#1: KL - Youth Challenge 2011 through my eyes

Mood : full

Assalamualaikum and hello awesome people of the net~! I don't need to wish you happy Ramadhan, since we have about 5 days left anyway.. so I'm gonna wish you Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri instead~ wheeee!~ =D

don't ask me where my raya mood is tho, coz I seriously don't know.. I still haven't purchased any dress for the coming festive celebration yet.. I'm thinking of going red this year, we'll see how la, depends on the design of the dress.. this is a lazy excuse for me to delay my purchase until a day before raya and the prices drop like, dirt cheap.. haha.. hoping so.. but seriously, don't follow my example, it's better to prepare early.. hoho~ ^^

so anyway, this blog update is about my experience being in a 9 day competition called Youth Challenge 2011 which was held from 6th till 14th August 2011 in 3 different states in Malaysia; KL, Sarawak and Johore.. each team have to complete different entrepreneurial challenges at each and every venue, and the best teams will move on while some would be eliminated and have to return home..

my team from UUM which consists of the super loud me, my super awesome senior SIFE UUM member Aaron and my super cute classmate Affratt, made it all the way to finals, and we got 3rd place from 13 teams that competed in this competition! yay us!~ ALHAMDULILLAH... ^^ so what kind of challenge did we do, what did we experience?.. well, sit back and enjoy the ride!~

for this post, I'm going to share only on 1 venue first, as I have a lot to share with you guys.. it's a freaking long competition weih, 9 days! so bear with me okay?.. I'm gonna love you guys for it! ^^

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6th August - 9th August : Kuala Lumpur

me and my team decided to gather at KL Central before we made our way to UTM KL, which is, well, somewhere in KL ftw super obvious kot?.. I made my way there from my sisters house in Setapak, hauling my luggage and backpack while fighting through the crowd in the LRT.. overkill, I know, LOL.. my sis, Intan, accompanied me to KL Central as well.. I got there around 11.30am, and texted both my team members.. Aaron was from....... errr, I forgot from which part of KL... and Affratt was coming up from Malacca.. everyone got to KL Central by 12.30pm and we decided to find our way to UTM KL by riding the LRT to Kampung Baru.. once there, we took a cab which costs around RM8..

we got there around 1.30pm.. at the hostel area, which looks like an awesome flat btw, we couldn't find any place or any one from the committee to register and check in to our rooms.. we just walked around aimlessly with our huge luggage while the students there looked at us like we were aliens.. not cool man, NOT COOL.. luckily we bumped into some cute guys who were from UTM and were participating in the challenge as well.. we made a few phone calls and were told to wait at the lobby of block A..

after 10minutes, one of the AJK's came and gave us our keys, told us to go and rest, and come down for a briefing at 4pm.. I apparently have a roommate, Adila from AIU, who had checked in earlier that day.. so it was cool... I went to my room and washed up and slept for an hour, BEST SLEEP EVER! let me remind you, it was Ramadhan, and it was a hot day..

came down for briefing, but turns out it wasn't gonna happen since there were still some teams who hadn't arrive yet, so the committee decided to postpone it to later at night.. and I was like, whatever.. so we chilled out and hang out at the cafe, chatting with the team from UTM.. man, they were super cute! and super young!~ sigh, cannot flirt with em, they're even calling me sis.. bahahaha~ anyway, they offered to take my team and me to a nearby Ramadhan bazaar at 6pm so we went out afterwards..

oh BTW, throughout my whole stay in KL, I was wearing a striking yellow shoe ftw!~ bahahaha!~ talk about attention seeker.. no la, I was at Uptown the other night and I fell in love with this shoe and I had to have it.. so this is kinda like, THE JOURNEY OF THE GIRL WITH YELLOW SHOES FTW!~ XD

after Iftar and prayers, we had the briefing and ice breaking session, we really had to break a huge ice ftw (kidding.. LOL) where we had to do chicken dance (so lame) and do games with red, yellow and green balls ftw, and then something about a cooking show.. childish games btw, but whatever.. there were 13 teams from 8 different government and private institutions; UUM, UTM, USM, Al-Bukhary International University (AIU), Binary College, SEGI College, 3 teams from UMP, 2 from Curtin University Sarawak, and 2 from Politeknik Ungku Omar (PUO).. so you can actually imagine the noise we made there, so yeah.. ^^

we weren't told what the first challenge was gonna be during the night but the committee members texted and gave a tip to all the teams, bring empty luggage.. hmmmm, wonder what they meant by that.. everyone gathered at the hall the next morning with their empty luggage bag and we were then told of what the challenge was.................... DIRECT SELLING AND TRADING.. okay, I admit, I saw this one coming.. we were going to be given 3 cartons of fruit drinks from one of the event sponsors and we have to sell them to make money.. from the money, we have to buy something else and sell that too.. then at the end of the challenge, we have to present to a panel of judges about our profits, sales and marketing strategy..

