Journey With Baby

I Turned Inside Out Waiting For You This Twilight

2012-01-27T00:29:00.000Z

Tajuk mcm romantik abis kan?

Sbnarnya, nak share pics I took whilst waiting for Hubs to finish his job lps Maghrib td (tggu beliau solat jap dkt opis beliau, to go do our food shopping). Terasa kreatif smcm plak masa tu, Aisyah plak tido, so ada la peluang bereksperimen.

I am by no means a photographer since I know no difference between aperture or shutter speed. But what I know, I love taking pics that means something artistic to me. So perhaps an artist that uses photograph as her medium? Umm.. terlalu stretching it kot label ni. Cukup lah blogger ciput yg gila gambar kot hehe. Maybe terlalu byk pegi tgk art gallery kot, I now to appreciate 'art' in its rawest form :)

So this is Plymouth in twilight mode, circa 5.11 pm mcm tu. I loveeee the clouds in the background! It was a lovely day today, the sky was bright and the crescent moon was out. Perfect, but freezingggg! Beku jari2 tau (it might have been around 2-3C, but felt like 1C with the strong winds). Obviously, as the shot gets darker, the day light diminishes into night.

Semasa menunggu Hubs solat, aku amik gmbr latar belakang Plymouth city dari dlm bangunan. It was such a breathtaking view. Tp secara x sengaja nya, terambik gmbr yg ada my reflection in the pic. So ala2 mcm kalo filerm tertindan gitu, ada 2 imej, the background of Plymouth city behind on one layer, and myself on the second layer. But I find this inside out pic mcm enticing, so buat dan buat lg. The last pic shows you how it's done, basically. Aisyah and I were sitting in the cafe. Can you tell?

This last pic ni x berapa cantik (blurry), but it is the essence of 'Waiting for Ayah'. Aisyah tertunggu2 sampai tertido, Ayah coming out of that long corridor from his office meeting us yg menunggu di lobby :)

Busy Sebelum Lazy

2012-01-26T16:03:00.000Z

Wah, byk preparation nak kena buat kalo nak gi holiday ni, I almost forgot, aduhai. Shopping for bekal, packing, sorting out travel docs, printing out maps, tickets, accommodation address and receipts, searching for places of attractions, collect tickets kat train station, study the map of the transport links, prepare itenerary, tukar duit, masak utk bekal dlm perjalanan, dan mcm2 lg, argghhh...! Termasuk la mohon cuti utk Aisyah from her nursery. Guru besar kena sign tau, x lulus x leh cuti, mcm boss Hubs jgk hehe..

And in a minute, after Aisyah finishes her after school tea, we need to get to the surgery as soon as possible to pick up her prescriptions, and collect them at the pharmacy. Bkn apa, di UK ni susah sket nak travel with medicine, especially kalo naik flight or departure yg international, unless ada prescription Dr yg dah sign di botol ubat tersebut. Trust me, dah pernah kena, walhal ubat Paracetamol budak2 je pon, dia x bg bawa dlm handbag. With Aisyah's allergies, we need to have medication on hand, bkn dlm bagasi yg bole check-in, so nak x nak, everytime travel I need to get Dr's signature.

Yg buat lg terasa hari adalah packed adalah sbb hari ni kelas General teaching Associates Scheme (GTA) aku dah start. Huih, kelas ni dari 1st year lg aku menggeletik nak masuk, tp asyik la clash ngan shift keja aku pada masa tu. Then the last 2 sems, nama naik, tp in waiting list aje sbb demand terlalu ramai. This sem (cohort January 2012), baru nama betul2 accepted, Alhamdulillah...

