Emil & Karl

I am always fascinated with books for children. One of the best books i've ever read last year is Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn, translated by Jeffrey Shandler. A highly recommended book set during the World War II which puts two young boys in dilemmas to escape from the harsh world of human violence. Emil- a Jewish boy and Karl, his school friend who experiences trauma of watching the Nazi dragging his mother away. They planned to leave Vienna together but are crowded onto different trains to be transported to a safer country. You can always visit http://www.amazon.com/Emil-Karl-Yankev-Glatshteyn/dp/1596431199 for more information. This is my favourite excerpt from the novel:

Emil felt cold and then warm at the thought that he was leaving Vienna. He wished he were already in the train. Karl wanted to say something but he felt Matilda's sister in law was looking at him from behind the glasses.

"You musnt cry. Those who feel like crying can remain here. In an hour you'll go by bus to the train station.If you have any friend here we advise you to write to each other, it often happens that good friends often sent to different cities, even different countries."

Once more it seemed to Karl that the woman was looking at him and Emil. The supervisors gave out pencils and pieces of paper and many of the children started writing notes.

"But there's no way they'll separate us." said Emil.
"NO way at all."Karl responded firmly. "I'll hold on to your sleeve and i won't let go. We'll stick together."
"Shall we write each other a letter?"

"I suppose so,"said Karl and he picked a pencil. He started writing,

Dear Emil,
We'll never let anyone separate us. We'll be friends forever.

Your dear friend,
Karl.

He held the letter for a while and turned to give it to Emil but Emil was still bent over his piece of paper. Tears ran down from his eyes - such big tears that the brittle piece of papers was stained in spots.
"I cant write anymore. I cant." he said to Karl, and he gave him the letter, in which he had written only the first few words:

To my only friend Karl,

I -

But the words were spotted with tears, and after the word "I" there were so many stains that the piece of paper was wet. Now Karl didnt feel ready to hand over his letter. He wanted to cover it with tears too but his eyes felt dry and hard. Matilda's sister in-law raised an old blanket that hung over the window and called out, "We're leaving!"

(Glatshteyn, 2007 from Emil and Karl, pp, 153-155)

...And so it seems for the boys. And so it seems with life. This is a touching story that teaches young and adult readers about the importance of love and the impact of discrimination. This is the time when sometimes you have to learn from the children.

Your & Yourself

For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
-Shakespeare, Sonnet 94

Yes, i definitely agree that attitude resembles your true colour; that physical beauty will remain ugly if you tend not to improve yourself.

I love this sonnet and will always will ;)

Second Day at Work

I have started my lectures but so far, of all the three classes i entered, there was only one class with students. LOL. I assume the rest is still having problems with registration :b

Back Late at Night

My housemate and i went out for dinner very late and we arrived home around 1am. Before sleeping,I decided to check my email and visit my blog, and was surprised to see comments by the viewers which proved that people still read my writing and they responded to the issues presented ;) Most of all, I would like to thank my friend Nizam for being my top follower though he knows this blog has been ignored for two years and the writer will only come back when she has a peace in mind.

Actually, i would like to share the photos taken during the Chritsmas celebration in KL last month but the server is too slow, so i only managed to upload two photos... but able to add more at last! :)

THE CASTLE SNOW WHITE
VISITED

TEA TIME

AT BURGER KING

UNDER THE HOT SUN

This is definitely not in KL, but I invested some money for the Lost World Tambun a day after flying back from KL

And KL... we're gonna miss you very soon!

New Year 2010

It's New Year Eve today. Before the clock strikes twelve, i would like to wish all my readers or fellow bloggers Happy New Year. Its unbelievable that we have reached one decade after the Y2K. Despite the tsunami and the terrifying WTC incident a few years ago, let us be grateful to Allah the Almighty for granting us good health and beloved family we have to live with, and giving us the ability to breath until today. Ten years ago, I was always wondering to myself if i could make it to 2010 since the digit is 'bigger' and i talked to my grandma about it and even counted how old we'll be in the year 2020 coz the Vision 2020 is a mission every Malaysian waiting for. Between the year 2000 to 2009, there are many things happened to me, let it be good or bad. And of course, my grandma passed away in May, 2008 and i could still remember how we bursted into laughter when we talked about how many great-grandchildren she's gonna have in the future especially when the last aunty got married. And of course, i still have my grandpa and grandma from my mother's side whom i cherish everyday.