great, selling drinks during fasting month.. super kejam la the committee members kan?.. sigh~ but we went head on anyway.. the 13 teams were separated into 2 groups, one sent to Bukit Bintang area and another to Dataran Merdeka area.. both groups have to switch places on the next day.. so UUM had to start selling at Bukit Bintang (BB) first.. it came as a relief when we found out about it, coz it means there's more traffic there as it's very famous among the tourist.. I thought it would be easy for us to sell our drinks to people there, but I thought wrong! sigh~

so let's start! we were dropped off at Berjaya Times Square shopping complex and made our way to BB.. it's so damn far, plus hauling the luggage wasn't that fun, and under the scorching sun I might add! once we arrived, we set up shop in front of Maybank and BB Monorail station and started selling.. I don't think it's hard to do direct selling but it needs a lot of courage, especially when you're just beginning.. I have had experience in the past of doing direct selling, but it took me a day to adapt to the whole approach-people-then-get-rejected-by-them thing.. and sadly, this competition wasn't anything different from that..

we even did the sandwich board thing, the thing Aff is wearing on his body in the picture above, to attract people to come and buy our drinks.. some were okay, purchased them without asking much, some rejected us without hesitation.. our strategy was to approach tourists and non-Muslims, since they weren't fasting and able to drink upon purchase.. we were doing great and all, walking around and shouting to get attention of passerby within the vicinity.. we sold our 1st carton in a matter of minutes and were feeling pumped and excited..

then came the bad news.. we were forced to leave the area by DBKL peeps who said we weren't allowed to do business there as it was without permit.. I was like, wth? this morning during briefing the committee members informed us that DBKL is aware of the competition and there shouldn't be any problems with em.. then today?... sigh~

so we packed up our stuff and left for Times Square.. we chilled for a while, since it was hot and we were tired, so we planned our next move and what to purchase for our 2nd day tomorrow at Dataran Merdeka.. after about 15 minutes of rest, we went back to work and sold our drinks at the Times Square bus stop.. it was wayyyyyyy harder to sell there compared to BB, but we tried our best.. I even wore the sandwich board ftw but I'm not gonna load any pictures of that for you to see haha.. =P

we called it a day around 5.30pm as Aff was already dehydrated and tired from all the heavy lifting and talking.. me?.. luckily my period came and made it possible for me to drink and replenish my energy from time to time.. but it was a very tiring day, and we just wanted to go back and rest.. we departed back to UTM hostel after all the teams returned to the meeting point at 6pm.. the agenda that night was preparing slides for tomorrows presentation..btw, for the first day, we managed to sell 2 cartons, wohooo!~

second day of the KL challenge, we were sent to Dataran Merdeka to continue our selling.. but now, the trading begins!.. with the money earned from selling the drinks, which was around RM150++, me and Aff went to Mydin to buy canned vanilla cokes, lycee drinks as well as a container to ice our drinks and tissue paper to sell..

we set up shop at Dataran Merdeka and managed to sell our chilled drinks compared to those selling without ice.. but AGAIN, we were forced to leave the area by DBKL claiming we didn't have a permit for it.. in my heart was like, %$(#@!! but my teammates pushed on and didn't want to give up so we walked all the way from dataran to Masjid Jamek to Masjid India to SOGO, under the heat of the sun and the heavy lifting of our luggage.. luckily, we had an extra helping hand, a committee member, Hussaini dressed in green..

