The reason I started blogging many many years ago was to record my life journey, and because it was the social media back then. Masa tu (sekitar tahun 2008-2010, ketika berusia 16-18 tahun), saya dan sahabat saya Nadzirah Afiqah akan tulis blog hampir setiap hari untuk merekodkan segala perkara yang berlaku dalam hidup kami, walau sekecil-kecil perkara. We would write about anything that made our day, anything that made us feel something. Berbekalkan telefon bimbit yang ada kamera (masa tu belum ada telefon pintar) atau kamera digital 8x zoom (kalau ada kamera macam ni pun dah cukup power haha), kami akan randomly ambil gambar kehidupan seharian kami untuk diceritakan dalam blog nanti. Balik rumah je mesti tak sabar nak buka komputer (belum ada laptop) dan sambung internet dengan modem Maxis (belum ada wifi) untuk buka blog dan mula menulis. Zaman tu kalau nak cool kena letak background music kat blog ok haha. I also still remember that one day when my friend Alia Zurina told me that she had created a blog: "Zazi, I dah buat blog" - I was so happy and we thought we were gonna blog forever! Hahaha. Those were the golden days. 

This used to be in my wishlist, I wanted this so bad when i was 16!

Our selfie from a million years ago (guna teknik terbalikkan kamera sebab belum ada front camera 😆)

Years passed and we started posting less, mainly because we had moved to Facebook to share about everything that we used to share on our blogs, and then we had Twitter, and then Instagram. Smartphones became a necessity and sharing process became so instant. Blogging feels obsolete. Living in this era, we could go for years without meeting that one friend - but still know exactly what they had for lunch that day. The blogging atmosphere changed, where bloggers no longer post random things about their lives, but rather focused on specific topics to gain traffic and make some money (like what Im doing haha). But Im having trouble with that though. Its challenging for me to just stay with one topic (sometimes I just want to share everything) or to always create "valuable" content (sometimes I just wanna rant). Blogging is so different now. It is still enjoyable, but different.

So why haven't I been blogging for a while now?

Well to be honest, I've been busy and blogging is not my top priority. When I open my laptop, work is my priority. By the time I'm done with work, I'd be too tired to think about anything else. Sleep is my best friend 😂(Btw, a little update: I am now in my final semester as a PhD student and also a full time language teacher in USM! Exciting times, yet very tiring 😂) 

I would love to be looking forward to go home, open my laptop, blog about my day, and sleep knowing that Ive recorded my day on my blog. But then I thought about all the "blog with a purpose" thing, "blog for your target audience" thing, and also all the photo uploading process, and then the typing process (which could take up to 2 hours for each post), and then the thought of "ada ke orang baca blog lagi", all that feels too much, and Id end up not writing for months. Plus if I just wanted to "record my day", I have done that on Instagram already (mostly instastories), so what do I need blogging for?

Hence, the answer to why i haven't blogged in a while. 

However, blogging always brings me back to myself. I have always enjoyed writing (but I cant really say the same about writing my thesis ha ha ha), and blogging is satisfying for me in some ways. So maybe, I should just stop worrying too much and just continue doing what I love. Maybe I will go back to sharing about those random places I go, random stuffs I eat, random things I do... basically just go back to why I named my blog "TheDailyJaji" - to share about my daily life. This is important ok, nanti dah tua boleh baca dan ingat semula kehidupan kita yang indah dan pada masa yang sama penuh pancaroba ni haha. 

One of these days I might put blogging up in my priority list again. If youre reading this, I would like to remind you that its important to keep doing what you love even when life gets the best of you. No matter how busy, never forget to have some quality time for yourself. Have that cup of coffee you enjoy, watch that Netflix series that made you laugh, eat that chocolate you've been craving for. Whatever keeps your soul happy. Hard times in life will be over before we know it, inshaallah. 

One of my favourite saying is the one that goes... "when was the last time you did something for the first time?" because life is too short to not try anything new once in a while! 😄This mantra had made me do a lot of things, even things I never thought I would do hahaha, such as ermmm wall climbing?? 

