Monday, February 28, 2011

Winter Break In Roscoff, France - Day 1

Not long ago, we went for a 3D2N break in Roscoff, France, with another family friends of ours in Plymouth. It was no real biggie, because Plymouth to Roscoff is only around 115 miles aways, much closer to some of the other attractions in the UK itself. With Plymouth being so south and end of the world away from tempat2 UK lainnya, it was closer to France and was the perfect choice. More like a spur of the moment kind of decision because we didn't plan way in advance about the trip, we just got pretty sick and tired of all work and no play life here so terus booking the ferry the there, voila!

What made it so interesting to us was the chance to experience the cruise-style travel. This was no express ferry to France, we got on an overnight cruise ship. So bole la merasa jgk what it's like kan, x pernah2. Setakat naik ferry biasa2 tu ada la. And it was a winter holiday offer, siap dpt bed and breakfast di Roscoff, so it really was a good deal from Brittany Ferry.

At first, I didn't think it was going to that much fun, it being a a holiday in the winter. Plus I'd read comments on the internet psl the horrible conditions of the cabins in the ferry and the run-down hotels that they offer in Roscoff. Terbaca plak lps dah booking, so pasrah je la. So in all honesty, I was a bit nervous. But Alhamdulillah, they were all wrong! We had a different experience than what were written in the reviews. This is our review:

[1] Walau mula nya rasa biasa2 je, lps check in, terus bertukar jd teruja. Dia punya terminal and check in ala2 airport, so how could I not be? Terlupa plak ni International deal, ada kaunter check-in, ada departure lounge, ada x-ray, and ada Imigresen, so dpt la cop di passport wehehehei...



[2] Oh, and how could I not be excited by the sight of the grand ship itself - the Armorique!!!! Kitaorg naik mlm, pkl 10 pm. Dijangka sampai 8 pg, so we booked a cabin for 2.




[3] Mula2 naik cari bilik. Mmg mcm corridor hotel. Gmbr kelabu sbb silap setting camera masa ni. Beratus2 gak biliknya. Armorique ni ada 11 decks. Deck 6 ke bawah utk isi kereta, bus, lori, etc. Deck 7 ni pusat rekreasi, Deck 8 ke atas cabins.



[4] Ni bilik 2 org. Sengaja amik yg on the inside, maka x dpt la window. X kisah la, sbb mlm kan, nak tgk apa kat luar. Katil bunk Hubs tu bole lipat and ada tangga. Ada ensuite bathroom jg, and meja solek.




[5] Ada jgk bilik 4 org which we booked for our way return, or bole jg nak terus up kan jd cabin Club Plus. Kalo x nak cabin pon bole, book reclining seat aje.



[5] Lps tu gi lepak2 ngan Shafie sekeluarga kat lounge and then pusing2. Level 7 & 8 ni ada mcm2 - lounge, cafe, arcade, shops, etc. Mmg x kan boring la...



[6] Cinema pon adooo.... Tayang 2 cerita lg serentak...



[7] Kat kafe ada microwave wakaf, so brg siapa yg bawak bekal pon bole panaskan makanan di sini, free-of-charge.



[8] Bosan duk dlm, bole gi amik angin kat deck luar. Tp x dpt lama2, sbb sejukkkk!



[9] Mcm dlm flight jgk, ada tunjuk peta kita kat mana and how far we have more to go.



[10] Budak2 paling suka ini. For obvious reasons la kan... :)






Nak suruh tido bukan main susah lps tu...

Ok la, to be continued nnt cerita psl dah mendarat di Roscoff plak (Day 2). Check this space out ;)



Sunday, February 27, 2011

Reward Yourself - Coz You're Worth It!

