Home: Malaysia

Been a few weeks now i've been at home. Yeah, back in Malaysia at last. Pretty hot and humid as usual, but i really cannot stand the haze. Its unhealthy that's one thing for sure, but what's worse, it can be such a fatal road hazard, especially when you're driving. The other day i was driving when the haze were at its thickest, boy, my visibility was limited to 30 yards the most. Had no choice but to slow down and drive at the speed of a cow (afterall that is the actual cruising speed of my mom's car). The condition worsen during night time, and putting on your high-light would totally blind you off from what lies ahead.

Well enough about that now. Not that complaining about it will make the situation any better. (Just wanna give a friendly yet firm reminder to all Malaysian: Stop open burning!!!! Its bad enough that the Indonesians are doing it....)

I've been doing nothing since i last landed to be honest. I went here and there, and meet up with old friends and peers of course. Just the same old thing. Other than that, i've been busy sorting out my future, which, till now unsuprisingly, remains uncertain.

Went to my class reunion during merdeka day at Port Dickson. It was awesome. Most of my friends look and act differently: they've changed a lot. Makes me wonder why haven't i changed at all since the last time we all sat together for our last dinner at the dining hall back then in our boarding school. Ouh well, atleast i know i'll look young for a long time. hehe.

Will be boarding a flight to Miri at the end of this week. Looking foward for that trip. Planning to go to Niah cave and visit some frens there. I'll update on that on my next post.

And regarding Nevermind The Hazatsu, and my plans to go back to the UK to further my studies and everything, well, i guess i'll have to write yet another post on that later on, when i have the time and mood. For now, it's time for me to zzzzZZ.....

A boy needs 15 hours of sleep daily,........now that's scientific fact.

Gelora Jiwa - Our Latest Song

It is time for us to share our original song yet again. It's been a long wait i know, but then again, who's been waiting? This song was written by Izzy and the lyrics was written by John. As usual. This song is special because its our tribute to M, our lead vocalist, who will be leaving the band in search for a meaning in life.

Actually, he is in a difficult time in his life where he cannot possibly commit 100% for the band. So M, this is for you.

Above is the audio only version, and below is the official video clip of the song.Please watch/listen to the above video first before viewing the one below, coz trust me, we won't be able to concentrate on the song once you've seen the visual content of the clip.

Well then, enjoy and dont for get to leave a feedback or two. Make it one if u're thinking of giving a negative one. Kidding..

Graduation 06

At last, the time finally came, for our graduation. 3 of us; housemates, bandmates and classmates, it all seemed to happen too soon. We are happy of course. But more than that, we are satisfied. For we know, the past 4 years have been worth while. No. Not just for the scroll. But for the things we've learnt in life, the friendship we built, the things we did together, and of course for Nevermind The Hazatsu.....

And nevermind the congregation itself, which is nothing more than a cliche nowadays.

Symbolic. Period.

Bearing that famous flat square hat on our heads, huddling up together for that lengthy photo session, each of us knew straight away - "this is it". The end of an era is near. At that moment, how we wished that we are back at the time when we started life as a student. When it all felt like a saga; never ending and dreadful. Owh how we detested that period of our lives, and yet it was the happiest and most memorable time of all.

Congratulations to:

Haidar Burhanuddin (john or jonno)

Masters of Engineering with Honours

in Electronics Engineering

Md. Ruzwin Rusli (Wynn)

Bachelor of Engineering with Honours

in Mechanical Engineering

Iskandar Yahya (Izzy)

Errmm,... let's just say i managed to graduate

ok?

So where are we going after this? what are we gonna do? Jonno, bonded with Petronas and will be working on an oil rig somewhere in Uganda. Wynn, employed by Petronas, but not bonded. Will be heading to Kerteh, Terengganu, working on a new natural gas plant.

Me? well, to be honest, i dont even know what the future holds for me. Am i still searching? Not quite. But one thing for sure, i will always keep Nevermind The Hazatsu alive.