In 2002, i was enrolled to IIUM Matriculation centre petaling Jaya and it was the place where i first struggled with study and college life and it was also the year when i met my first boyfriend. Sadly, we broke up in 2007. There was no meetings, no walking down to different directions on the day we broke up like the love story we watched in the drama series. I myself was confused why it happened but of course my life now has been fulfilled with someone else who loves me more than anything in this world.

In July, 2007, i started working as a partime lecturer in Dungun, Tganu. A very remote place you'll say, but it is the best memory i ever had. To walk on the beach, to eat at the hotel and to get the first experience teaching a class of boys! As a fresh graduate, I was so young back then, with my innocent-look that cause some boys playing naughty phonecalls to this so-called English lecturer. Who knows i then transfered to Penang in January 2008 and this enables me to visit my family in Perak more often. I know it's my mom's prayer at Mecca that makes me choose this path of life and i hope the spirit to teach won't die overtime.

Well, i hope 2010 brings me more health, wealth and happiness. I wish i could complete my postgraduate study end of this year, settle down, get married and live happily with two beautiful kids. To my late grandma, i hope you rest in peace. I'm sorry you can never see me walk side by side with my beloved man, but i ensure you he'll be taking care of me the way a gentleman will do.

With that, i close the curtain and welcome 2010 with new hope & joy.
Happy New Year everyone!

XX Peace XX

...Snow White..

How Snow White Gets Her Name

Someone sms me today for disguising myself as 'Snow WhiTe' in blogspot, for no one knows there's a story behind this nickname. Hehe. But why would anyone care for your fullname or surname since bloggers write stories about their mundane lives 2b shared in public and some even express anger and disastifaction to the boss while being so stressed up with jobs or some even had a spiteful talk about certain political parties online. In other words, with the rapid growth of the modern science and technology including the internet, all information and knowledge can be shared just by one click and this depends on the individual to perceive it as good or bad.

I love reading blogs and i respect people's view of certain topics as i believe this is the place where you can integrate your ideas with others, and you can use it as a platform to introduce your hobbies or interests of certain areas. Thus, the background of the writer is less important than the topics being posted or so it seems. ALthough nicknames are not becoming an issue for bloggers, i would say they play major roles since they usually resemble the authors' personality. And why do i call myself Snow WhiTe? Was it because my father, the King married an evil Queen who gets jealous with my skin beauty? Or i knew a brave n kind hunter who saves my life to the vicous power of the queen? And later on, adopted to the seven dwarfs family?

Definitely none of those. I choose this name because it is sweet, it reflects the purity of soul that equals to the external beauty. What is more, I love kids and usually surrounded by them.. so,i call them angels or my little dwarfs but usually an Old dwarf will often appear to guide 'Snow White' to her destination while seeking for the prince charming.

I hope this explanation is enough for my new readers to know a little bit about me. But surely knowing me in person is more interesting than reading about me alone :p

Updates!

So,i'm moving in to blogspot and enduringly bid goodbye to friendster.LOL. There are lots of things to be updated, but i never seem to have the time to write a new post. So far, life has been treating me pretty well but i just got the news that the online registration for postgraduate mixed-mode has been closed! Damn it! I didnt even know that the due date was last Christmas n i was enjoying myself too much with the BBQ party on that day to even care about registering the subject online. WHat is worse, i called USM and was asked to pay RM200 fine since i hav to register the subject manually. It serves me right 4 being so ignorant.huhu.Next January will be a tough month for me since i have to survive without much cash in hands considering the fact the fee for the new semester is around 3k. Plus, i had spent most of my partime money to pay the bills, car service, books, groceries etc. And i shopped like a mad person last November and that really puts me into deep water. I will never do such things again... (younger sisters, please dont ask me to belanja you girls anymore in any lavish restaurants,ya)

I wish i could write more, but my eyes are feeling half dead. This is the moment when i miss my pillow the most!!!

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