Lama betul x buat apa2 entry. Sbb nya tgh prioritize kan diri, skang ala2 work comes first. Konon nya nak buat mcm Lee Babauta recommends in his book,'The Power of Less', iaitu tulis blog at the end of the day to avoid distraction during work hours. Treat it as a reward for the work you have managed to accomplished dueing the day. Obviously aku tak mencapai target harian at all last week, langsung x layak tulis blog. Either I am setting my goals too high per day, or I need to be more ruthless with myself when it comes to meeting daily goals :(

Apapon, finished correcting my paper last night at the wee hours of the morning. Next week kena submit the camera-ready version to the conference secretariat. Alhamdulillah I have managed to get full funding for this conference this coming spring, baru dpt official letter on Friday. Tu pon satu hal yg menyebabkan my work was slow moving. Agak byk paperwork nya, but biasa la, nak mintak duit org punya psl kan, kena la buat ikut prosedur. Now dah lulus I am giddy and nervous. Must remember to register before the end date to get that early bird offer. Have not checked out prices for hotels, tickets, etc, sbb I psychoed myself suh siap correction dulu baru pikir hehee...

Since siap smlm, rasa diri worth la utk mendapat ganjaran hari ni. List of things to rewards myself with:

1) Tulis blog
2) Catch up baca blog org secara back-to-back
3) Finish off my novel of the week - that Picoult's novel 'Plain Truth'
4) Survey hotels and tickets for that conference
5) Sleep

Weih, keja siap satu aje, rewards nya dah bersusun. Camno tuh? Olololo, bila baca balik list aku, mcm pathetic jgk my reward list ni. Org lain reward kan diri dgn Miu Miu purse satu ke, UGG boots sepasang ke, iPhone seketul ke, busuk2 pon that sinful desert from M&S. Hahaha, apa bole buat, those five things are more precious to me - money can't buy ok.

And guess which of the five I picked?

.
.
.
.

SLEEP, of course!!!

Hehe nampak sgt I have been very sleep-deprived these last few days. I am actually down with a cold pon, so sleep was the best reward ever. Nak2 Aisyah pon tido ptg jgk, wah... lagi la. Actually I cheated a bit, baca novel jgk dlm setengah jam sblm menidurkan diri. Nak buat mcm mana, I am so not used to sleeping in the afternoon ok, paksa2 x jalan gak, so berbaring je la dlm duvet sambil baca novel. What's your idea of rewarding yourself after a day's/ week's hard work?

It's been pretty mild last week, tp skang ni mcm sejuk balik, around 2C. Unpredictable la these days. X tau la bunga2 yg baru nak sprouting tu survive ke x ni dah sejuk balik....





Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Gelora Perut

A long absence from blogging sbb baru2 ni gi on a short retreat for 3D2N somewhere. Lps balik tu mmg bergelora la sgt, skang ni pon still ada lg ala2 upset tummy and headache, x tau kesan directly or indirectly from the travel. Ni pon tummy x settle lg ni, dup dap dup dap debar kot2 terpaksa buat temu x berjanji ngan En. Tan(das), huhu...

Suffice to say, x dak mood nk ceghita pasai holiday hari tu (not that it was a bad one, x larat je nk select n buh pics byk2 buat masa ni), but since I gatai gak nak hapdet gak, buh ceghita current short2 one udah la ye. Ni cek tgk srin lama2 pon mai dah sakit kepala. X pasai2 speaking utagha, satgi kluar kot Siam plak, sudahhhh...

Td gi GP jp amik prescription utk Aisyah, kulit pipi dia kering and cam gatal2 (ni appointment sudah buat dari hari Isnin minggu lps lg, sbb masalah x urgent x la pressing sungguh2 nak cpt). Aisyah x pernah lg dpt ubat prescription, sebelum ni kalo demam, batuk, selsema, cirit-birit, etc, semua pon kena beli pakai duit sendiri sbb ubatnya common and bole beli over-the-counter aje. Kali ni sbb gatal2 dia mcm eczema-like, dpt ubat prescription, so merasa la ubat free. Harap2 ubatnya mujarab. Sian dia pipi merah2. Ni dia rupa prescription tu. Comei je kan signature doktor kat bawah tu. Rasa mcm nak copy je tp nama surname aku bukan Thurston hehehe.... Pen dia mahai kut... Gmbr bawah tu Aisyah mengelek ubat yg baru amik drpd Boots Pharmacy, bangga tu bawak sendiri.