Millions of thanks for those who were there to support us 3 during our congregation day: Our parents, the Wilkos, and the rest who came all the way down to Octagon Centre, Sheffield for that important day. It wouldn't have been special without you guys. Below is a video clip of the day. Enjoy.

Where have you been Izzy?

Where have i been? Nobody have actually asked me that question to be honest. But i guess i owe it to myself to come up with a good explaination to my whereabout for the past...... errrmm,. let's see, i think for the past one and a half month? I am not sure, but it seems like it has been almost 2 months.

So much for my promise to keep this blog running with regular updates and all. Earlier this summer i thought i would have all the time that i need to sit and blog everyday, or atleast every week. Well, i was wrong. But not entirely. I had the time, but at the same time i never actually had the time. Errm,. doesn't make sense ay?

You see, it's summer. One have all the time in his life during summer (not those who are working though) to do all the things that one had ever dreamed of. With all the sunshine and nice weather, it's a waste to actually spend the time sitting in my room staring at the monitor typing something that nobody else but myself ever read.

Thus the answer to the very first question. I was out there. Pursuing my dream,...not. Actually I was busy golfing around in some of the most fantastic weather i ever witnessed for the past 4 years. A bit too hot for my liking though, but it was great none the less.

Went to Ireland, Scotland and the Midlands on my very first golf tour around the UK. I am so tanned due to the excessive exposure to sunlight. But i didn't care. I had the time of my life. Had never enjoyed summer this much. The golf courses here are fantastic. I've been to it all: meadowland, woodland, highland, links. All the types of courses that you can find in the EA Sports Tiger Woods video game. And of course, i went to St Andrews! Beautiful.

By last week, it started raining on and off almost everyday. The weather is unpredictable again. Looks like summer is ending. Well that explains why i am here sitting in my room, staring at the monitor and typing this post on my blog.......

And We're Back Online...

So, my final exam was finally over, and i don't have to worry about sleepless nights and cramming my head with useless formulas and equations anymore...

The last paper i sat for was "Solar and Wind Energy". Yup how boring. But i'm actually glad that it was the final paper, coz despite that i had only one day to study for it (shhhh..dont tell my mom and dad), i think i did pretty well. Dont get me wrong tho, i am not saying that i totally threw it out of the park,....its just that i think it was relatively less frustating.

And after all, Wynn and jonno sat for that same paper with me.... so we celebrated like mad right after that. The weather that day was amazing. Just look at the pic on the left.... nice and sunny. We probably get like 2-3 weeks worth of nice, breezy and sunny days per annum here in Sheffied. But beware, usually if its nice and sunny today, then its more than likely that tomorrow's weather is shitty. For the rest of the year, we face the "normal" random cycle of too cold, too grey, too windy, too wet or too bloody HOT typical English weather.

These local ppl really take advantage of the pleasant weather that day to act like a bunch of monkeys lying and rolling on the lawn, wearing just a little bit more than a pair of bikinis (of course that was quite a treat for us,..) Having said that, we actually act the same way when its snowing!!! running and rolling on the ground during a blizzard storm like orang utans making snow angles. And of course, by that time the local ppl have the pleasure of calling us monkeys.

Anyway, we are now in the process of completing our next song. It'll be uploaded pretty soon, i hope. Right now, i have to rent my robe, book my yearbook and return some seriously overdued library books...... Damn i am so gonna miss Sheffield....

Ouh but wait,.... now i have to worry about my result.... dammit......

We'll be back!

Somehow, this blog has become an unofficial site for our band, Nevermind the Hazatsu. It's purely unintentional really. And add that up to the fact that i never have anything else interesting to write about in this blog nowadays, makes it looks inevitably true that it is a dedicated band site.

But i prefer to keep this blog as flexible as possible. So, the answer is no. Turning this blog into a band site will never happen, period. It'll be a rojak blog of course, but then again, its more fun that way right?

I promise though, by early June 2006, this blog will be updated with new posts more frequently. And of course, there'll be more coverage of my boring life, my band, and my ever changing interests (which includes golfing and karting, haha).

