Burberry Alligator

picture taken from Selectism

I personally feel the limited edition Burberry Alligator watch is indeed sleek and awesome looking, especially the green ones. Albeit the fact that my birthday has been belated for quite few weeks, can I have this for my birthday? Anyone?

And the craving for Canon Power Shot G11 and Cole Haan bags is haunting me again. I need help.

ps- Forgive me for such a short and unrelated updates. I have so many things to blog, about comparative religion, recent issues and so on, but let me stay in this solemn state for few more days.

Ada Apa Dengan Nagoya?

(picture taken from flickr@sinkdd)
Summer will be leaving us soon, goodbye heat, and welcome coldness. Welcome chilly wind, welcome melancholy.

And I will be leaving Tokyo tomorrow, to one place called Nagoya/名古屋. Interesting fact about Nagoya:

1. Stuck between Tokyo and Osaka, it is one of the most populous area in Japan after Tokyo-Yokohama and Osaka-Kobe region.
2. I have been informed that it is also one of the area where girl is said to be uglier than other part in Japan (日本三大ブス), the other two includes girl from Sendai/仙台 and Mito/水戸. No pun intended anyway. So, where have all the beautiful girls gone? They are all said to be concentrated in Akita/秋田, Kyoto/京都 (the reason why it is famous for geishas maybe?) and Ishikawa/石川, three areas called 日本三大美人 in Japanese. Boys, now you know the place of interest to visit when you're in Japan.
3. Contrary to the above fact (if I can call it a fact), the cost for wedding ceremony in Nagoya is the the most expensive in Japan. A contradictory statement I reckon. Uglier girl costs you more money in Japan. Again folks, no pun intended. I'm just making a conclusion based on the pool of information I received from local friend.
4. Home to one of the largest automotive industry in the world, Toyota. Nagoya also base to many manufacturing company in Japan, instead of textile image for Malaysian. Oh, Nagoya also the birthplace of pachinko, the Japanese version of pinball.

Welcoming autumn, I am expecting beautiful yellowish leaves on ground, more attractive wool sweaters and cardigans and also a pair of Timberland boot. More on fashion talk, UNIQLO, the Japanese version of Gap is going chic with their recent collaboration with Jil Sanders, in a project called +J UNIQLO.

And Armani Xchange watches and shades are super attractive. Not within my current budget anyhow, I should stop dreaming and read more books.

Off to Nagoya people. I'll be reading Miyuki Miyabe's All She Was Worth and Murakami Haruki's Norwegian Wood and listening to Arashi's One Love, With You I'm Born Again by Mariah Carey and John Legend, Yuzu's new single, Niji and my favourite Kobukuro's pieces, Niji/虹 and Toki no Ashioto/時の足音 along the journey. At least as a replacement to food I cannot consume during Ramadhan. The travelogue will be posted after the journey.

Prayers Answered and Some Little Updates.

As some of you had heard, I has passed my JLPT Level 3. Although it's not really appropriate to reveal the score here, but I am happy to say that I received quite a high marks and what surprises me more is that I can score a few marks from Listening paper (which I still feel that I made a major careless mistake) but praise to Allah, I able to tackle the challenges smoothly.

And now, it is just a few weeks before departing to Tokyo and start the new phase in my life. Excited and nerve-wrecked, I realize that I will miss many things and peoples here in Malaysia and at the same time, wondering whether I can assimilate well into the Japanese society later. Being introverted, I am known as a person who not really talk much to strangers or new acquaintances and until now, I believe that is the major make-over I need so much to start making new friends.

On another note, some little updates I wish I could elaborate and post it here, but I keep procrastinating because of my daily workloads and my TOEFL preparations (I am scheduled to sit for TOEFL this Saturday):

1. I really can't wait any longer to watch Slumdog Millionaire, not just because they are the monopoly of Oscar trophies, but the cute kids and inspiring storyline. Inspire me, people.

2. Zara starts their final clearance and I really need to do some retail therapy on spring clothes. It is 7 degrees in Tokyo, and I reckon I need some layers instead of jacket. Previously I was drooling over trench coat, and I found a nice one from Armani Exchange (with a nice price tag mind you), but they ran out of my size so there goes my bargain list, another deferment.