upon arrival to our last stop, we saw that there was traffic at the LRT Ampang line to and from SOGO shopping complex so we started selling there.. and BINGO! we hit a jackpot! the people there were more easier to persuade and we used up all our charm and managed to sell EVERYTHING we bought, alhamdulillah.. some even gave us money just to help us out, may Allah bless your soul in this holy month of Ramadhan.. ^^

but it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns there.. some gave remarks saying they were fasting and don't want to purchase our drinks.. we sometimes had a hard time in persuading the Malays there since it was the fasting month.. but some supported us, especially when we told them we were in a competition and we needed to sell to ensure we make it to the next stage.. my target of customers were usually those aged 25-50 or above, or those with families coz they tend to have a softer heart compared to those who were still single.. Aaron had a hard time closing deals since the demographics there were Malays so what we did was, he'd stop a potential customer then me or Aff or the both of us would come and help close.. usually I managed to help close for him, which was great for us!.. Aff had a different age and gender target (LOL) but I have no objections coz he'd be able to close the deal with a majority of his targets.. ^^

Once we got back from our super exhausting day of selling and persuasion, we wasted no time and started calculating our sales and profits, prepared our slides and everything.. it was one of the most tiring day of my life, but we trudge forward to ensure we make it to the next level.. luckily it was a presentation that we had to do, which is ehem ehem a bonus for me and Aaron coz we were SIFE UUM presenters and are awesome with crapping.. so yeah.. we showcased our results for the two days of selling and trading, plus our appeal, to plead, to persuade the judges to take us to Sarawak for the next stage.. we didn't go all pro with our presentation, me being the head ninja of UUM, Aaron being Aaron Potter and Aff being Prof. X.. we cracked a few smiles and giggles from our presentation, which kept it interesting enough for the panel and observers as well..

after all the 13 teams had presented, around 1am, 6 teams were called into the boardroom and announced that they made it to Sarawak.. and yes, we were NOT one of the teams.. =( Aff was going on and on about us losing, about packing up our bags and getting ready to go back, but I had this feeling at the pit of my stomach that we were going to the Sarawak.. I just hoped I could trust my gut instinct..

the remaining 7 teams were called into the boardroom and 3 would be venturing to the next level.. the panel started off with congratulating everyone and said we did a good job, but being in a competition, eliminations were needed blablablabla wasn't really focusing.. but I noticed how his eyes would dart back to UUM from time to time with a mischievous kind of smile.. hehe, I figured it out but held my tongue and put on a mask.. Aff was so nervous and so certain that our journey ended there, that you could see the lost of hope from his eyes.. Aaron was 50-50, but I was certain..

"Team no 5 from UUM, please step forward.."said En Zaidi, the judge..we took the step..

"you guys did a great job for this challenge and you should feel proud of your achievements, however as you know, eliminations must happen in a competition like this.. so I would like to ask you to please pack your bags, we will give you 15 minutes to pack everything, and please............." dramatic pause....

"pack your bags and come with us to Sarawak!" =D

see, I told you it was predictable.. but being an awesome actress ftw haha penipu, I put my face in my hands and showed the best acting of happy disbelief you could ever hoped for.. but again, Alhamdulillah, we made it! Aff and Aaron were hugging each other and the other teams and committee members clapped for us and congratulated us..

but sadly, the other teams weren't as lucky.. from the 6 teams in the board, only 2 will remain in the game and the other 4 would be eliminated.. towards the end of the night, we had to say goodbye to the teams from USM, PUO, UMP and UTM (the cute guys! ='( ) it was a bitter victory, as well as a close call for us.. the 9 teams moving into the next stage were AIU, UUM, SEGI, Binary, PUO, 2 teams from Curtin and 2 teams from UMP..

if you actually assessed our team, from the sales and profit point of view, we would have lost.. at least, that's what I think anyway.. coz the guys from UTM actually had RM80++ in profit while we only had RM30++.. in my opinion, we made it to the next stage due to our skills in presentation, not to mention our emotional appeal and downright crapping that me and Aaron are so good at.. so I personally think the judges were captivated and wanted to see how we'd do in Sarawak.. good news for us tho, but after the announcement, we said to each other, "we have to go all out and do our goddamnbest in Sarawak, no excuses!"

but for now, let's enjoy our victory! ^^

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so there you have it, the first stage of the challenge from my eyes.. it was okay, I learned to approach and sell drinks to people, and not take it to heart when they rudely say no, so overall it wasn't that bad..

I'll continue with Sarawak soon, then Johor! can't wait to share with you guys.. but till then, take care awesome peeps! ^^

of life and death

Mood : hungry

Assalamualaikum and hello fellow blog readers..

this is a rather solemn post, for my university, UUM, is currently mourning the loss of two hospitality students who died in a car accident last Monday morning.. the horrifying accident happened not far from UUM's main gate, near the junction towards EDC Hotel at 7am in the morning..