GTA ni kursus utk menggarap skill pengajaran. Ye la, aku fikir2, balik nak kena mengajar jg, x sket, byk. Selama ni mengajar student main hentam keromo pakai teaching model sendiri olah hehe. So course yg terang2 free ni xde salah nya ikut. Kursus nya selama 6 minggu, dan 3 jam seminggu. Upon completion, dpt certificate. Selain introduction to teaching, kita bole proceed to the next level of the course, which is PGCAP600. Kalo lulus kursus yg additional ni, akan dpt recognition nationally and by the Higher Education Authority UK. Eh eh, mcm nak stay ngajar kat sini je bunyi nya... Bkn gitu, but kalo dpt pengiktirafan tertinggi di sini, pasti lah rugi kalo sia2 kan peluang ni (pendapat aku lah). So, let's see what it offers lah in the next few weeks.

Already aku x rasa rugi attend kelas ni, sbb td dpt jumpa org2 yg sama dgn bidang aku, yg sblm ni x kenal mengenal pon sbb lain2 research group (similar, but not the same field). Yg paling menarik ni buat modeling of the cochlear, which is kinda related to what I'm doing. Dia dah viva, so we had loads to discuss masa tgh lunch td (td they offered lunch as well after class). Lebih best lg, she will be presenting at this workshop I'm due to go in Feb, so x de la pegi menonong x kenal sapa. And since I needed participants for my performance studies, she has actually volunteered herself (sbb dia rasa nak tahu psl bidang aku lebih mendalam lg), and even offered to help dragging people from her lab to join in the study too. Aku kata tgk lah dulu, test pon x design properly lg, but if I needed her help, will definitely cari dia!

First off, 25 org yg hadir td diminta memperkenalkan diri sendiri, what you do, what's interesting about you, blah blah. Ni kira ice-breaking la kot, sbb we will work in the group for the next few sessions. Then belajar psl model2 in teaching, dan yg mana sesuai utk what situation. The third part tu masuk lab, dan belajar guna tool 'Tulip' (Teaching and Learning in Plymouth) utk upload, share and download materials utk belajar dan mengajar dlm UoP. During the 3rd session onwards, we are expected to perform a 5 minute micro-teaching each, which will be assessed on hihi.. nervous plak..

End of the session dapat mkn lunch free. So that was that. Mudah2an berkat pengambilan kelas ni. Semoga kalo esok2 mengajar anak bangsa, mengalir manfaat nya... Insya Allah...

Feels Like A Sunday

2012-01-24T11:53:00.000Z

Hari ni hari Selasa. Kalo kat Msia tgh cuti ni, sbb Chinese New Year. Tp aku kat UK pon cuti sama. Sendiri declare, sbb sblm baru lps meeting ngan SV, and I feel I deserve a break hehe.

Those long nights in the library had paid off, when I had my meeting with my SV yesterday. The discussion went for a little over 2 hours, a record for us, coz normally our meeting usually lasts 30 mintues-45 minutes at a time. But since the last couple months, we have lesser and lesser meetings, coz I think he trusts me to work on my own. Although exciting and challenging, ia adalah sgt mendebarkan, coz I really, really don't want to let him down (with that high expectation of his) or worst, keja syok sendiri tp salah direction.

Alhamdulillah, he verified that I'm on the right track and I am so relieved that a few experiments that I thought I still needed to do, he said could actually be dropped. There are a few minor ones that I am halfway through that I need to finish, and I hope I can finish them off in a couple of weeks time, so praise be to Allah for that.

I really should qadha tido, but during the day when Aisyah is at school, I find myself that I can't. Bykkkkkk sgt benda To Do List (yg non-academic related), like for today: Lipat kain, basuh baju, jemur baju. Then gi bank. Then gi Treasury, check dah byr fees belum. Then return buku2 kat library, email semua org dlm lab ckp seminar this Thursday cancel, look up and plan metro station, attractions blah2 for our upcoming winter break (one of the reasons I worked so hard the last few weeks was becoz I want to have a GUILT-FREE holiday).