Songs and videos. Those 2 will be the important elements of this blog. To be honest, we actually have no less than a dozen original materials yet to be published and completed, and we aim to get it done during the course of this summer.

Then again, this blog does not really attract that many visitors. So what? I'm doing this as a supplementary ego booster, and to get that "child" out of my system. Well, we all need a place to brag about things right?

Anyway, special thanks to my band members: Jonno, Wynn, M, Farid. And also some of the blog's most regular visitors: wani, nj, lubna, shizuyo, eima, my lil sis and a lot more other visitors :) You guys provided me with all the motivation needed to keep this blog running.

Well, see you guys in June then!

**The pic above was taken from kudo's fotopages. check it out!

Ariya: Yet another song.....

It was Friday night and all of us were chilling out in my room, telling stories, joking around and laughing all about (thanks Abg Bob for the drinks and snacks). We were just trying to get the edge off, for we had struggled so hard for the past 5 months doing our final year project, and at the end managed submit our report earlier that day.

Ok, so M told his story about how he scored an english chick (hail to the chief!!), and then wynn filled us with his "little" tale of circumcision experience (huhuhu, yeah the guys laughed their guts out), while me, i was just sitting against the wall smiling, listening to guys talking and strumming random riffs on my beloved yamaha.

Then it came to John's turn to come up with something. John,(somehow known as Jonno in this blog) to our surprise, opened up to us about his love life! Well not exactly his love life, but he did share about his all time High School crush! And all this while we'd never thought that John could fall for a girls.

Anyway, her name was Ariya, short for Nurul Ariya Sulaiman (yup, that's her real name). They went to the same high school, and were classmates for exactly 5 years. John told us how he'd fallen for her since day one, but only had the balls to open up and confess his feelings when they were in Form 4. But yeah, like he said, "love can be bitter". He was unjustly rejected and turned down, like a sack of unwanted mouldy potatoes (hehe, sorry jon). But really, i dont think i wanna to go to all the details on how it all happened. It was too sadistic.

But heck, the guys laughed out loud at his story anyway! Not me though, for it all sounded too familiar. John's story of an unrequited love reminded me of my own experience in the past, almost too similar, especially the agony and rapture one's heart had to endure for atleast another 3 years (or maybe less than a year, depends on how long it takes before the next girl come into picture).

Whilst John was rambling about Ariya, i was plucking a spontaneous riff, unaware of what i was actually playing. It was almost fate, because that riff created an atmosphere that reflected John's feeling. We all felt it. I didn't have to say much; i went like "Jon, siapkan lyric la terus", and he understood me straight away. The other guys got on their feet too, and we worked on the song throughout the night.

So that was how "Ariya", our latest song, was written. The picture above is Ariya's actual picture that i nicked from John's pc, and below is their class picture (john, sorry for the pics, tell me if you want them taken off).

Well then, enjoy the song. Below is the video clip of the song, produced by John. Song was written by Izzy and lyrics by John. Performed and recorded by Nevermind the Hazatsu.
(For best listening experience, listen through your headphone at full volume, lying down at the park staring endlessly at the sky...)

P/S: ok, we'll try to record other non-"indo"-esque song next time :)

New Song: "Puteri"

Ok, due to the increasing demand from my pals, i've decided to upload another song here (Jon, Sheila and Ajib - this is for you guys). This song is from our latest demo, and it is called "Puteri". Credit to our bassist, Jon, for producing a really nice lyric for the song. Do listen to the song embeded below and give me some feedback. I'm sure there's still room (a lot of) for improvements. Anyway, another song is due to be uploaded soon. So give us a peek in a few days (or weeks, maybe months).


** I am deeply sorry if this post is too faggot-ishly pink! Just trying to set up the mood for the song :)
(by the way, i think pink is the "in" thing now. Well, atleast it is here in UK)

My Scented Candle

The latest song that i've written - "My Scented Candle". Its a song dedicated especially to my beloved Wani. You light up my life for the past 3 years, and i really appreciate it. This song is about how much effort you've put in and how much sacrifices that you had to make, so that things work out between us. And I want to acknowledge that.

