food and snow = my dream combination

if you noticed, sometimes i write a few entries on the same day. that's actually because in lieu of wasting my online time writing while browsing the net (my internet card deducts credit in minutes, not megabytes), i usually write and read other's blogs while offline(I'm trying to avoid unnecessary wasting). Sometimes the entry is finished but it took me days before i found the right time to post it. well, whatever. it doesnt matter anyway, hehe... most of you know it and it's not that uncommon.right?
today was another eat-together kind-of party, this time at Suraya's house and we celebrated Diana's bday as well (hers was during the exams). it was a bit different, everyone had to bring a not- too expensive present and we'd take draws to see who gets whose present. I got an apron from shafiq,hehe. the presents were interesting - 2 jigsaws, 2 magic sets, my unique and cool magnetic wire photo frame :P, 2 of those decorations you hang which swirls or makes beautiful sounds when the wind passes by(sorry forgot the word), a lego set, etc... it was nice, funny, impromptu and fun.
And the snow's still here!

tomorrow- fun with snow, skating and eating at shafiq's house, hehe

PS: this blog seems to be getting nowhere ,but i guess nowhere's fine, hehe..

Taekwondo patterns

My little sister joined taekwondo lessons in her boarding school about last year, and right now her school club is preparing for the upcoming tournament somewhere there. She was picked for the pattern sections but she wanted to spar too. Well you can’t get everything you want, but here are some things about patterns that might interest you,

- you wont get hurt
- it’s not actually real fighting, since there are so many technicalities and rules (yes adik, you must use your feet most of the time), although it does help in a fight. But some people might mistake that ITF is like WTF or other more aggressive martial arts (especially girls, sorry, this was my observation in tournaments and practice back then), and that results in unnecessary pain for those who cant defend themselves really well (but you might win by default though).. the few times I sparred with girls, I had to defend my balls extra carefully (they hit low, which is actually a foul), and it wasn’t even supposed to be contact sparring*!)
- Then again, the rules might have changed. The rules here (in Russia) are harsher, but hey, they are aggressive people (so as not to offend any Russian that might happen to read this blog, I mean this comparatively, as Malays are generally more soft-spoken)
- In my opinion, patterns define the martial arts. When a student asks his master to teach him, he asks to be taught a pattern. Each level in a martial arts (I don’t know any martial arts without patterns..hmm..maybe they exist but I don’t know) has a different pattern with different sets of more difficult skills the higher you go.
- ITF Taekwondo has 24 patterns if I’m not mistaken. The patterns become more complex, in skills and number of movements. For example 1st dans have 3 patterns. One of them, kwang gae has 39 movements and some of its movements require balancing. Another pattern requires speed and another one gives some rare ‘soft’ blows not seen in other patterns. An example of a 2nd dan pattern, Eui Am , has 49 movement
- Patterns train the body and mind, since every breath, every move and timing is set, and so you must memorize them perfectly to finish the pattern.
Ok this is getting windy and maybe boring for those not interested.
Another question my little sister asked is how to do them better. Hmm... I don’t remember everything, but they’ll consider some points like correctness (movements, technique, steps, breathing, hand placement), stance (stable, correct, posture, ends at start point, wavelike motions), power (blow, speed, precision, stability), timing (rhythm, fast and forceful but clear movements, a slow in-between), and style (confidence, concentration, clothes, etc). I think it’s 5 or 10 points to consider before the judge give a mark from 1 to 10. I might be wrong in one of the points above (and miss another crucial point), but they are all taken into consideration.

Oh yeah, since I’m on the subject, and just coz i felt like it, here are the tenets of taekwondo :-
Courtesy
Integrity
Self control
Indomitable spirit

I guess I do miss my tkd lessons, hehe

AjNaKan PrRaGiDmA and return of the snow

Hello,
I’m still in Volgograd, maybe I’m really not going anywhere this winter. But it’s nice since many of us are still here anyway. It’s been 3 consecutive nights of eating together for the Malay guys and girls of my batch and Kak Sal. I recently bought some new plastic furniture and swapped tables and in the process cleaned our tables. So that’s about it, hehe

Finally snow returned to Volgograd. I might have forgotten to mention it, the weather in Russia had a sudden change of pattern this year, instead of the usual long white winter I had expected like every other year, we found ourselves in a winter without snow (except for a few days) and the usual icy cold (it’s actually like the Russian spring weather). But no one’s complaining, except maybe me, the pad-faks and 1st years, some other snow-loving Malaysian students I might not know, and maybe the farmers here since more snow usually meant more harvest, and no snow – well, you get the point. It was something a Russian lecturer once told me, and one of my neighbors mentioned about it some time ago.

So I’m thankful for the snow that managed to stay for 2 days now, though some might find it a nuisance as our shoes and boots tend to get wet in the melting snow and sludge. It’s not good to complain anyway, since the weather is not something we control. Wouldn’t that be a big mistake when you think about it,right?And I’m not sure about you guys, but complaining seems to make things worse in most cases, with the wrong way and the wrong people

yep, it's snowing alright

a long awaited comeback

this sure feels great



(excuse me a moment as i dust myself off of these e-cobwebs)

Hello everyone!
I’m really, really sorry for not updating so long…I missed out on a lot of bday wishes, celebration wishes, things I might have written etc etc
As a matter of fact, I did write some stuffs, but after a while decided not to publish them (writing’s most of the fun anyway, and it’d be boring not to have some mysteries for you guys once in a while, hehe)
I haven’t actively been online (active= uploaded stuff) enough for about a month now, since I tried to prepare myself for the exams and such (I thought it might have been better if I spent less time online)
I wanted to put all my belated wishes that I didn’t upload up, but I changed my mind. Still, I’d like to wish all students of Russian varsities

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!And have a fun and safe journey to those traveling anywhere from the next stop to the next continent you haven’t ventured into.

As for me, I’m staying in Volgograd for the time being, stretching my legs in front of the sofa watching Korean English channels, reading stuff, or just sleeping, hehe…
Things I might do other than that:-

• Blog more
• Watch all (interesting) animes, series or movies left behind in Volgograd by those who left, hehe
• Restart reading, taking pics etc that suddenly stopped since last month(ok, this might have covered up that blog part I mentioned earlier
• Maybe (but it’s quite a slim chance) I’ll go to Moscow to buy books, meet some friends (most went traveling)..err...go to the embassy?(a call away), or some other Russian city(originally I intended to go to Sochi or Kazan[got problems with connections and don’t want to take any tourist agencies])
• Or nizhny @ kursk (same problems with other cities),but it’s a half-hearted wishful thought anyway
• Exercise
• Learn something new (something major, not that ‘everyday is a lesson for me’ thing)

(fun time begins!- maybe i'll put my list of nothing to do's got from the Grinch which I added up over time a bit to this webpage..maybe..just maybe,hehe)

to do, or not to do, that is the question - said this shakespearean wannabe :P

now excuse me for my schedule of nothing to do's awaits!hahahahaha

A belated Happy Birthday Arif & Nur ain!!

sori lambat...pic ni ntah kenapa tak dpt upload...
maybe i'll get an updated/more detailed pic later