X termasuk benda2 I want to do for leisure, yg dah lama dlm KIV list becoz I couldn't find the time to do, like: watch re-runs of Judge Judy, tgk 2 episode of Desperate Housewives Season 8, update blog (ada 4 entries tertangguh, x termasuk nak buat scheduled entries coz I don't want my blog sans entries whilst we are going away ), tunaikan hajat nak pegi tgk the Art2Day 4 exhibition at the Cube3 Gallery and the Intersection Exhibition at the Peninsular Art Gallery. AND, I have new stash of FICTIONAL books to read, oh sweet! I've bought quite a number of books lately bcoz they seem to be on offer, and now it's payback time. So far on my to read list is 'Mini Shopaholic' (chick-lit, I know, tp since dah buat koleksi from 1st Shopaholic series tu update je lah bacaan), and Jodi Picoult's newest book, 'Sing You Home' (I am also an avid collector of almost all of Picoult's number). Terkini, sudah habis baca buku 'After River' by Donna Millner, mmg menyentap jiwa jgk la coz she plays the theme of family, how a family broke down after something that happened during one night, and 30 years after they reunite. Sedih gak la, and it reieterates the pepatah Melayu, "Air dicincang takkan putus'. Made me miss my family.

Syok betul sesekali bole sit in front of the TV, dgn x mandi, and watch back-to-back reruns silly sitcoms. Ok peeps. Gotta run. Got long list of stuff to do now! At least dah bole cross off 1 blog entry, 2 episodes of Judge Judy. Next to tackle, mandi, kemas katil, dan jemur kain, and out the door, see how much I can get down within these 3 hours before picking Aisyah up from nursery again, hihihih.

Thermostat

2012-01-22T00:08:00.001Z

Semalam kat library panas gila2, sampaikan tercongong laki I kjp tgk bini dia balik mlm2 sibuk mengipas diri hehe. So hari ni tukar strategy gi duduk outside dkt ruang lapang library. Ketar plak dah... Siap kena pakai coat bagai sambil menaip. Agak x seswai sbb baju bulky. Pelik la thermostat library ni, time panas, panas kemain. Time sejuk, sejuk gile. Amoi dpn aku tu pon amik jaket dia pakai jgk. Jaket dia lg tebal, so lg kelakar terkial2 nak menaip. Apapon, salute dkt study group dpn aku ni, budak2 Chinese. Esok lusa nak raya dia masih steady study, dah lps midmite dah ni.

Mlm ni mlm minggu dan aku berdoa kat luar tu x de apa2 yg pelik berlaku. Smlm ada jejaka2 muda tepuk blkg aku masa tggu lampu cross jalan tukar kaler hijau seraya menegur, 'You alright?' (mabuk atau mengejek, Allah aje yg tahu). Aku jawab, "yeah, thank you". Ni standard jawapan aku sbb biasa nya dia x bajet kita berani jawab. Bila kita wat2 konfiden (tp bkn kurg ajar, dia akan terdiam dan in fact malu snediri sbb nak menyakat x jd). Apapon, polis mmg ramai di mlm minggu sbb x nak kekacauan di luar bar sana, so Insya Allah selamat.

Sbnarnya nak aje aku rakamkan kemeriahan mlm2 mggu, tp takut x psl2 kena renggut kamera plak, so biar lah terakam dlm minda aku je. Kalo tgk around 8 pm, agak sunyi dan x de sesapa kat jalan, tp from 11 pm onwards, happening... mmg ramai lah manusia atas jalanan, yg bergurau senda, terjerit2, menyanyi, yg goofing around (pra-romen barangkali di tepi2 jalan) pon ada jg. Tu psl polis mmg berjaga2, siap ada 2,3 biji kereta lg parking spjg jalan aku nak balik. Tawakkal aje lah semoga semua slmt.

Pe'el org bila dah mabuk ni pelik2. Ntah la, setiap mlm ada aje yg 'amusing' dan menghairankan. Nampak jelas benar kenapa Allah melarang kita drpd meminum air kencing setan itu. Manusia yg baik2 siangnya jd hilang pertimbangan diri seketika.