 

Saya bukanlah jenis yang athletic atau aktif bersukan dari kecil, sebab masa kecil sampai masuk belasan tahun saya ada asthma yang agak teruk (suka juga guna alasan ni untuk skip PJ dulu dulu hahah) jadi saya memang kurang aktif. Memang tak masuk pun aktiviti sukan macam lumba lari semua tu sebab dan tahu mesti kalah 😝Paling aktif pun masa saya masuk taekwondo sampai tingkatan 4. Lepas dah masuk usia 20-an, asma saya makin kurang dan saya mula aktifkan diri. So I tried wall climbing for the first time when I was 24! Who would have thought that me (the kid who used to skip PJ haha) would actually had the courage to climb, but it was such an exciting feeling! 😄

 

Anyway in this post I would like to share about my new hobby - hand lettering. This hobby combines two of my favourite things: cute stationeries and quotes. Hand lettering ni sejenis seni "melukis" huruf yang biasanya menggunakan berus dan cat air atau pen berus (brush pens). Saya pakai pen berus je sebab lagi mudah dan sebagai beginner, saya tak nak terus beli set watercolour dan berus lagi sebab takut hasil seni saya nanti kurang memuaskan, jadi membazir pula kalau dah beli, plus they are not cheap 😅But Im glad that after a few attempts, I managed to create a not-so-bad piece of hand lettering art 😎😂It was so~~~ satisfying ~~~~

Here are my current collection of brush pens and details of where I got them from:

 

Neutral colours brush pens set from Typo (RM30/pack)

Pentel brush sign pens (multiple colours) from Popular Bookstore (RM4.80/each)

 

Selain brush pens, saya juga ada beli pen kaligrafi dan saya cuba jugalah buat tulisan khat walaupun kali terakhir tulis khat masa sekolah rendah dulu 😅Tak sangka jugalah yang tangan ni masih bekerjasama untuk tulis cantik cantik haha. Dulu masa sekolah gigih tau asah pensel dengan pisau lipat 20 sen, masa tu tak kenal pen kaligrafi ni lagi 😂

 

Soo now Im going to show you a few pieces of art that Im so satisfied with! 🙈😄 Its not that nice but I think its also not that bad lah haha. Untuk permulaan ni, saya tiru design hand lettering orang lain yang saya jumpa dan Google, dan saya cuba lukis semula. Tadaaa, enjoy my masterpieces ~~~ (click to play video)

 

 

I surely need more practice and I cant wait to try and create my own designs soon. Kalau anda tercari-cari inspirasi untuk seni hand lettering atau anda baru nak cuba belajar, anda kena follow akaun @howtohandletter dan @stefankunz di Instagram, they are so talented! (of course, behind those talents are some hardcore practices too)

 

Its never too late to learn and try something for the first time!

 

Salam sayang,

Jaji

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok so we are back at this topic again! Blogpost tentang rambut dalam blog saya ni sentiasa ada pembaca, walaupun dah ditulis bertahun yang lalu. Jelas bahawa isu rambut sentiasa dialami ramai orang, tanpa mengira masa, usia, atau jantina. So I figured why not I share more about this, who knows it might be helpful to anyone out there. Previously I have shared some tips and tricks that worked to save my hair, you may read it from this link below:


 Sebelum saya cerita lebih lanjut tentang produk-produk yang saya dah suka dan cinta ni, jom kita tengok dulu kategori jenis-jenis rambut yang ada.

photo from cosmopolitan.com

Dah lama tak tulis blog, sedar sedar dah nak masuk bulan puasa dah. Tapi, seperti yang kita tahu, puasa kali ni tak sama seperti tahun-tahun sebelum ni. Due to Covid-19, there will be no physical bazaars (but thankfully there are online bazaars!) and no solat terawih at the mosque 😔 Who would have ever knew that this is what 2020 had in store for us. Anyhow, we should be thankful because our war only requires us to stay home. Mereka yang duduk dengan keluarga masih dapat meluangkan masa dengan keluarga, yang tak duduk dengan keluarga (macam saya) pun masih diberi kesempatan dan kesihatan untuk beribadah. All these little things that we have to be grateful for. Insyaallah, everything will be okay soon.