I wish we could spend more time together, for i dont think i've given enough. Its funny, how we only miss and cherish something that is not there anymore and out of reach. If only i could....... ah, nevermind, no more promises.
**Click here to listen to the song** or scroll down to view the video slide show.

My Scented Candle

Loving you,
I can never imagine my life without us two,
Losing you,
Now that's something I can never believe is true.

The journey's ending,

Now look into my eyes,

You're the only one I trust.

In my room,

The darkness is creeping splitting my heart in two,

Then you came by,

Burning yourself to guide me with your light.

Tonight I'm falling,

Deeper by your side,

You're my scented candle,

You are my candle light,

You are my scented candle....

I'm running, I'm holding, I'm living on your light,

You're smiling, You're loving, You're giving all your life...

I'll never know,

What's it like to give without looking back,

But I believe,

God will set you free and make your day so bright,

Tonight I'm falling, Deeper by your side,

You are my scented candle....

I'm running, I'm holding, I'm living on your light,
You're smiling, You're loving, You're giving all your life...

Rescue me, I know you tried.....

Now I can see, with all your light.....

"My Scented Candle" - The video slide show:

**Sorry, video was shut down due to copyright issues...

Sheffield@Gig 2006: The Review

Ok, first of all it has been 2 months since my last post, and in particular, this gig review took me forever. Why is that? Coz I couldn't be bothered and that i was extremely occupied for the past 2 months... projects, job hunting and interviews, assignments, sleep, video games... so you can see where i'm coming to right? i was just plain lazy..

But then enough about that, let's move on and talk about the gig. It all started at half past 6pm at the Broomhall Community Centre, Sheffield, with an opening act by "BANDung", a band from Manchester . They played some really awesome songs, including "Best of You" and "All my Life" by Foo Fighters. Din, the vocalist, incredibly produced one hell of a drive in his vocal... with Dave Grohl-esque tone, he's a serious killer vocalist of the day that's for sure. But its a shame that their band was first in the line up, so most of the crowd weren't fully pumped up yet to really layan the show.

Then came a band from....... ah damn, i forgot,. arrghh, dang, fuck it. I dont think i'm bothered enough to write the whole review, not even for my own band. But then again, the gig website is still active with reviews and videos from the event, so you all can always have a peek there.


Really sorry to dissappoint you guys with this crappy review, and afterall, i dont think anybody would read this anyway, this happens when you leave your blog stagnanted for 2 months kan? yeah i suppose so.

But above all, all i can say about the gig is that it was damn awesome and seriously can be the best event for me this whole year. Special thanks to all the Sheffield@Gig crew, great job guys. Below are some videos of our band playing at the gig. For videos of other bands, try search for "Sheffield gig" at www.youtube.com

**All pictures of the gig in this post was taken from the Sheffield@Gig website

Our band is playing live!!

Indeed, this is a very peculiar name for a band. Hailing from Sheffield, they love playing any kind of music that they find enthralling, ranging from ear-shattering metal to mellow acoustic soul - this is what happens when each band member has a different musical interest. It is really hard to describe the vibe they exude as a band, which can be quite unpredictable and hypnotic, yet impossible to stop any hip-shaking from listening to the melodies they play.

Formed two years ago by guitar fiend Baitak, Nevermind The Hazatsu has evolved through various line-up changes, and seen some good times as well as hard times. So much has happened with the band yet they have not been forgotten by the Malaysian student band scene in Sheffield. Currently, the band also includes Wynn on guitar, M on vocals, Yamin on bass and Farid on the drums. After a few successful homemade demos, they are now ready to perform live at The GIG @ Sheffield. Be prepared for some serious sedation.....
- Taken from TheSheffieldGig Website Promo.

Visit The Sheffield Gig website!
kl

Another lame session.

Just came back from Holland. And everybody was totally knackered. Except for me and win, who were still up and energetic (probably still high on weed? hehehe, yeah right). So we decided to have an hour of strumming and screaming, just the two of us. And as lame as it was, it is even more lame for us to record the session and show it here to everyone with internet access.