Makhluk yg berupa paraskan manusia tetapi akalnya tiada ini lah barangkali yg M Nasir referkan sbg 'Lang Mengsilang, Kui Mengsikui' (Org bkn org, hantu bkn hantu) dalam lagu nya 'Tanya Sama Itu Hud2' yg pernah memenangi AJL satu ketika dulu.

Pelarian

2012-01-21T01:30:00.003Z

Kena halau pak guard. Aiseh, potong stim betul.

Maka, merempat lah aku. Kat library. Sbb aku nak pakai dua monitor (one from laptop, one from the PC in the carel room), terpaksa la aku amik bilik karel yg meruap itu (overheated, heating psg max kot). Selalu nya kalo gi library aku duk luar je, but skang nak wat sound editing plus nak sambung scripting, so tamak nak 2 screen mcm kat lab sendiri. So, fanas pon fanas la. Risiko kulit kering pas nih. You can never fully win, can you?

Amik sket gmbr bilik. Ni bilik nya moden drpd yg pernah buat entry sblm ni. Very quiet. Top-floor. Bilik smart, ada laptop, desk, chair, wifi, whiteboard, marker, white board eraser, heater full-blast. Kurg best sket sbb ada dinding kaca yg org luar bole tgk. So kalo tiba2 rasa nak korek hidung, kena cover. Memandangkan mlm ni mlm mggu, student x ramai, ~~so bole la korek hidung sepuas hati dan keruk bont*t skali kalo perlu~~ tgk la kat luar bilik karel ni, kosong. Tp Insya Allah ok, sbb bilik ni auto lock, so org x leh masuk, dan kalo aku nak gi toilet, brg leh tggal dlm. Kalo duk kat luar mcm slalu, kalo nak toilet, kena disconnect laptop dan hangkut sama.

Ni bukti panas, tepek gak walau ada risiko termengetengahkan my emerging double chin. Muka merah bukan sbb blusher, semula jadi tu. Tindak balas bilik panas nih, aduh... Headphones terpaksa pakai yg cikai, sbb sayang nak bwk headphones best kuar daripada lab, takut patah dalam beg semasa transport from lab ke library yg hanya lah er... 20 langkah hehe...

Yg syoknya, kat tingkat ni ada coffee machine and drinking water fountain (free). So kejap2 gi minum air. Kulit kena jaga maaa... Panas2 bilik ni, dehydrated nanti.

Malam makin larut (technically, it's pagi already, hmmm), students pon ramai dah balik. Aku pon time2 stretching tu merayap (dlm bangunan) gi amik gmbr plak. I kinda like this pic, coz it blurs out the edges between the inside of the library (the plant, carpet, furniture in the room that you can see via reflection from camera), and the outside of the library (the building, etc that you can see in the dark). Kinda what I'm feeling like at the moment, my night and day, my work, my play, just all blurs into this one whole entity. Ah... PhD.... Enjoy it while it lasts, or so I've been told ;)

Panto 2012 - Cinderella

2012-01-19T00:03:00.002Z

Went to the Panto show last Sunday (15 January 2012). Panto ni merupakan satu teater show, yg unik di UK. Biasanya panto show dipersembahkan pada musim Xmas, dan berakhir pada hujung bulan January. Cerita yg dipersembahkan pada tiap2 tahun adalah berbeza, mengikut arrangement yg teater sudah decide lah. Contohnya, Theatre Ro*yal Plymouth tahun ini menyampaikan cerita 'Cinderella'. Tahun lepas adalah 'Aladdin', dan tahun sblm tu 'Sleeping Beauty'. Tahun dpn plak 'Dick Whittington'. Lain theatre lain la cerita nya, depend lah diorg dah book show/tour group mana utk berlakon di situ spjg musim panto.