Anyway, today's post is about sahur ideas! Memandangkan saya akan menjalani Ramadan di hostel (seperti tahun-tahun sebelum ni 😂), saya nak kongsikan sikit beberapa cadangan menu sahur malas (ye malas 😆) tapi mengenyangkan, hopefully. Malas macam mana pun kena cuba juga untuk bangun sahur okie. Tapi dah nama pun puasa, tak dapatlah nak kenyang sepanjang hari kan 😛 cuma harapnya masih dapat memberikan tenaga sehingga waktu berbuka. Mesti ramai pelajar yang terpaksa tinggal di hostel untuk sementara, sehinggalah kerajaan tamatkan Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP). Its okay guys, we are in this together!

Menu yang saya senaraikan ni memang senang nak buat, lagi-lagi untuk pelajar yang duduk hostel. Lets check these lazy menus out.


1. Roti, peanut butter, dan kurma




Untuk roti, saya suka makan roti wholemeal Gardenia. Nak pakai roti putih biasa pun ok je. Peanut butter tu sugarfree dan saya suka jenis yang ada ketulan kacang besar besar tu. Bakar roti (kalau tak bakar pun takpe), sapu peanut butter macam biasa, dan letakkan beberapa biji kurma yang dah dibuang biji dan dipotong kecil. Boleh tambah topping granola kalau ada. Siap!

2. Biskut Digestives dan susu

photo from www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com

These Digestives biscuits are my favourite! Saya kalau makan biskut ni mesti cicah susu sejuk, kalau takde susu tak makan 😝Untuk saya, dalam 5 keping biskut ni dan sekotak kecil susu Dutch Lady dah cukup mengenyangkan. Susu tu kalau sejuk lagi sedap, tapi kalau korang duduk hostel dan takde peti sejuk 😿, minum macam tu pun dah ok.

3. Roti, peanut butter, dan pisang

Snapshot of my previous instastory

Menu ni lebih kurang macam menu pertama tadi, cuma gantikan kurma dengan pisang. Pisang pun tinggi khasiat dan boleh bekalkan tenaga untuk puasa. Kalau ada coklat, boleh patah-patahkan coklat lepas tu tabur atas ni.


4. Biskut Weetameal dan Milo



Kalau biskut Digestives tadi sedap dicicah susu sejuk, biskut Weetameal ni pula saya suka cicah dengan Milo panas. Milo saya selalunya kosong je, tak tambah gula atau susu sebab macam tu je dah sedap. Biskut Weetameal ni lebih nipis daripada Digestives, jadi selalunya saya akan makan dalam 8 keping (sepaket ada 4 keping).


5. Quaker Oat Cereal Drink


Ok yang ni paling malas 😂cuma tuang air panas, siap! Oat merupakan sejenis makanan yang lambat hadam, jadi perut akan kenyang lebih lama. Jenama Quaker Oat ni pun ada banyak perisa, jadi bolehlah nak tukar-tukar selera sikit sepanjang sebulan ni.


Ok itulah idea menu sahur malas tapi kenyang yang dapat saya kongsikan, khasnya untuk student yang duduk hostel. Something different than instant noodles haha. Tak perlu ada peralatan memasak (cuma kena ada cerek elektrik/sumber air panas), dan barang-barang lain pun boleh disimpan macam tu je, tak perlu peti sejuk. Kalau anda tak ada makanan-makanan ni semua, rasanya masih sempat lagi nak beli kat Shopee, hopefully they will be able to deliver to your hostels. Macam saya di USM, alhamdulillah kedai runcit kat sini ada jual semua ni. USM siap bagi kupon lagi untuk kami beli makanan dan keperluan lain, terima kasih USM 🥺🥺🥺


