I'm stuck in Detroit.
I missed my connecting flight to Ithaca cos' Northwest was 30 mins behind time from Narita.Customs clearance took a while at Detroit and wham bam, I missed my flight! No flights going to Ithaca today.Either they are full or they are cancelled cos' Detroit (and Chicago) are expecting snow blizzard and a lot of airports are close.Maaakkk...nak balik!!!
I'm grateful I got my wireless pc with me so I could write this, talk with my friends on Skype, reply my emails, etc.Nina rang to tell me it's OK..this happens all the time and it shld clear up in a day or two.NW put me in a hotel tapi makanan dia tak sedap but free.At least I have a warm bed/room tonight.And I'm safe.So syukur alhamdulillah.
Two good news: Rachel of Missouri wrote to ask if she could stage my short story for her theatre class assignment (I don't know her..she sent an email asking to interview me, etc).She said she fell in love with my "Woman from hell" short story (SNW2).Of cos' I said go ahead! This is the only thing that makes me warm today.Penat tau naik k/terbang dari pukul 10.45 pm Feb 12, tak tidur2 kat Spore all night to catch a 6 am flight to Narita, berkejar2 mcm org kena cirit birit to catch flight to Detroit...then got stuck up, tak leh pi Ithaca straightaway.Maybe I shld be positive about it? Boleh rehat kejap? Hilangkan jet lag?
News kedua: Australian e-journal sought permission from Seal Press to reprint my poem 'My Veil, My Body'.Bestnya...I quote the impt bit they wrote to the publisher: "We seek to complement these essays with poetry, to add poetic insight to the current social, cultural and / or legal arguments and debates about racism and racial violence, and about social and cultural separation, exile and discrimination. We are hoping to use, with Seal Press' permission, Abdul Manaf's poem, "The Veil, My Body," to accompany the edition's focus. Abdul Manaf's poems will be situated on the page preceding the articles that deal with the subject of cultural discrimination in Australia and elsewhere."
Of cos' I said go ahead.Let VOICE travel wherever it wants.I wish I could enclose a pic of Detroit in snow today.But I tak kuasa.I penat.
Oh security check at Changi was very thorough.They checked my J-I Visa there and then lagi.Loghat.The officer kena tegur dgn I sebab pegang my letter from the State Dept lama sangat.I tak suka.Takut hilang or I terlupa nak ambik balik.He said I was very, very, very,very organised (lain macam usage je of the word 'very'.I thought the word he wanted to use was 'fussy') I told him the letter was impt.If he held it (he didn't want to give it back to me immediately after seeing it) and forgot to give it back to me, I'd be in trouble. He said if I were worried, he'd be even more worried.Duh!
Japan was OK.Very polite about it all. I think in any one's country's concern with security and safety, every visitor must not be treated suspiciously or handled like suspects.I got that in Spore but not Japan.Not even in the USA! USA's slogan at the airport is cool: keeping USA open to the world and ensuring safety of our nation. And I don't think it's because I have the J-1 visa.At customs' clearance bukan dia tau pun.Dia tengok declaration form tu je.
I missed my connecting flight to Ithaca cos' Northwest was 30 mins behind time from Narita.Customs clearance took a while at Detroit and wham bam, I missed my flight! No flights going to Ithaca today.Either they are full or they are cancelled cos' Detroit (and Chicago) are expecting snow blizzard and a lot of airports are close.Maaakkk...nak balik!!!
I'm grateful I got my wireless pc with me so I could write this, talk with my friends on Skype, reply my emails, etc.Nina rang to tell me it's OK..this happens all the time and it shld clear up in a day or two.NW put me in a hotel tapi makanan dia tak sedap but free.At least I have a warm bed/room tonight.And I'm safe.So syukur alhamdulillah.
Two good news: Rachel of Missouri wrote to ask if she could stage my short story for her theatre class assignment (I don't know her..she sent an email asking to interview me, etc).She said she fell in love with my "Woman from hell" short story (SNW2).Of cos' I said go ahead! This is the only thing that makes me warm today.Penat tau naik k/terbang dari pukul 10.45 pm Feb 12, tak tidur2 kat Spore all night to catch a 6 am flight to Narita, berkejar2 mcm org kena cirit birit to catch flight to Detroit...then got stuck up, tak leh pi Ithaca straightaway.Maybe I shld be positive about it? Boleh rehat kejap? Hilangkan jet lag?
News kedua: Australian e-journal sought permission from Seal Press to reprint my poem 'My Veil, My Body'.Bestnya...I quote the impt bit they wrote to the publisher: "We seek to complement these essays with poetry, to add poetic insight to the current social, cultural and / or legal arguments and debates about racism and racial violence, and about social and cultural separation, exile and discrimination. We are hoping to use, with Seal Press' permission, Abdul Manaf's poem, "The Veil, My Body," to accompany the edition's focus. Abdul Manaf's poems will be situated on the page preceding the articles that deal with the subject of cultural discrimination in Australia and elsewhere."