Beza antara panto dgn show2 lain nya adalah dalam panto, generally pengunjung nya adalah laid-back and relaxed, so kanak2 adalah sgt welcomed. Kalo show lain biasanya x leh bising2, especially if it was a ballet or opera (ganggu penghayatan org). So mmg kanak2 kalo x well-behaved x sah pandai2 bawak masuk lah. But with panto, mmg digalakkan buat bising, sbb ada interaksi antara penonton dgn yg pelakon teater atas pentas tu. Ini adalah salah satu British culture. Selalu nya selain lakonan, ada nyanyian (musical), dan jokes. Lawak2 yg disampaikan jg byk berkitar around the British pop culture, so kalo x brp arif, mmg won't get the punch line lah.

Duration persembahan adalah 3 jam, with intermission kat tgh. Wah, mcm tgk movie Hindustan eh. Masa intermission tu mmg org berpusu2 gi toilet, beli air, ice-cream, jajan dsb nya lah. Harga tiket biasa nya sekitar GBP20-25 per PERSON, depending on seats jg. Ni harga kalo seat paling best lah. Aku hari tu dpt diskaun student, and Aisyah under age tickets, plus amik yg seat kat Upper Circle dah (blkg), so dpt murah. Yg best nya, pengunjung x ramai sbb pegi Ahad mlm Isnin (esoknya kerja) so usherer suh pindah seat dpn yg lebih mahal harga nya dan lebih elok view nya. Rezeki... Sengaja amik show malam pkl 6 ptg sbb senang dah selesai solat Maghrib, x yah tercari2 tmpt nak solat sbb show tiga jam kan? Skang ni 4.45 ptg dah Maghrib dah.

Alhamdulillah tahun ni berpeluang pergi. Tahun lps tiket dah ada, tp last minute aku flu teruk, habis semua org pon x dpt pegi. Yg paling best, Aisyah enjoyyyyed sgt. Ingat kan half way through dah kena balik sbb dia boring (3 jam maaaa), tp tidakkk! Dia lah yg paling enjoy skali. Siap faham plak tu lawak, ketawa kuat2. Time actor tanya 'where is the spider?' (you're meant to reply 'it's behind you' - another trademark of panto show wajib ada ayat 'it's behind you ni' berkali2), Aisyah bersungguh2 menjerit dan ulang2 ckp mcm tu (so was the rest of the kids in the auditorium. Generally, we had such a good time!

Just to prove how much Aisyah was enjoying herself, sila lah tgk video ni. OMG, mcm gi concert utk toddler, tahu?! Masa ni dia nyanyi Bob The Builder sama2 dgn actor kat dpn. excited terlebih sbb dah mkn aiskrim satu tub kecik kot, and mini Malteser's choc satu paket. (Ni satu lg trademark panto, overdose your kids with sugar).

Ni plak kalo nak tahu mcm mana show panto ni sbnarnya.

Maaf la video gelap (mmg lights off pon dlm auditorium), plus sbnarnya x leh amik gmbr dalam ni. Sbb utama, copyright kot. Sbb kedua, dan lebih penting lagi, adalah x nak ganggu konsentrasi actors and actresses on stage dgn flash2 drpd kamera kita. Ye la, org tu berlakon live kan, buat nya terpegun dgn flash kita, terus hilang ingatan kejap, kan ke naya. Aku ni mmg kira sneaky la jgk, tp nak wat kenangan gak. Lagi pon x de flash, and fokus kat anak aku, hehehe... Btw, sblm show start tu mmg bole amik gmbr, hanya bila show dah nak start baru dia suh simpan kamera.

Kalo ada rezeki, lain show bole dtg lg, Insya Allah...

Dr Bard

2012-01-17T20:29:00.000Z

One of my Malaysian friends di UoP ni telah berjaya lulus viva nya semalam (16/1/2012). Congratulations Dr Bard! I knew he was going to do well, and he probably did his viva pretty effortlessly, like his crossing the road in this picture, which was taken a day before his viva, in front of the Uni compound, where I bumped into him as I was busying myself shooting pictures around Uni, post-lab work.

Sebelah malam nya, well, Bard opened-table utk semua kaum Msia Plymouth, hehe. Alhamdulillah, and thank you tuan penaja. I ditched my plan of working in the lab that night, tp still psycho kan diri it's as much work as it is a celebratory party, bcoz pengalaman viva org adalah ilmu dan panduan buat kita esok2 jg. Harap2 berkat org baru lulus ni melekat la jg sipi2 kat aku, Insya Allah...