3. I need luggage. Or suitcase. What ever you call it. What I have in my mind is the Globe-Trotter super-awesome luggage. But of course, I will only get it in my dream considering my current financial situation.

4. Still on bag topic. I love Monocle and its content including all their merchandise items.Their collaboration with Porter for bags is what I think a smart man will choose for travel(but they're actually too pricey). Pay a visit to their online shop.

5. I need a new chronograph. But put aside all the formalities, I think I opt for more casual design this time. What I have in mind is Bell & Ross military green watch. Better get one before I depart to Tokyo.

6. I will start applying for visa next week.

7. Panasonic Scholarship Office has arranged for us a visit to Japan Foundation on 18th March. Time to practice my rusty Japanese and bow.

8. I am thinking of being a member of Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE, UK) but apparently my degree is not accredited by them.

9. I need a new reading material. Right now I am still reading Heat by George Monbiot but I think I need some fiction to turn me back to the world of literature. Haruki Murakami is on top of my list now.

10. Last but not least, still on books. I just finished A World Without Poverty by Dr. Muhammad Yunus and I was in awe, what an inspiring person he is. I wish there could be more people like him (especially Muslims) who can inspire people to the max rather than complaining and downgrading the moral values of the society.

11. I am currently hooked up with Anggun's latest album, Elevation. Seize The Moment not really sounds like her previous tracks but I admit I like her new experiment. Good job, Anggun!

More to come soon. But until then, give me some time to check out what it takes for me to prepare for my TOEFL.

The War on Plastic

Nick Schonberger from Selectism had posted something about the canvas tote bag as the replacement for paper or plastic from grocery stores. As part of the campaign to use more recycled paper and a sustainable biodegradable world, all of us knows that plastic is a hell no-no. But to fully eliminate plastic in our daily lives would be bollocks.

I think the idea of cooler canvas tote as your grocery bag is awesome (although I haven't got any, shame on me). Remember the Anya Hindmarch's 'This is not a Plastic Bag' ridiculous queue for the free giveaway campaign? People loves fashion and cool stuff, and a bonus when it is free. But sadly the Anya Hindmarch campaign initially wants to promote the use of canvas tote as the substitute of plastic when you do your grocery shopping, not as your normal handbag. I've seen a lot of people here in KL use those totes as handbags, and still use plastic when they go to Tesco. The campaign has gone meaningless then.

Definitely the canvas totes are easier to handle, cooler and simply more fashionable than the normal grocery plastic bag. The plastics are annoying, unbiodegradable (although I read somewhere the biodegradable plastics is a great solution) and a mess sometimes (I remember my mom used to keep the plastic bags from grocery stores and use it over and over again).

There are a lot of cool design for canvas tote bag out there, and you can check some of the list here in Design Observer. I found one in which by Lovegrove and Repucci's. It is lime green in color, functional (you can crumple it in the size of a bomb; how cool is that?) and cheap (sells at USD16).

Shop your shopping bag now!

Yohji Yamamoto or Onitsuka Tiger?

I have been showering this blog with a stream of feeling to blog recently. I just came back from Jakarta, Indonesia for a short holiday trip with family and to attend my uncle wedding ceremony last Sunday. Still not fully recovered from the dust and polluted air of Jakarta, I am back here to spill some bollocks.

I will blog about Jakarta later, but before that..

I was in Senayan City Shopping Mall in Senayan, Jakarta which is located near my hotel where I stayed. And I managed to do window shopping (because as usual, I am dead broke) and found myself astonishingly glaring at few Yohji Yamamoto silver men sneakers to put into my wannabes list.

But I was actually looking for white shoes and a pair of white Onitsuka Tiger catch my attention too.

Yohji Yamamoto is too pricey, but they looks fantabulous. Silver is too hard for me to say no. Onitsuka Tiger on the other hand, is a must have.

Here I am, stuck between two shoes.

Hey where is my paycheque again?