. Yoyo and Merry are enjoying the warmer weather, lolling in the sun. Frisky's old bones are happy too. Have fun writing your paper.

Cheers, Christine

GRC!!

Imagining Transnational Pleasure: Foreign Soaps, Malay women and the Modern world

Women and Soap operas are universally connected. Foreign soaps significantly create a new phenomenon and become one of the ‘must watch’ television programme in the afternoon or during prime time in Malaysia. At the same time, the association of Malay women and foreign soaps become a national tension and patriarchal-hegemonic discourse, in term of absorption and appropriation of foreign cultural value in the Malay’s socio-historic-specific activity environment. Thus, this research will argue how foreign soaps construct imagining transnational pleasure and the sense of ‘modern world’ to the Malay women. In order to seek the pattern of imagining construction process, this research will use media reception-ethnographic studies in the selective rural and urban setting in Malaysia.

member baru

Walaupun member aku ni dah lama bertandang kat melbourne ni, tapi hari ni jer aku ada masa untuk bercerita tentang 'ratu air mata' ni...aku panggil dia ratu air mata sebab mak cik ni selalu jer nak menangis bila stress....entah hapa-hapa laa...nasib baik ler si erwanita tak menangis bila stress cuma keluarkan statement "I want to be a woman" jer paling kurang...keh keh keh...kutuk siket erwan...biasalah sebelum raya ni kan...anyway, member aku ni namanya Rosya...aku pon kenal dia melalui si raja aminah...dia dan suaminya datang sekitar bulan Julai yang lalu...sapa nama suami dia ek? aku cuma panggil Zack jer...tapi kalau tak silap nama dia zamzuri....a week after anak rosya pon datang....budak cicah yang comel tu...anyway, itu jer laa aku nak cerita kali ni..ada masa nanti aku ada tulis lagi...