These are some pics of the fantastic people, and fantastic food.

Above was what I had (I ate 2.5 kpg, the rest shared with others and tapau-ed balik rumah). I was fasting that day, and sudah pun berbuka puasa, altho light2 aje sbb plan mkn2 adalah ad-hoc at 7.30 pm. Antara sbb aku makan jg sket di rumah, walau ada jemputan (selain sbb berbuka) adalah sebab Hubs bole terjumpa ni kat kedai daging halal Sanjida's setelah 3 tahun kot x mkn. Cer teka cer teka.. apa ke benda nya?

Tahu kah anda?

Kasi clue sket, benda alah ni rhyme plak dgn nama featured celebrity di blog aku ni kali ni, yakni Dr Bard.

Dah tahu dah?

BABAT la, apa lagi kan. Aku mmg x pernah masak la babat ni (perut lembu). Setakat mkn pon, satay babat ada la kot time2 balik kg Hubs di Muar, tu pon jarang2 kalo menyinggah mkn breakfast kat luar mungkin la. Rupanya liat jg benda ni. Masak sup daging dan babat dalam pressure cooker, huih 40 minit x lembut lg. Hari ni (after rebus lg atas api), baru la seswai dimakan. Alhamdulillah...

ASVAH

2012-01-15T15:27:00.000Z

Got a meeting with SV end of this week, so yikes!

In the mean time nak share hasil nukilan Aisyah. Dia lukis giant hehe. Semakin ada rupa dah lukisan dia skang, dah bukan abstract semata2 lagi, syabas bethi.

Got plans for this evening, will blog about it once I can find the time. Hope it's worth the wait and money ;)

PS: In case you guys are wondering what the title means (ASVAH), it's the way Aisyah is TRYING to write the letters of her name at the moment (lihat gmbr 1). Kalo pakai keyboard bole spell AISYAH betul2, but writing is a whole different set of skills, so it's good enough for a 3-yr-old in my eyes :)

Berembun

2012-01-12T23:56:00.001Z

Tgh syok2 mengatur strategi kerja di lab smlm, aku ditegur pak guard agar megosongkan bangunan. Allahu Akbar, dah sampai waktu nya ke? Kdg2 mcm terasa waktu ni begitu pantas berlalu. Lumrah pelajar2 di bgnan aku, lps sekian2 masa pada waktu mlm harus beredar sbb bgnan aku ni menempatkan byk lab2 komputer yg mahal lah barangkali, harus dikunci extra. Bukan tidak boleh momohon kerja lebih masa di sini, tp leceh. Kena mintak kebenaran bertulis kpd Grad School, berserta surat sokongan drpd SV, dan mcm2 lagi. Info ni baru tahu bbrp hari sblm Xmas hari tu, ihsan pak guard yg kesian tgk aku, bgtau tips dia mcm mana nak stay back lebih lama lg. Mungkin minggu dpn baru dpt buat, sbb td br dpt schedule kan meeting dgn SV, masa tu la akan dibincangkan hal ini.

Anyway, lps dah kena 'halau secara baik' tu, aku called Hubs tanya, apakah bole aku stay back lg sambung kat library, tgh naik sheikh ni. Alhamdulillah, beliau izinkan, so aku pon book bilik karel satu utk buat keja. 'You have the room until 7 am tomorrow', kata librarian tu. Apa, pkl 7 pg? X de la teman nak stayback sampai lewat camtu skali bro. Bilik karel plak dpt yg kat blkg2 sana, sbb aku booked lambat, tp nasib baik kiri dan depan bilik karel aku tuh penuh ngan student2 lain yg dah sama2 booked jgk. Phew!