7am, most of the people in Malaysia is still in bed, or is getting ready to go to work, making breakfast for the kids or rushing out the door to clock in for the day.. and during all this hustle and bustle of life, two Chinese students had their last breathe of air, as their souls leave their bodies forever.. how fragile is the human life?.. the answer is very fragile..

I don't want to go into details as to how the accident happened, as there were many speculations from many different people.. I also don't want to reveal to you the two Chinese students who died in the accident, as I am not a friend of either girls and I have no right to do so.. but feel free to search on the world wide web to find out about the accident..

my heart goes out to the family of the two girls.. rest in peace my friends.. I might not have known you, but I feel like I'm connected to you.. I might have passed by next to you on my way to class, or stand behind you in line to buy food at lego cafe, or sat on the table in front of you at the library, I wouldn't know, but I want to thank you, for being a part of my university life.. your presence is felt by all your friends in UUM, so thank you for the memories.. =') Rest In Peace..

reminder to everyone else, don't let this happen to you.. ='(

what I can say is, as an advice to those who drive any type of car or vehicle, manual or automatic or semi or whatever la, PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN DRIVING.. life is full of risks, and driving out to buy nasi lemak is also a risk.. so please, please please please be careful ya darlings?.. I really don't want anything bad to happen to you.. ='(

they say life is short, so live life to the fullest.. they say living is hard but dying is easy, so don't take any chances.. be careful and carefree.. take calculated risks, don't dive head first into anything without assessing the perimeter.. YOU can make a difference..

when you fall off your horse, it's called an accident

Mood : bruised

Assalamualaikum and hello awesome peeps!..

it's currently mid semester holidays here in UUM, so the roads and walkways are pretty much empty, what's left are upturned rubbish cans raided by monkeys and plastics of dried leaves.. being a person who's mostly busy all the time (eceh, mengalahkan menteri la kau), finding an escape from my daily activities just to go horse riding is super hard.. that's why when I got a call from my horse riding trainer on Thursday, I flipped!.. it is the holidays so I'm free, no classes and no current responsibilities, well, except for sleeping till 12pm.. hehehe..

so on Friday morning at 8.30am, I drove my mums car to the Equine Center in UUM.. my trainer, Abg Wan greeted me with stable chores, his way of punishing me for not coming to train for 3 months.. sorry Abg Wan!.. (^^,) so around 9am, I groomed and saddled up Prince, one of the biggest horse in the stable.. okay, I was worried at first.. 3 months without training and riding a new horse that I never rode on before, that's kind of scary.. but my trainer was quite confident with me, so I just followed..

after 15 minutes, I got on Prince and headed down to the paddock.. was I nervous?.. hell yeah!.. Prince's head is huge, and he weighs a damn lot!.. but I stayed calm.. once I got in the paddock, I started walking and trotting, getting the feel of riding a horse again.. it felt so good, and so free!! missed the feeling so so much.. (^^,)

okay fine, this is not me, but you get what I mean.. hehehe.. I wore a helmet btw, much safer..

after 30 minutes of trotting, my trainer told me to canter, horse version of running.. I had cantered before, but on other smaller horses, so I was worried.. he gave me some pointers and I was on my way, cantering.. and it felt AWESOME!! XD Prince's canter was nice and flows well with my body, I felt like flying.. I did have a bit of problem in controlling the reins, but other than that, it went well..

disaster happened when I stopped to pause for a breath.. the whip I was holding accidentally hit Prince and he started to canter.. it's not suppose to scare me, since I know how to sit and balance myself during a canter, but my feet weren't in the styrup, making me loose my balance.. I panicked like hell, the horse still cantering on, turning into a fast gallop.. I forgot everything about horse riding at that moment, forgot that all I had to do was sit up and pull the reins I had in my hands which would make the horse stop.. all I could do at that moment was pray that I don't fall off, pray that the horse would just stop.. I did the only thing I could think of to prevent myself from falling - hug Prince's neck..

I held on to Prince's neck tightly, my body moving up and down in sync with the horse's fast gallop.. I could hear in the distance, my trainer shouting something, his voice sounded alarmed.. I couldn't make out what he said, all I could hear was my heart, beating fast in my chest.. my grip on Prince's neck was starting to loosen, and I know I'd be kissing the ground soon.. the only thing I could do was pray.. "Ya Allah, please save me, don't let me fall, don't let me break any bones.."

but you know how life is, sometimes you need to fall to know the meaning of success.. or stuff.. hehehe.. so that's where I had my first fall from a horse.. I've been bitten and had my foot stepped on by horses, so it was time for me to feel my first fall from grace.. eh, I mean horse.. =P

loosing my balance on the left side, I fell somewhat like this..