Sudah tu dia x nk plak balik umah lg x puas bermain kat luar agaknya, terpaksa la layan dia jln ptg2 kala. Lalu dpn kedai fish n chip 'Perillas' ni (tiba2 teringat iklan rokok Peryllis kat Msia zaman late 80's dulu), siap tercegat cik Aisyah x mau berganjak. Nak x nak terpaksa la masuk beli sebungkus utk dia tsk tsk. Baru 2 thn dah pandai demand, diva betul anak i.




Skali balik tu badan dia cam panas, mata gatal2, perut bunyi2 mcm sebu penuh air and mulut lak wat gaya2 nk muntah. Lor nak demam ke? I'd thought she was spared sbb me dah cir-bir sejak balik n Hubs muntah2 since balik but Aisyah had been fine. Rupanya tidak. Mungkin whatever virus itu baru nak menyinggah kat dia, alahai. Or sbb tunggu lama sgt kat waiting room nak jumpa Dr td dah terjangkit whatever yg menular di situ plak. Makanya lps bg Calpol dan Ibuprofen, tido kan dia kejap. Yes, we have a sick bucket prepared for her too, just in case. Bless her.



Tolong doa kn kesihatan kami ye. Bila dah sihat sket aku tulih entry jalan2 baru2 ni naaaa.....

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Konsert Membunyikan-Semula Sains

Kat atas tu direct translation ke BM utk nama concert hari tu. Sengaja bg org susah google and landing kat sini sket hehehe... Haha, muntah darah x baca review smlm? Sbnarnya excited nak share ilmu baru dgn uols, tu psl la pjg berjela2. Ok la, utk menambahkan kemuakkan korg, aku sambung lg kisah Music Festival itu muahahahaha….

Tp kali ni cerita psl concert2 nya plak la. Best jgk la. Spt yg aku tulis smlm, mungkin aku sendiri ni pon baru nak mature in this field, so my appreciation for these kind of arts adalah lebih mendalam. Kalo dulu mmg kebuhsanan la nak tunggu each piece habis, tp skang dah bole terpaku and like, ‘wow, that piece was good!’ Seriously ada goosebump… It is not so much on what the music sounds like, but more on the creative process that takes place to make the music is what matters.

Aku perasan the mind shift ni slps balik the Sound & Music Computing Summer School kat Barcelona summer yg lps (klik sini to read). Sbnarnya, byk positif attributes aku dpt kutip spjg summer school 5 hari tu. Membantu byk dari segi ilmu asas, idea2 yg aku cedok utk teruskan PhD aku, smgt dan motivasi, ilmu dlm kelas and compare2 kerja ngan budak2 PhD lain. Kalo korg ada peluang gi summer school ni, aku recommend sgt2 sila la pergi. Even kalo mula2 tu rasa mcm, ‘ish buang masa aje pegi, kang x relevan langsung kang’, tp hakikatnya nnt akan perasan jg ada manfaat nya, majlis ilmu maaaa, mana bole sia2 aje kan…. At least it gives you the drive to do your job masa timbul time malas2 tu, sbb tgk kerja org lain mcm waaa so advance one..!

Berbalik pada cerita concert, ada bbrp piece yg menarik. Salah satu nya by my lab mate, Haans. Ni yg dia godek piano lama jd one new sound installation. Mmg menarik gila! Tp syg nya, dia lom upload lg ke YouTube. X pe la, just share gmbr buat masa ni.




Satu lg piece yg aku suka ialah by my lab buddy jg, Al tu. His piece was a duet between violin and benda lah radioaktif. Aku malas nak tulis tajuk panjang2 dlm English nnt dia search diri sendiri terjumpa plak blog ni ehhehe. Tp kalo berminat, sila la klik YouTube di bawah.





Oh, and co-SV aku menyanyi ok pada mlm tu, sambil2 main violin. Fuh, sedap suara mamat tu sebenarnya. Very, very passionate. Terkejut haku. Orgnya sempoi aje. Rupanya dia ni bestfren dgn Thom York, ahli kumpulan Radiohead itu…. He was even mentioned dlm buku ni, psl Radiohead, klik kat link tu kalo2 berminat nak order and baca. Co-SV aku siap pernah main dan tolong compose lagu lg utk band itu lagi! *pengsan*

Ok cukup lah kipas2 org2 lain dlm lab yg dpt buat persembahan mlm itu. Ini gmbr dua org ahli lab yg x de buat show apa2. Dgn x bersalah nya gi Launching (moral support tu), dan minum jus oren dan makan kacang free ehehhehe… (PS: nmpk mcm rapat dlm gmbr ni, tp kami x bersentuhan pon, ilusi optik semata).