Btw, saya ada satu tips untuk simpan biskut kalau tak ada tupperware (a trick that I learned from my roommate back in UKM):



Tadaaa, lipat plastik tu kemas kemas dan sepit je dengan penyepit baju macam ni 😜Trust me it works! Semut tak masuk, biskut pun tak masuk angin haha. #lifehack

Okay guys, thats all from me for now. I am not sure much longer will I be staying in college as a student, its been years. But Im enjoying every moment. There were hard times, there will always be more hard times, but thats life kan. Kita kena sentiasa cuba untuk positif dan percaya, setiap yang terjadi mesti ada hikmahnya. Lets pray for our world to heal soon. Semoga dunia akan kembali pulih dan menjadi lebih baik dari sebelumnya.

THIS. BOOK. IS. AWESOME.

I've always loved reading non-fiction books especially from the "self-improvements" shelf at the bookstore. I like fiction too, but I usually prefer to "watch" fiction rather than reading them. So when it comes to books, the non-fiction ones are my favorite! So about this book: its about the experience of a retired US Navy Admiral, William H. McRaven. The first chapter of this book starts with the following:


Secara ringkasnya, buku ni menceritakan pengalaman beliau sepanjang berada dalam pasukan tentera; segala cabaran, dugaan, rintangan, dan pengajaran yang beliau peroleh daripadanya. Membaca buku ni buat saya sedar yang hidup ni memang tak mudah; akan sentiasa ada rintangan yang datang. Tapi, yang penting adalah cara kita melihat masalah tersebut dari sudut positif dan belajar untuk menerima bahawa hidup ni adalah tempat untuk diuji, dan setiap ujian adalah pengajaran untuk kita menjadi lebih baik.



Tajuk buku ni "Make Your Bed" - kemas katil, menjelaskan bahawa untuk membuat sesuatu yang besar dalam hidup, kita mestilah mula dengan perkara yang kecil - iaitu kemas katil. Kemas katil ni benda yang senang kan, 2 minit je dah siap. Benda ni nampak remeh je, tapi impaknya besar. Menurut penulis buku ni:


That hit me right in the heart.

Ok, sebagai remaja yang malas mungkin saya akan rasa tak setuju dengan pernyataan ni 😂, "ala kemas katil je pun, ramai je orang yang tak kemas katil boleh je berjaya" - kata seorang Jaji yang malas nak kemas katil lepas bangun tidur hahahahha.

-  tapi sebagai insan yang dah faham kepentingan benda-benda kecil, saya amatlah bersetuju. Since I was 16, I have never failed to make my bed even if I was running late. Not because I realised the importance of 'making your bed to be successful bla bla', but because one day I came home from school and my mum had thrown away my favourite bathrobe!!! She threw it away bcs she was sick and tired of my laziness to make my own bed (and hang my own bathrobe) 😂😂😂 Sejak tu saya akan cuba untuk kemas juga katil tu, walau macam mana pun. Of course, some days I failed to make my bed and when I come back to my room, I will hate my morning self for not making the bed earlier and now my current self has to face a messy bed 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Anyway thanks for the lesson Mama! 😂


Berbalik kepada buku ni. Dengan mengemas katil, kita dah berjaya siapkan satu tugasan untuk hari tersebut. Dengan lengkapnya satu tugasan mudah tersebut, kita akan rasa bangga dengan diri kita sebab dah berjaya melengkapkan sesuatu, walaupun perkara kecil.


Ada bahagian dalam buku ni yang buat saya sedar bahawa seburuk mana pun masalah kita pada hari tersebut, ada orang yang nasibnya lebih buruk - jadi kita kenalah bersyukur dan cuba untuk kekal positif. Its okay to be sad for a while, but we have to come back. Dari sudut pandang Islam, Allah takkan uji seseorang hamba tu melebihi kemampuannya. Jadi setiap cabaran yang datang tu mesti kita boleh hadapi, Insyaallah.