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II

my body flew on the left side of the horse, tumbling in the air and landing on my right hip in the sand, faced up towards the sky.. hey look, the sky is actually BLUE!.. I never knew.. =p Prince continued on with his canter, jumping over me (which was SUPER SCARY) and kicking my left leg at the shins.. ala, betis kiri la.. something like the picture below..

see the guys left leg?.. the back left foot of the horse as it jumped pass him must have hit him in the shins there, so I'm guessing the guys bones are probably broken.. the same thing happened to me, only my shin bone is not broken, just bent a bit.. it's still sore as hell, so is my hip, but Alhamdulillah, no broken bones.. (^^,)

once I was on the ground, I couldn't get up.. the pain in my right hip was a bit unbearable, giving me a sharp stabbing sensation.. Prince stopped cantering a few meters away, after realizing that the rider was missing.. my eyes were closed, trying to stop the pain, but I blinked a bit, trying to get the sand out of my eyes, thus catching a glimpse of my trainer walking towards me.. I pulled myself together, hoping that the pain will go away.. a few seconds later, my trainer was calling to me, so I looked up to find my trainer with Prince in his hands.. he asked if I was alright and if I could walk..

so I stood up, trying to balance myself.. okay, I'm fine, I can stand, nothing broken.. my trainer said I didn't look pale, which is a good sign, and asked if I could ride again, which I answered yes.. well, that was before I tried to walk.. my balance was off and I almost fell.. I got dizzy and saw the trees and sand and everything in very bright colours.. woahh, Prince's butt is HOT!!.. hahaha.. my trainer instructed me to go sit near the railing while he demonstrated the correct way to sit during a canter.. he explained why I fell, which was because my body was lunged forward signaling to the horse to go faster.. if I sat straight, the horse would have gone slower and eventually stopped.. he assured me that my fall wasn't bad, it wasn't like the horse was trying to throw me off, it was because I lost my balance.. whatever the cause was, I'm still thankful that I didn't suffer any serious injuries or broken bones.. Alhamdulillah.. (^^,)

my trainer in front riding Prince, the horse I fell off from.. he's HUGE man..

currently I'm resting and nursing my injuries.. my right hip has gotten worse tho, I can't sneeze or laugh without feeling pain.. I hope this goes away soon, it's super hard for me to make jokes if I can't laugh right.. and my left shin is getting better, but it's still sore.. and there's a dent in my shin bone, it's no longer straight, which is kinda cool when you run you fingers through them, you can feel the curve.. hahaha.. I mean, think about it.. how many people with bent shins from a horse kicking it do you know?.. so I fall in the AWESOMELY COOL category.. hahaha.. ehem, but don't go getting weird ideas and getting yourself a dent too okay?..

last but not least, I would like to thank my family - my mum and my sisters - who have been helping me to get better.. thanks for getting stuff for me, and also refilling my ice bag, you guys rock! =D and thanks to those who cared on Facebook and calling and messaging me on the phone, you guys are awesome too!.. (^^,) no worries, I'll get my leg and hip x-rayed on Monday, just to make sure everything is okay, kay?..

I assure all of you, this is NOT the end of my horse riding days.. I will continue once my injuries are healed, so worry you not.. hahaha.. besides, I'm no quitter.. later awesome peeps!! (^^,)

p/s : all pictures, except the last one, belongs to Mr Google..

the challenges of being ME..

Mood : Sick

Assalamualaikum and good evening dear peeps.. first and foremost, I would like to wish all the Muslims out there, Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadan and Happy Fasting!.. *(^^,) I know it's quite late to be wishing, since today is actually the 5th day of Ramadan, but heck, we have 25 more days to go!.. so who cares right?.. (^^,) and I'd also like to give a quick shout out to my Chinese friend, Yu Yinhui, for attempting to fast and actually fasted for 1 whole day!.. CONGRATULATIONS YINHUI!..