Of cos' I said go ahead.Let VOICE travel wherever it wants.I wish I could enclose a pic of Detroit in snow today.But I tak kuasa.I penat.
Oh security check at Changi was very thorough.They checked my J-I Visa there and then lagi.Loghat.The officer kena tegur dgn I sebab pegang my letter from the State Dept lama sangat.I tak suka.Takut hilang or I terlupa nak ambik balik.He said I was very, very, very,very organised (lain macam usage je of the word 'very'.I thought the word he wanted to use was 'fussy') I told him the letter was impt.If he held it (he didn't want to give it back to me immediately after seeing it) and forgot to give it back to me, I'd be in trouble. He said if I were worried, he'd be even more worried.Duh!
Japan was OK.Very polite about it all. I think in any one's country's concern with security and safety, every visitor must not be treated suspiciously or handled like suspects.I got that in Spore but not Japan.Not even in the USA! USA's slogan at the airport is cool: keeping USA open to the world and ensuring safety of our nation. And I don't think it's because I have the J-1 visa.At customs' clearance bukan dia tau pun.Dia tengok declaration form tu je.
nota tambahan: one night in detroit became 3 nights cos' Ithaca airport was close due to bad weather till Feb 16.
6 comments:
i wish to be lucky like you, ma'am! best nyeeee.
seriously inspired.
have fun.
still stuck in detroit??u sounded a bit depressed on the phone last nite...must be a rough day..
anyway,just stay strong.u know papa n i are alwayz at the back of u supporting u even though we cant be there for u at the moment...no worries
Fynn and Z: thanks for being here.Takda lah I rasa sebatang kara kat tengah2 snow byk ni.I can't fly till Friday.Depa tutup airport kat Ithaca.Blizzard lagi.
Masa nilah I appreciate kemarau di Malaysia!
More updates later.Dekat Hyatt ni (dah tukar hotel sebab Northwest will not pay for the extra stranded days)depannya ada mall besar.So I eat out.Murah sikit kat food court tu.Ramai Muslims tapi depa tak friendly.But I buat muka tebal and spoke to a group of young Lebanese.Malaysia pun depa tak tau kat mana.Mungkin tak pi sekolah tu.
Fynn I should be writing poems on this, kan?
Dr F i miss u!! did u manage to collect ur big stapler and makeups??
finally u updated ur blog. alahai, it must have been really tough for u, but i do think u will come through it. like u always said to us, dun take a u-turn , move forward and take other options. so mane bole 'maaak nak baliiik' hehe kidding.
aiyaaa i tak sempat nk kejar u la..i kinda need ur help for my resume. hehe
is there any other way ek to do this? when will you be back?
take care there. see you =)
Hi Shima, ni ada snow pics lagi.Enjoy and imagine the cold.Wah..thanks for reminding me of the no U-turn thingy. :))
You want a testimonial from me? I can type one but the letter head will not be of IIUM unless Shahada can email me a copy.I can print it from here.A bit tricky.You can use my add on your application form.Shld be home June 26 (kalau tak stranded lagi!)
Keep in touch.
Belatedly posting my thoughts in and of Detroit:
Cold Reception
It was a day when I thought I was
smarter than God
February was my safe month
wintry wind would miss me
It should end with Christmas
Northwest was 30 mins behind time
Narita was polite about it all, we jumped queue
in a rush to Detroit
Luck was not me
Or luck was indeed me
Plane missed and would I please
Come back tomorrow morning
and hence,began a wintry trauma
Stuck in Detroit amidst the purity of snow
in a warm hotel with free WiFi
Thanks to wired technology, I was immediately home with online family
I’d catch my flight tomorrow afternoon, I told them confidently
Tomorrow noon never came
Blizzards proved to be testing me
Dancing, flaunting, ravaging
Go look for other hotels, we don’t cover anything to do with fail of Nature
I stood in the icy air
Waiting
Hoping
The shuttle bus would come frequently
To find Hyatt at Dearborn you first had to misunderstand the Detroit accent
try looking for the courtesy form up and down the escalator
back and forth the McNamara tunnels
But after a while you’d find out what they meant
Courtesy PHONE
The white one at the corner
A-ha
Hyatt was nice but impersonal
WiFi no longer free
It didn’t work immediately because they never knew Malaysians sometimes have long names
I was Nor first name and Faridah surname
But Steve on the other end in Texas was so sweet
Gave me a temporary access when all else failed at (a.m.) 3
Asking me if it’s true what they said about Malaysian gals
Men grow taller when they smile at them
Innocently I thought of the Petronas twin towers and said I guess so.
Detroit Detroit Detroit
You are not my New York
I waited 3 days on you
This is not a friendly city
You have a nice make-up
But inside, I see steel.
Detroit
Feb 16, 2007
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