Oh, and UoP and khasnya lab aku mendapat review yg begitu bagus skali dlm salah satu section in The Guardian Newspaper hari ni berkenaan dgn Contemporary Music Festival tersebut *proud to be a member*


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Art & Science: Friends?


Pada 10-12 Februari hari tu berlangsungnya Contemporary Music Festival di UoP ni. Ahli lab aku byk jg yg participated dlm event ni, mostly submitted their musical piece la kan, bar me. Tema festival tahun ini ialah ‘Re-Sounding Science’.

Actually aku agak enjoy dgn isi kandungan festival tahun ni. Dari segi talk nya pon byk membuka mata aku, or maybe tiap2 tahun pon dah mcm ni tp aku aje yg baru nak dpt paham ke, x tahu la aku.

Antara yg best ialah talk daripada Prof Miller ni psl ‘Creative Art, Creative Science’. Kita selalu automatically terpikir yg art and sciences ni x geng, x masuk. Kalo org tu cenderung kpd science, mmg hopeless la bab2 art. Kalo org tu minat art, sciences lingkup lah jawab nya. Sebenarnya bkn begitu. Beliau bgtau yg art and sciences ni should come together, hand-in-hand. Even Pablo Picasso pon derived ideas from sciences jgk.

Pada tahun 1904, Picasso si artis ni berpikir2 mcm mana nak break out of the norm, siap toying with the idea of fourth dimension lg. Pada tahun yg sama, Albert Einstein plak tgh bermati2an pikir psl time and simultaneity. Hinggalah pada tahun 1907, si Picasso the artist pon telah menggunakan the reduction of forms to geometry untuk menghasilkan karya terkini nya yg diberi nama ‘Demoiselles’. Bentuk lukisan begini adalag dipanggil Cubism, suatu teknik lukisan yg unique lg menggegarkan dunia, mashyur hingga ke hari ini. Cubism ni derived drpd idea non-Euclidean geometry and the fourth dimension, idea asal Henry Poincare yg diterbitkan dalam ‘La Science et l’hypothese’. Buku yg sama dirujuk extensively juga oleh Albert Eisntein sehinggalah beliau berjaya cracked the theory of relativity!



And it works the other way around jgk. Prof. Harry Kroto and his team telah menemui struktur bg a new form of carbon, yakni C60. Bkn senang nak dpt figure out struktur carbon baru ni. Mcm2 cara diaorg experimented. Sekian lama nya la team diorg duk pikir mcm mana la these unsaturated carbon-based molecules which were composed of hexagons and pentagons of carbon are joined together. Last2 dlm a moment of inspiration, Prof Kroto teringat satu work ni by seorg arkitek bernama Buckminster Fuller yang mempamerkan the geodesic dome structure ni yg Prof Kroto ni pernah tgk masa at the Architectural Expo’67 di Montreal, Canada. Masa tu Prof Kroto attended the expo sbb beliau bekerja sbg graphic designer sebelum ni (artistic side). It was exactly the same structure dgn carbon c60! (made of hexagons and pentagons together). Long story short, team diorg berjaya solve carbon C60 punya struktur, which is now referred as the fullerene structure in chemistry for carbons yg mempunyai struktur sebegini. Oh, and Prof. Kroto won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 wokeh? Hebat x hebat when we utilize science and art together.



Mencedok artikel Prof Miller drpd sini, conclusion nya begini:

"Picasso and Einstein believed that art and science are means for exploring worlds beyond perceptions, beyond appearances. Einstein's approach to space and time was not primarily mathematical. Notions of aesthetics were essential to his discovery in 1905 of relativity and a new representation for light, and then in 1907 of a means to widen relativity theory to include gravity. Nor were Picasso's studies of space totally artistic in the narrow sense of this term, as his interest in scientific developments reveals. Picasso's new aesthetic for the Demoiselles was the reduction of forms to geometry.