I'm pretty much sure you guys are bored with this excuse, but really, I'm really truly sorry, I have been really busy and was unable to update my blog.. been busy with student life, being a SIFEr, being a daughter, and being a friend.. fuhh, so tiring, but I enjoyed every bit of it!.. =)

I wanted to upload a whole bunch of photos for you guys to watch, the progress of my great life.. but sadly, I'm unable to since I'm only using my net book and all my photos are not in here.. hehe.. but no worries, I'll try to upload them soon on Facebook.. so for those who want to know my whereabouts, don't hesitate to add me on Facebook ya!.. just find, Najmie Kamisan.. oh, and please inform me if you're my blog reader.. thanks!

anyway, here's a picture of me at DYMM Panglima Besar Tuanku Puteri Intan Syafinaz, the daughter of Sultan Kedahs birthday.. yeah, I can't upload the picture I took with her yet, have to mark it first.. but do enjoy these!.. =P

me with my youngest sister, Wahida..

what I wore for the dinner event..

it's not that much, but it's something, right?.. and here are some random pictures of me, copied from my Facebook site.. these pictures were mostly from other peoples camera lenses.. so, thanks for the pictures everyone! =)

celebrating Venus and Irene's birthday at Lakeview Bistro, UUM..

the trip to Gua Kelam with fellow SIFErs, Yi Chin, Dawson, Aaron and Aevin..

SIFE UUM Innovation in Entrepreneurship Seminar 2010, where I was the Master of Ceremony, hence the papers in my hand..

Perlis Endurance Challenge 2010, with the avid horse lovers and crew members!

SIFE UUM National Exposition 2010 presentation during SIFE Information Day..

Najmie Kamisan, proud presenter for SIFE UUM!

there are more, but I'm so lazy to load them all here.. just add me on Facebook and you can see all them pictures till you puke your guts out!.. hahahaha..

ugh, talking about puke, I nearly lost my 3rd day of fasting due to an outreach programme under SIFE UUM.. long story short, I nearly vomited from the bad smell of 3 week old fish gravy covered with maggots and worms.. yuck! (>w<) the family that we helped were old people living alone in a secluded area and was recently attacked with food poisoning.. when we saw the kitchen, we knew why, hence the outreach programme..

and due to this project, I am now suffering from slight flu and fever, coughing, sore throat, a runny nose and a backache due to extensive cleaning and exposure to polluted air.. so yeah.. I'm sick.. I didn't go to class for the whole day.. but I did go to the clinic and got myself a medical leave for today.. hope I recover fast.. uhukuhuk~

pray for my health ya awesome peeps!.. and you guys should also take care of yourself.. it's the flu season, so drink lots of water during sahur and bathe in cool water before 5pm.. Insyaallah you'll be fine..

alright, I'm off.. got to get ready to give a team briefing tonight to people who want to be RM1000 richer from SIFE UUM Exposition 2010.. oh, and also breaking my fast, or Iftaar with my fellow SIFErs and committee members.. so, LATER AWESOME PEEPS~~ (^^,)

the awesomeness of my life that doesn't seem to stop! =D

Mood : hyped!

Assalamualaikum awesome peeps, good evening!.. wow, it's been a while since I updated.. been so freaking busy, that my blog has been neglected.. so pity dear blog.. ='( don't worry, I'm here to make up for lost time.. I'll share with you guys on my experience on being a DJ for UUMs very own radio, Uniutama.fm..

it was never my dream to become a DJ, I just liked to talk.. I can talk and talk nonstop, especially if there's a microphone in my hand.. =DD so what better why to train yourself to talk other than being a DJ, am I right?.. (^^,)

I was lucky to join the DJ Audition which was done early this semester by the broadcasting club in UUM.. I was a bit nervous during the audition, but Alhamdulillah, I made it trough!.. so now, meet your very own, DJ AMY from Uniutama.fm - Informasi Minda Anda!

okay fine, I look a bit chubby, so what?..

it's still CUTE!!

bahahahaha~ perasan lah kau najmie.. =P

these pictures were taken on my first day as DJ on the radio, for the Culture and Language slot.. truthfully, I was nervous as hell before I went online, but calmed myself down with songs and blab and blab non stop!.. hahaha.. being a DJ is cool and awesome!~~ =DD

my work station, in front of a laptop and microphone, wrapped in my shawl.. the room was freaking cold!.. ~(>_<)~

during my first On Air time, my mum was there with me to give me moral support.. thanks mum!.. hence the pictures!.. if not, there would be no picture.. hehe.. =P I have been entrusted to conduct 2 slots, 'Destination' every Monday from 2pm to 3pm, and 'Culture & Language' every Thursday from 2pm to 3 pm.. on Monday I have a co-DJ, DJ Darius Kamil from Indonesia while Thursdays are done solo.. oh oh, I forgot to tell you!.. both of my slots are in English!.. ain't it COOL?.. =D

I usually do a bit of research on topics that I want to talk about during my On Air time, so that I don't sound too cocky and stumble on my words when I speak on the mic.. but if I were unable to do early research, I can just use the computer in the room to search on the internet.. cool eh?.. =) and all the songs that I play are determined by me, which usually means, quite a handful of Korean songs.. =DD

DJ AMY in the house!!..