Ada sesuatu tentang buku ni yang membuatkan saya tak jemu untuk baca berulang kali. Setiap kali saya sedih atau down, saya ada buka mana-mana muka surat dan baca untuk kembali bersemangat!! *insert motivational music here* haha. Another intreresting lesson is this book is that you need to stop being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward. Look at the snippet below:


I love how this book keeps me feeling inspired in a rational way. Like, Im inspired to be better, be successful - but I also know that life is hard, life is unfair, but I just need to keep going. Its very rational. Its not the kind of feeling where the heroes always win in the movies; but its the kind where the hero dies - but he died protecting others; he died doing the right thing. Macam tak ada kaitan je analogi ni, tapi saya harap anda fahamlah apa saya cuba cakap ni 😂 Kena baca buku ni untuk betul-betul faham okie!

I think thats all my review for this book. Id totally recommend everyone to read this! 💖

2020 is the year everyone's been waiting for, well at least I have. Since 1999, I have always imagined 2020 to be awesome. Now that we're here, I do believe that it will be as great as I imagined. Back in 1999 I was 7, and that 7 year old me have always pictured the 28 year old me to be tall, beautiful, and successful. Well, although I'm far from tall 😂, I still believe that I'm beautiful in my own way 💓and as for success, I have had my successes and I am still working for more. Success is very subjective though, its defined differently based on our life experience.

For me, success is when I managed to get rid of my bad habits and replace them with better ones. Over the years, I've had many bad habits replaced (wehoo) and I consider that to be one of the successes I have achieved. Success is also when I achieve something by working hard and not complaining (ok lah sometimes ada complain juga 😂 #guilty), but never giving up. Cry my heart out, be on the verge of giving up, but never actually give up. Success is also when I'm able to move on from failure and keep going.

Well actually... this is part of my 2020 resolution too:

I want to be good to myself. Dah terlalu banyak masa yang diluangkan untuk 'bersangka buruk' dengan diri sendiri. For all those times we doubt ourselves, blaming ourselves, thinking we're not good enough, it stops now. 2020 is the year we be good to ourselves. Believe in ourselves. Believe that we have the potential to be so much more *insert motivational music here* 😆


I have always push myself to be positive, but I know, sometimes its hard to stay positive when things are tough, but hey, remember that we are tougher!!💪 And this year, we will be tougher than ever.

Peribahasa Melayu "masuk bakul angkat sendiri" (membanggakan kejayaan atau kelebihan diri) sering digunakan dalam konteks negatif - seakan-akan kita tak patut berbangga dengan diri sendiri. Tapi kalau kita lihat peribahasa ni sebagai satu kata-kata semangat - kalau dah masuk dalam bakul, siapa lagi yang nak angkat kalau bukan kita sendiri? Ada ke orang lain nak tolong angkatkan bakul tu? Dah lah kita ni berat. 😆 Kalau dah masuk dalam bakul, memanglah susah nak angkat sendiri kan, tapi yang susah itulah yang berbaloi untuk diusahakan. Nothing good comes easy, right? Anyway my point is, its okay to tell ourselves that we are good. I think its okay to angkat bakul when no one is looking, because what matters is how we see ourselves. 👀 And this year, lets live and light up our spirit. Hidupkanlah semangat kita seperti api nan tak kunjung padam 🔥

Anyway, there's this one quote that I like:

"be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind dont matter, and those who matter dont mind" and I'd like to add: if "you dont mind, it wont matter". So if anyone's bitter by your effort in trying to be better, its their problem not yours 🤷

So, besides this all " be good to yourself" thing, other resolutions that I have been doing and wish to keep doing are to eat more healthily, do more exercises, learn new languages, learn more recipes, try more new things (I tried yoga for the first time in 2017 and I have been enjoying it till now!), give more to my family, shop less (this is very challenging ok 😝), to spend more time with the people I love, and to have a better spiritual relationship with the creator. Insyallah.



Btw, I spent 1/366 with by best friend Nuur Syuhada who came all the way from KL just to spend the new year holiday with me. Im blessed to have her in my life.