I know maybe there are too many videos here already,. but then what the heck,. its not like i have anything interesting to write about in here anyway, not like how i used to be; very academic and serious about stuff and facts. I think i am growing older and and at the same time growing more immature. I bet most of the ppl who are close to me would agree with me on that. :D

So here goes, me and win covering a song by Disagree, called "Crumbs"

Amsterdam; The visit.

The last paper i sat for was a total nightmare; Fuel cell construction and application, with the kinematics of hybrid cars, such a load of crap. I studied my ass off for it, but still, i dont think i could do anything right at all. For what hell's worth, i'm just glad that it was finally over and that i could look foward to a few days of lazying around,...and ouh before i forget, looking foward to my well planned out trip to Holland!!!

It was only for 3 days and we only managed to step foot on Rotterdam and Amsterdam, but we really had fun. There were 4 of us altogether on that trip and we went there on a cruise!! how posh is that? Seriously, once i stepped inside the main deck, i really thought for a while that i was in a 5 star hotel, back in the early 20th century, hehehe. Felt like Jack going onboard of The Titanic.

Rotterdam is nice place with really intriguing architechture, while Amsterdam, yeah, aside from those lame tulip gardens and museums, it's a place of unrestricted liberation of human rights, or should i say "human desire"? with drugs and sex combining together as one, its a surprise how the local authority could manage to keep the city intact, as one of the most civilized and lowest crime rate in Holland (am i right? i dont know read it from sumwhere) and they claimed that amsterdam has the lowest rate of hard-drug addicts needing rehabilitation.

It really makes me wonder. But then again, i still believe that one day places like Amsterdam will definitely fall into crumbs, it's just a matter of time. I also wondered, how Amsterdam ended up like how it is right now, with all the protitutions, drugs and homosexual activities. It turns out that Amsterdam used to be one of the main Port and camps for Soldiers during the World Wars, especially the Navy.

So for those navy who just came back from months onboard a battleship, and survived the battle or whatever, would need to fullfill their sexual needs, and hence, prostitution had became a very big business ever since. To me, i think its more than just fullfilling their sexual needs and drugs and everything, its more of how they celebrate life. I mean they just came back from some really fierce battle and most of them had had near death experience or whatever. So they had to celebrate it.

If u ask me, the more appropriate way of celebrating is by returning to the true path of religion, and be thankful to god and to repent all your sins. I mean, even a 12 year old kid would know that. Ouh well, different ppl, has different ways of seeing things, but as for me, it was just nice to see the lifestyle over there, very open and liberated. Not much in a good way though.

Having said all this, i feel like a hypocritical moron, since i just graduated from "Cannabis College" in Amsterdam during my stay there. hehehe.











Infront of Cannabis College, upon
registration and orientation.
























After successfully graduated from
Cannabis College.













=====================================================================

Another of Jon's artwork. What can i say, he's very talented and his head is never dry out of idea juices. Pretty nice ay?

What we did during our exam week.....

It was 01:00 hours, cladded in my fav pj and snugly slippers, was bored to death and couldn't focus in my studies. Darn i needed a break, and i wanted other ppl to stop studying too. hehehe.

Knocked every bedroom door and harassed everybody else in the house (da famous 15 Wilkinson St) into doing sum time wasting.

And the resulting outcome is this:

And we jammed throughout the night till 05:30 hours, and my next door neighbour went absolutely bezerk! what do you expect? its the exam week!!!

p/s: before i forget, credit to the cameraman, Mr M. hehe nice job

That's it. No point hoping....

OK, so that's it. I think i'm prepared to accept the fact that The Red Devils are out of the title race in the premeirship, yet again. Well atleast there's the second place to look foward to. And yeah there's always FA Cup and Carling Cup..(though it's reasonable to be doubtful if they can even reach the finals)...

A note for Sir Alex : Get rid of those stupid so called utility players like O'shea and Fletcher..
It's about time u bring in some "real" players laaaa.... no more Academy graduates pleaseee..