~\(^o^)/~

and guess what awesome peeps?.. you guys can listen to me LIVE! on our website, http://uniutamafm.uum.edu.my!.. just click on the Listen Now! tab at the bottom of the website and pick your choice of player, and straight away you can hear it LIVE!.. but yeah, the website is still under some maintenance, so it's still currently offline.. but the moment the website is up and running, you'll be the first to know! (^^,)

so that's it for now.. but I still have loads of interesting things to share with you guys, like:-

1) being invited to dinner from Tan Sri Nordin Kardi, ex-Vice Cansellor of UUM, who is currently living in the house in front of mine,

2) the dinner and birthday celebration of DYMM Panglima Besar Tuanku Puteri Intan Syafinaz, the daugther of the Sultan of Kedah,

3) SIFE Information Day of SIFE UUM,

3) 1 Innovation Seminar organized by SIFE UUM where I became the MC,

4) and the not forgetting the project that I'm doing, the SIFE UUM Exposition 2010, where we are giving away RM 1000 in cash prizes!! awesome ain't it??!.. =DD

so look out for future posts from me ya!.. later awesome peeps!! (^^,)

40km on a horse, are you up to it?..

Mood : beyond happy!

Assalamualaikum and good day awesome peeps!.. looks like my blog has been collecting dust, again.. so I'm here to do some cleaning, hence an UPDATE!!.. wohooo!!~~ =DD this time I'll share with you my experience at Perlis Endurance Challenge 2010 recently, on 31 July 2010, where I was the crew member, helping out the UUM Equine peeps!.. wohoooo!~~

but first and foremost, a picture of me and Baja, a long lost horse, who moved from UUM Equine to Darulaman Equine.. say hi to Baja everyone!!.. (^^,)

the venue of this endurance is Chuping, Perlis, amidst the sugar cane plantation.. but the TSAB ranch was breathtaking!.. the open fields were, WOW!.. you can see the greenery there, being in the open fields and seeing horses gallop and graze freely, is just a wonderful sight.. makes you appreciate the nature more and more.. =') weii, you don't believe me??!.. here, take a look for yourself..

here's a bit of info.. UUM Equine sent 3 representatives to the endurance challenge, UUM staff members.. they have been riding since I even started, so you can imagine the level of pro-ness they possess.. (^^,) all the riders partake in the 40km track, instead of the 80km track.. perghh, imagine going 40km on a horse through the darkness of the night and the bushes of the sugar cane plantation.. scarily adventurous, don't you think?.. (^^,)

so let me introduce you guys to the riders of UUM Equine.. first up, we have Mr Roqib Chik, a staff member from YAB office, if I'm not mistaken.. he's riding an awesome but quite jumpy horse and easily startled, Desert Storm!..

next up, a staff member from UUM Equine, Mr Mohamad Bahiyuddin bin Razali, or more commonly known as Mat Naka among the horse riding community.. he's riding the one and only, Time For'us, or Forus for short.. (^^,)

and last but not least, we have my trainer, Mr Wan Mohd Hafizam, or better known as Abg Wan.. hehehe.. he's riding the strong and bold, Prince!..

we also have 2 riders from Darulaman Equine, Mr Nur Helmi Yatus, riding Jenny and Dr Ray Nakamura, riding Lotto..

opss, but before the riders are sent out into the track, let's pray that everything goes well and everyone is safe.. the tracks are quite demanding for the riders as well as the horses..

and they're off!.. the riders were sent into the tracks at 5pm, both 40km and 80km were sent off at once.. some of the horse are so freaking awesome!!.. most were either Arab breed or Pinto, with spots and stuff.. very nice.. but they reminded me of cows.. =P

