WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "THE SECRET DIARY OF AN EXCHANGE STUDENT"

The [mis]adventure of two BFFs: Barbara and Taila, who went to the USA from Brazil as exchange students. They had to go through a lot of obstacles and challenges before going back home, becoming more experienced and successful people. Something light and funny that you could watch if you want a stress-free movie. This should be my first Brazilian Portuguese speaking movie.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "MISS INDIA"

This is a Telugu movie telling the story of Manasa Samyukta who was no ordinary Indian girl and had her own dreams in life. Even after the whole family migrated to the USA, they still believed that a girl should just get married and settled down. Manasa however rebelled and worked diligently and persevered to build her Indian tea empire despite all the challenges and obstacles. It was eventually a success story and don't we all love a happy ending.

I watched the movie because I thought it was about the life of a Miss World/Miss Universe but I was wrong. It was a shift for once watching the business entrepreneurs living in a dog-eats-dog world, and I guess it is just the same everywhere. If I am not mistaken, the movie is based on a true story.

SPOT THE ERROR 165

    ERROR:   a hours

CORRECTION:   an hour

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "MIMI"

Mimi, a young Indian lady, decided to become a surrogate mother to the baby of an American couple, John and Summer, as she needed the money. However, during her pregnancy, the doctor speculated that the baby would be mentally challenged and the couple abandoned Mimi, and this left her in a huge and complicated mess. After many years, after the child, Raja, had grown bigger, and John and Summer went back to India and made their appearance, trying to get back Raja from Mimi. After all the trouble Mimi had gone through and the love she and her family members had showered on the child she bore, this was not something easy to do. THE QUESTION IS: will Raja be taken back to America by his biological parents? You have to find the answer yourself.

A movie with a different theme and no scene involving the filthy rich Indians. And there was only one dancing scene in the beginning of the movie - as Mimi was actually a dancer. Something you could watch and some people might shed some tears towards the end of the story.

SPOT THE ERROR 164

 

It should be either:

THESE PREMISES ARE ...

OR

THIS PREMISE IS ...

GETTING MY HAIRCUT - AFTER MORE THAN 3 MONTHS

It was time to get the haircut after the three long months. Actually I was not that sure whether barber shop was given the permission to operate yet as the number of cases in the state is still high. I just went to try my luck and I was happy to see that the shop was open.

Before entering, the barber asked verbally whether I had had my vaccination and I gladly told him I had completed my 2-dose already.

before and after

It was a huge relief to have short hair again and there is no need for me to wear a hat anymore when I go out.

SPOT THE ERROR 163

 I would just cross out the word "in" and the notice will be:

Maximum of 7 people
at one time

GOING TO THE MOSQUE AGAIN FOR FRIDAY PRAYER

I completed my second dose of vaccination 2 weeks ago hence I am now eligible to perform the weekly Friday Prayer at the mosque. The latest SOP is one needs to prove his completion his vaccination by showing the vaccination card or the e-certificate on the mobile.

And the distance between two congregators is now a bit further. It used to be one metre but now already two metres. Consequently the mosque could accommodate less people.

Let's pray for things to get better so we could carry out all the religious activities at the mosque like usual.

 

PULAU PANGKOR VISITED - 15 YEARS AGO

arriving in Lumut at dawn and stopped by at the mosque

This is just to reminisce the good old time when people were free to go explore the islands during school holidays and enjoy life. The photos were burned on a CD by my travel companion, Mr. Mohd. Syahril Shariff and would be best saved here before the disc would be damaged over time.

Surprisingly, even though the photos were taken by a digital camera 15 years ago, they were still blurry and not that sharp. I had those taken with the conventional one but I was too lazy to search for the album and scan the pics.

Pangkor Island was one island I had been to a few times for a few reasons: one, things  were cheaper as the island was not commercialized yet at that time; two, there were not many people there; and three, public transport was easy - I could travel from Johor Bahru straight to Lumut by bus, and hop on a ferry to the island.

I wonder when will it be the time we could travel again without worry.

GOING JAPANESE FOR LUNCH TODAY

In conjunction with the recent Olympic that was held in Tokyo, we went Japanese for lunch today - sponsored by an ex-schoolmate [of SMS Muar], Mr. Mohd. Razib Noordin.

The meal was more than complete - rice, beef with egg, small pieces of fried chicken and fried tempura and a hint of Korean food with kimchi served on the table. As for dessert, there were slices of creamy cheese cake.

To sum up the dine-in someone else's house session, there was also durian in the house!

Thanks Mr. Razib for the food and hospitality. His house is the only place where I can eat out these days as dining in at restaurants are still prohibited. We are already getting impatient as we have already a few places in mind that we should visit again once this MCO [movement control order] thing is over,

 

SPOT THE ERROR 162

 Confusion between English and Malay Language.

A LUNCH SESSION AT A FRIEND'S HOUSE

5th AUGUST 2021 ~ I needed to have a proper lunch before getting my second dose of vaccination so I decided to drop by at my ex-schoolmate's [of SMS Muar] house in Rose Villa. We had the same menu of Nasi Kerabu we had had three weeks before except this time there was grilled beef instead of chicken in spices.

Thanks Mr. Razib for the short lunch session. Food always tasted better when there was a friend to accompany you eating.

GETTING MY SECOND DOSE OF VACCINATION

After 3 weeks, I revisited Taman Universiti Community Hall to get my second dose of vaccination against C-19.

I arrived at about 2:00 p.m. and there was no queue at all and there was no opportunity to snap photos except in the last section where we had to wait a few minutes after given the injection. It was all over in less than 20 minutes.

I have done my responsibility to protect myself and the community and let's just hope things will get better soon so that we could continue doing all the things we love before this.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "A PEREFCT FIT"

Saski was a fashion designer who was supposed to be married to Dino as her parents were indebted to her in-laws' to be. Rio was a shoemaker in Bali who also involved in his family's arranged marriage ritual. Then their fate crossed. They were both attracted to each other when Saski first met him at his shoe shop and the rest was history. If you like a love story with young and handsome/beautiful actors/actresses, then this is one movie you will enjoy.

As for me, I was hoping to see any familiar places in Bali that visited a long time ago but I think most of the scenes were shot somewhere else, and not on the island. 😀