Masayume

 Bismillah.

I loved Convenience Store Woman so much, that I ended up reading another book of Sayaka Murata. The most memorable thing about her books are complicated, twisted characters that you couldn't help but feel drawn to.

**this part might contain spoiler**

In this book, we follow the journey of the narrator, Natsuki since she was 11 years old. She was sexual abused by her teacher, the least liked in her family. She was everything lesser than her older sister. Nothing she did seems right, whether studying hard at school or just being quiet in the house.

Every year, she always look forward to spending the summer in her grandma's house in the mountains of Nagano. Her cousin, Yuu, also mentally abused by his mother after losing his dad, was the only one nice to her. Convinced both of them were aliens stuck on this Earth, they married each other and promised to survive until the next time they see each other again.

Some things happened and after that, Natsuki wasn't allowed to go back to Nagano.

Things didn't get easy when she grew up either. Being an 'alien', it's hard to fit into the human species. People said she needed to get married. So she went on the internet, find a contractual husband and got married. Then soon enough people asked when are you going to have kids? 

I was attracted to the cover. Such a cute hedgehog, what harm could it bring? But of course, it wouldn't be Sayaka Murata if the characters are not **slightly not right up in the head**. 

The usage of first person POV as the voice of the book was excellent, as it highlights the way Natsuki saw this world. At first I thought this book was just a cute first love/childhood story.... it turns out 360 degrees totally different. Really, whatever expectation you have in mind, it's the opposite of it. 

I particularly loved when the reality and fantasy world became intertwined (the teacher scene almost killed my sanity), the distinction faded away, making me question what the hell did i just read, reading the same parts over and over again just to make sure my brain was right.

When trying to fit into the human society was becoming too much, Natsuki, her husband and Yuu went back to Nagano, trying to escape the society. The ending was beyond shocking, and almost too cruel to read. But it was addicting, watching how Natsuki went from an innocent girl with cute imaginary world to an adult who...... well, mentally not right. As it is written in first person POV, as I have mentioned earlier, it was thrilling to listen to her inner voice and her brain. 

As for the parts that I don't like about this book............. well, I couldn't think of any. Strong premise, complex characters, excellently written plot, jaw-dropping ending. What more could a reader ask for?

Definitely recommended. Everyone should definitely read this at least once in their life (trigger warning still applied).

Bismillah.

Title: Convenience Store Woman

Author: Sayaka Murata

Synopsis (copied from Goodreads): 

Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura.

 Bismillah.

Kisah cinta antara aku dan motor agak berliku. Aku mula ambil lesen motor selepas SPM, sekaligus dengan lesen kereta. (btw lesen kereta aku manual okey heh). Selesai dapat lesen L, macam biasa, kita akan start belajar litar (02) dan jalan raya (03). Aku datang kelas motor 02 untuk dua hari je, lepas tu aku give up dan berhenti belajar.

Punca aku berhenti ialah kerana aku jatuh motor sampai berdarah lutut T^T. Gila betul. Maklumlah aku memang tak pernah belajar motor sebelum ni. Tahu membonceng kat belakang je. Motor kat institut memandu tu dah berapa banyak dah aku patahkan side mirror haha.

Somehow, dapatkan lesen motor ni memang ada dalam life bucketlist aku. Ni semua gara-gara aku tengok mak aku bawak skuter macam best je pergi mana-mana. Yelah, kalau kereta kena hadap jem. Bawak skuter boleh lalu shortcut, dan tak susah cari parking.

Sebab yang lain ialah aku rasa pandai motor ni merupakan salah satu essential basic skills. Contoh kau bayangkan, kalau ada emergency nak kena hantar anak klinik, kereta masuk bengkel, waktu tu tengah peak hour ke pebenda, then motor la solusi terbaik. Tak gitu?

Okey kita sambung cerita.

So tahun lepas aku start daftar balik lesen motor, tapi bukan kat kampung aku sebab aku dah masuk universiti. Aku daftar di institut memandu berdekatan dengan kampus aku. Aku hadir untuk ceramah motor, buat ujian bertulis dan yadayada dapatlah lesen L (once again). Lepas tu aku kena booking tarikh untuk hadir kelas 02. 

On the day yang aku sepatutnya hadir kelas motor, aku TERLAJAK TIDUR. Kelas pukul 8.15, aku bangun pukul 8. Macam gila aku kejutkan member aku suruh hantarkan. Sampai je kat sana dalam pukul 8.30, akak kat kaunter tu dah tak terima. Dia cakap aku lambat datang, dah tutup register dah. Aku geram betul part ni tapi memang salah aku so takleh buat apa.

Selepas dari hari tu, aku keep putting off untuk booking kelas. Sampailah habis sem, kemudian masuk sem baru tak ada progress langsung (masa ni macam tak teringat langsung kat kelas motor), kemudian sem baru lagi sekali barulah aku nak sambung balik. Sebab awal tahun 2024 dah kena pergi intern, so aku fikir lagi bagus kalau pergi kerja dengan motor.

Tapi tak sempat booking kerana aku selalu procrastinate. Sebelum habis sem, aku call ayah aku minta dia daftarkan aku kat institut memandu yang aku pernah pergi tu. Ayah aku kerja kat situ btw, so senang jela proses.