I saw loads of horses who had problems at the beginning of the challenge, some were even scared to cross the starting line.. a horse lost his horseshoe at the beginning of the race.. luckily the guys crew were there to help him..

after all the riders were on their way, the other peeps in the crew which consists of me and some UUM Equine Club members and Equine Ko-K, had nothing much to do.. so we wondered around the area and bumped into fascinating creatures.. for example, meet Rocky!.. (^^,)

he belongs to the ranch, and is a very playful and friendly puppy.. you can go and stick out your hand and he'll place him paw on yours, then lick it.. hehehe.. super nice doggy.. too bad I can't touch you.. don't want to have to cleanse myself with dirt water.. 1 experience is enough please.. (^^,)

I also met a lonely horse, locked in his stable while his friends were out cantering in the fields.. most likely he didn't pass the vet check, since all horses must be checked by the vets to ensure that they are fit to enter the endurance.. hey, we can't send sick horses into the sugar cane fields, it's dangerous for the horse and the rider..

anyway, if I'm not mistaken, his name is Masterchaff.. I don't know who the owner is tho, but the horsey looked really sad.. so I comforted him and persuaded him to smile.. hey, there's always a next time dear!.. (^^,)

I also saw more horses along the way, inside the paddocks where they roam free.. I found 3 horses who looked like they were glued to each other!.. kind of cute tho.. hehehe.. the picture was already nice, but I wanted to edit it a bit, or a lot.. hehe.. now it just looks weird.. =P like unicorns coming out from the forest of mystery.. =P

they stuck really close to each other.. must be from the same owner then..

and I also saw some dudes with killer lenses!.. abang, nak pinjam kamera boleh?.. =P

by the time we finished walking around, the 1st round of peeps were coming in from 20km worth of journey!.. giler!.. my trainer, Abg Wan was the first to arrive, followed by Abg Roqib and Mat Naka.. so you can imagine how fast they were riding, 1 hour and 20 minutes for the length of 20km.. giler!~~

so this is where the crew comes in.. after 20 minutes, each horse must go for a vet check to determine the health condition of the horse after the 20km track.. the vets check the heart rate of the horse, where it must not be higher than 56beats per minute and the horse must not have any injury, to qualify it to continue for the next 20km.. so the crew must cool down the horse by bathing it in regular and ice water, to ensure that the heart rate goes down..

Mat Naka, checking Forus's heart rate..

but the thing you must know is, we CAN NOT wash the back of the horse, as it acts as an engine to the horse.. if you pour water on a heated car engine, the car will break down.. the same thing applies to horses, don't wash the back of the horse after a long and hard ride or the horse will get cramps and can't move.. simple as that..

so the cooling crew will wash and bathe the horse to make the heart rate drop to below than 56.. sadly, out of the 3 horses that represented UUM, only 1 horse made it through to the next round, Abg Wan and Prince.. Abg Roqibs horse, Storm, had a very high heart rate due to its jumpiness and nervousness making it unfit to continue, whereas Mat Nakas horse, Forus did not make it due to a foot injury from stumbling during the challenge..

everyone was pretty devastated that only 1 horse passed, but I guess it wasn't the time for us to shine.. we just had to hope for the best for Abg Wan and Prince, as they head out for the 2nd loop, another 20km in the dark.. and what do you know, lull and behold,

UUM EQUINE WON 1ST PLACE FOR THE 40KM TRACK!! \(^o^)/

wohooooo!~~ it seems that the other riders from other equine clubs looked down on UUM Equine coz our horses are not Arabian Breeds, we're just Thoroughbred.. they said we didn't stand a chance to win, since majority of the horse are Arabian, which is said to be the strongest breed there is.. well, we showed them huh?.. hehehe..

since it was Abg Wan who won the challenge with Prince, we decided to congratulate him with a dip in the icy waters!.. Abg Roqib, Abg Mie, Abg Saiful and Mat Naka planned among themselves and splashed Abg Wan in the waters with no mercy.. poor Abg Wan!.. hahaha.. he was soaking wet, dripping with cold icy waters, shivering from head to toe.. talk about brain freeze! =DD

all in all, I really enjoyed my time there at the ranch, even tho it was just for a few hours.. I arrived at 4.50pm, I left at 1.30am.. I learned a lot there, and I can't wait to partake in an endurance challenge one day.. so I must start training from now on, and increase my stamina to the max.. wheee!~~ =D

horse riding has always been my passion, and it will always be, insyaallah.. (^^,)