Sbnarnya x de apa pon yg harus dikhuatirkan sgt, sbb librray UoP ni bukak 24/7. Dan aku tgk library nya tu penuhhhh, even after 10 pm. Rancak budak2 buat kerja. So selama ni tanggapan aku budak2 undergrads UK kuat party and x de masa study adalah x tepat kot. Yg berparty tu, berparty lah. Yg study tu, rupanya di sini tmpt persembunyian korg ye.

Buat keja x brp minit dlm bilik karel tu, aku kepanasan (heater dia kuat giler sampai kepala naik pening), terus kuar cari port sejuk sket (pelik eh, cari port sejuk in the winter). Anyway, jumpa la spot strategik kat tingkat atas skali. On kan laptop, skali dpt connect Internet, Alhamdulillah. It was a refreshing change kot, seseklai kena paksa wat keja kat library hehehe.

Speak of refreshing, by the time aku balik, it was SO FOGGY outside and the air was light. Tp tebal jgk fog dia, tahap nmpk mcm ada somewhere terbakar je. Cuba lihat ni, aku amik tanpa flash):

Ok mcm kabus biasa2 je kan, coz the pic isn't doing it much justice. Tp tgk gmbr ni yg aku amik with flash plak. Exact same spot.

Haaa... sampai nampak water particles tu in the air eh (yg bulat2 tu). I was jakun and mesmerized seketika, snap2 x ingat donia kejap (with flash and without).

Bila dah dkt2 ngan pub baru berenti snap, sbb takut budak2 mabuk ingat aku curi2 amik gmbr dia plak, x psl cari gaduh. But gmbr with fog ni quite eerie kan? Especially mmg taken late at night. Alhamdulillah semua OK. Gmbr2 ni semua raw, x edit and x pakai special effect kat kamera. Cuma resize je bg kecik.

Random Thoughts from A Tangled Mind

2012-01-11T20:26:00.002Z

Totally random points for today:

1. Sudah berjaya swipe UKBA Tier 4 utk pertama kali di International Student Advisory Office. Pecah dara gitu, auwww...

2. Alhamdulillah, masalah yuran pengajian yg tertunggak telah cuba diselesaikan oleh pihak penaja. Suka aku nak mention, pegawai tersebut membalas emel dgn kadar yg cpt, meski pon dgn hanya membalas 'Noted'. At least x la tertanya2 apakah beliau dah terima? dah baca? or dia ni out-of-office... Kebanyakan pejabat2 di Msia yg aku berhubung asyik la peram emel, diam tanda nya apa tu? setuju? dah proses? KIV? mampus ko lah? Sudahnya kita kena follow up or call, nnt mcm terhegeh2 sungguh. Anyway, syabas utk pihak penaja kerana mengamalkan budaya yg positif ini. Begitu jg dgn pegawai2 bawahan dia sblm ni, semasa urusan2 membuat tuntutan elaun utk pembentangan konferens dan sbgnya. Alhamdulillah, cekap.

3. Frust dgn kebayakan so-called 'online' business di Msia. Semua mintak transfer duit masuk akaun dia. So kalo org luar Msia x leh order la, is it? Aku teringin nak belikan someone a gift, tp SEMUAAAA yg aku tgk, sket2 mintak transfer duit masuk akaun. Dah la meniaga pki facebook page aje, bkn proper web page, rasa mcm kurg profesiional and kurg authenticity di situ. Mmg kurg konfiden aku jd nya. Ye la, kalo buto2 je aku masukkan duit dlm akaun dia and dia sebetulnya kencing, kang, mana menang kes court aku ni nnt kan? Tu kalo aku bole transfer duit masuk akaun dia la. Aku x bole, sbb no HP Msia dah lama out, so banks x leh hantar TAC. Bkn x pernah minta bank2 tu updatekan, tp leceh ya rabbi. Nak kena buat surat formal la, copy of passport la, salinan bill HP 3 bulan di UK la, blah blah, aduhai... hazab betul. Kan senang kalo leh update no thro phone aje. Soal la mcm2 soalan verification ke. Anyway, kalo peniaga atas talian ni ada bg option PayPal ke, kan ke bagus? Mmg la as seller, peniaga akan kena SEDIKIT fee, tp absorb je la, sikitttt je pon, in return of a bigger market kan. Ntah la, angin sorg2 je aku ni agaknya.