First day aku belajar, aku jatuh kat bulatan. Seluar koyak, lutut berdarah. Memang trauma wei haha. Balik tu aku senyap je sampailah mak aku tanya "okey tak tadi?" Tak cakap banyak, berjurai air mata jantan aku keluar. Tanjat mak aku sebab aku ni mana pernah nangis. Kitonyo tough girl okeyyy. 

Hari ketiga aku belajar, aku jatuh lagi. Kena kat lutut yang sama tapi kalini jatuh kat bahagian titi. Yang mana pernah belajar moto tahulah titi dia halus macam liang lahad. Mak aih belum baik lagi luka lama dah berdarah kembali. Punyala dalam luka tu nak dijadikan cerita aku terpaksa solat duduk 3 hari sebab takleh sujud. Hambikkk ko nak sangat belajar motor kann padan muka.

Tapi aku cekalkan hati do. Aku teruskan pergi belajar motor macam biasa. Lama-lama tu aku dah pandai dah bawak motor. Titi 7 saat pun aku boleh buat.

Tibalah hari ujian JPJ. Giliran aku di sesi 1, nombor 11. Gemuruh berdebar cemas semua ada la. 

Bila turn aku tiba, aku pun buat CITO (cermin sisi, lampu, hon) macam biasa. First halangan, titi. Naik slow.... BAMMMMMMM!!!!!!!! Aku jatuh motor, motor jatuh atas aku!

Cilakak punya titi. Dahlah sakit satu hal, malu pulak satu hal lagi. Kau bayangkan semuaaaaa orang tengah tengok kau. Haih tak tahu nak letak muka kat mana.

Cikgu lelaki datang tolong aku angkat motor. Masa ni dah berair dah mata aku haha. Dia suruh aku bawak motor pergi buat jalan raya pulak. Jalan raya okey, lulus. Halangan, gagal. Kena repeat.

Masa ni sebenarnya aku dah cuak. Flight aku 3 hari selepas tarikh JPJ yang baru. Kalau aku gagal lagi sekali, memang bye bye jela lesen. Aku terfikir jugak untuk reschedule flight tapi maleh ah. 

Macam biasa, sambung belajar bawak motor. Pagi petang langit cerah gelap mendung semua aku dah lalui. 

Okey, diringkaskan cerita, Alhamdulillah berjaya jugak aku lulus JPJ dan dapat lesen motor. Bolehlah aku fly dengan senang hati hehe.

Tu jela yang aku nak cerita. Kbye. Next post will probably be about my wholesome wonderful experience in Japan.

 Bismillah.

We hiked the Gunung Alai the other day! Yes you heard (or read, to be precise) it right! 

One of my wishlists has always been to hike a mountain, not just the small hills. And I finally did it!💗One wishlist crossed!

There were a total of 18 of us friends so we went there with 4 cars. We started our journey from campus early, some time around 10pm and reached the meeting point at Restoran Kari Kepala Ikan Salim at 1am. I ate two roti canai kosong because one was just not enough to fill my growling stomach. The roti canai was damn good, but the kuah kari is a no-no. 

Aside from us 18 people, we were joined together with 12 strangers along with 3 malim gunung (that's what they call the hiking guides). I spent RM65 for the permit and the malim fees. 

After everyone had arrived, we followed the malims to the designated location. Unlike Berekeh, there wasn't a proper parking space here. It was more like the excess space near the village so I was feeling a bit off at that. If yall are wondering, this village isn't Orang Asli village. 

The hike started at around 2.50 a.m. The earliest group arrived at the peak at 4 a.m. meanwhile me and my gurls and two gentlemen and one malim was the last group to arrive. It was around 6.10 a.m. and the sun had already started to rise :')

Anyway, we were suuuperrrrr thrilled as there were already many people there. A lot of them built their own pacaks to sleep under, but we don't have that so we just chilled on our rubber mat. The weather was extra colddd and I didn't bring my windbreaker so I was the only one hugging myself to keep me warm :') (Sofea lent me hers later though, what a sweet girl). The boys cooked us instant Maggi. Thank you guys!!

There a total of 3 checkpoints before finally reaching the peak. Someone built resting benches out of tree trunks at each of the checkpoint, so it was truly nice to be able to take a breathe after all those sweatings. The hiking difficulty level was moderate, I'd say. I definitely think Berekeh was a lot more difficult as it went like: /\ /\ /\ meanwhile Gunung Alai's trail is mostly what we would call "denai" and landai, something like this: __/ --/

The track was easy and well-identified. Honestly, I think you'd be just fine without a guide. Just be sure to apply for permit at the Jabatan Perhutanan. 

The view you ask? Oh it was top-tier. A whole different level compared to Berekeh and other hills I've hiked before. Here, you can totally see the whole awan karpet. All the clouds were covering the forests and hills and it was SO FREAKIN PRETTY. Subhanallah.

We took LOTS of pictures, but lemme just kept them in my personal files. Can you see the two mountain peaks in the picture? That is Gunung Kerunai (1000m) and Gunung Kenderong (1123m).