Instead of referring to an "interplay" between art and science, we must begin to speak of ideas that were developed in common by artists and scientists. The age-old quest of both art and science has been to seek new representations of phenomena beyond appearances. This effort becomes focused at the nascent moment of creativity, when boundaries dissolve between disciplines and notions of aesthetics became paramount. Coming to grips with this phenomenon requires delving into the nature of creative thinking."

Aku harap author asal dia x saman aku cut and paste di sini. Bkn niatku nak plagiat kan hasil tulisan beliau, but he has it wayyyy better than I can ever summarize. Dia ni la yg salah seorg yg bg talk dkt Neuro*Arts Conference hari tu. Kalo berminat nak baca buku dia, bole la order di sini ye.

Cuma agak gusar sket, sbb education system kita kat Msia ni at the time being seolahnya nak pisahkan dua bidang ni. I mean, di peringkat sekolah menengah lg dah pecah2 kan, aliran sains or sastera. Bkn setakat tu, stigma masyarakat kita ialah kalo budak nmpk ada potensi cerah sket aje MESTI push suruh buat science, biar la budak tu sbanrnya nak buat Social Sciences or Sastera sbb minat, terpaksa dikuburkan terus niat hati tu. Sedangkan kalo di UK ni, pengalaman masa aku di high school buat GCSE (O Level) dan A-Level, mmg bole gabung, nak amik Drama, Physics and German? Silakan…. Ada member tu amik English, IT, Psychology… ada jgk yg gabung Maths, Further Maths, Physical Education…. Semua bole…

Tp aku faham jgk la, kita negara membangun, belum lg negara maju, so focus negara adalah pada science and technology. I guess bila dah sampai jd negara maju nanti, baru la human resources pon cukup utk rakyat kita bebas memilih utk nak study apa pon. Sblm sampai peringkat tu, mmg terpaksa la selected aliran aje di utilize sepenuhnya utk membangunkan negara. Tp dikhuatiri pandangan ramai yg arts ni bidang pengajian second class. Salah begitu. Jangan lah pulak nanti sampai we fail to appreciate the need and beauty of art in life.

Ok itu sahaja utk hari ni. Aku selaku org Interdisciplinary (Computer Music), harap dpt menyampaikan dgn tone neutral. Of course, untung sekali kalo kita dapat mahir kan diri dlm dua2 bidang, tp kalo x dpt pon, galakkan anak2 utk mengambil bahagian dlm dua2 area. Utilize kan otak kiri dan kanan sepenuhnya. Org arts dan science jgn gaduh2 aaa…. Niat kita sama saja mencari ilmu kerana Allah. Semoga semua usaha kita diberkatinya….. Amin…

Monday, February 14, 2011

Being Independent

Aisyah is at that age where she knows what independence is, and is exhibiting it well, I must say. For instance, kalo jalan2 ke town or nursery, mmg dah x naik stroller dah. All the way she walked tau (~2 miles pergi-balik ke town, ~1 mile pergi-balik nursery). Kaki dia very strong for a two year old. Kalo shopping lg la, siap nak bawakkan beg sama. Kalo naik bukit pon naik bukit la, gigih betul!






Then dah dkt 3-4 bulan dah pandai gosok gigi sendiri, x payah susah2, dia pandai amik stool and then bukak paip. Tp aku masih kena still buat the 2nd time jgk la, takut2 x bersih dia buat kan, x nak gigi dia suffer plak. But this girl is very determined to show that she is able-bodied.





Kalo aku masak kat dapur pon dia suka tolong. Tolong cedok beras, tolong kacau telur dadar, etc. Tp kalo time goreng2 tu aku kurg minat dia ada kat dapur ni, sempit. Tp x pe, lps tu dia sambung masak kat luar plak :P




Bab main2 pon, dah byk imaginasi sendiri. Ni dia tgh picnic la kot, siap hampar blanket...


Sedar x sedar this June she will be three. How time flies!