4. Oleh sbb x leh beli online, maka I went scouting for the gift at the stores in Plymouth je la kan. Sbb td mcm x cukup masa, ingat ptg nya nak gi la. Dgn macho nya aku gi town pkl 6.45 ptg, thinking that it was Thursday (Late Night Shopping Day sampai pkl 8 mlm), ghupe nya hari ni hari Rabu, so kedai semua dah tutup. Kah kah kah. Kan aku dah bilang kemarin, aku lost track dah hari ni hari apa...

5. Bbrp individual seem to piss me off to no end hari ni. Mungkin aku yg emotionally-weng, mungkin diorg mmg betul2 a bunch of twats. Apapon, lps dah mencarut2 dan memaki~~puki~~-maki mereka di dalam hati, dan jg secara lisan semasa mengadu pada Hubs, aku rasa aku dah bole be the bigger person and forget the whole thing. Ye, mereka yg mungkin x sedar pon aku bengang giler dgn mereka. Sungguh loser aku nih, tp tetaplah winner sbb I am a forgiver, chewah.

6. Nah, totally random pic from my pic folder:

Hok aloh, ni gmbr 2 thn lps, bertarikh November 2010 kot? Tgh tggu baju kering dkt laundrette. Masa ni Hubs sibuk testing HP dia punya kamera, sbb fon baru beli ni, bau kedai lagi time tuh. Shot pon blur2 sbb x reti adjust setting bagai. Ya Allah sadis tul gmbr aku ni. Konfiden je aku berselipar jepun, berseluar singkat (saiz terkecik/terpendek sket), berbeg lusuh ala camouflage dan bertudung bibik. X pe, kenangan. At least masa tu kurus drpd skang, waaaa!

Tanda-tanda Anda Sibuk Sangat

2012-01-10T23:09:00.000Z

Dalam entry yg x berapa lama hari tu, ada tulis tanda2 anda sibuk. One of it was kalo laki sendiri ckp, rehat lah, dah seminggu kerja keras tu. And also kronik kalo kes dah x kenal mana satu selipar jamban and mana satu kasut.

Lanjutan drpd itu, aku rasa tanda2 yg lebih kronik tambah kelihatan, yakni:

1) X ingat dah hari ni hari apa, Selasa ke Rabu, sbb bila weekend pon treat as working day, terus rasa kabur hari apa. Tarikh x sah tanya la, lagi x clear, walhal baru 2nd week of January, kan? Eh, ke dah 3rd week? Err..

2) Bila lps hntr Aisyah sekolah (around 9 am), sempat balik umah tido lg setengah jam sbb badan mcm x larat (x pernah dlm sejarah sbb aku jenis kalo dah bgn, payah nak tido balik, apatah lg dah berjalan2 ke luar rumah bagai kan...)

3) Bila anakanda terchenta pon clingy semacam, x bg pegi lab petangnya tu dah. Rindu sgt agaknya, asyik mummy hilang ptg2 sampai ke mlm, kdg dia dah tido baru balik drpd lab huhu... Selalu nya dia x kisah sbb ada Ayah, bye bye mummy kemain lg as I go out the door, skali hari ni dari aku solat dah duk tepi, pikir camne nak convince suh stay (agaknya).

Ni muka budak yg berjaya goda Mummy dia. Atas dukungan aku lg tu ha.. Plus, aku pikir, if tgk screen pon blur and pkl 9.30 pg bole sambung nap bawah duvet, mmg tanda2 body exhausted la tu, baik rehat aje lah. Dia x pakai baju dalam gmbr ni sbb dah x jd gi lab tu, meh aku mandikan dia (dia skang mandi ptg sbb kurg sket kekecohan pg masa nak siapkan dia gi nursery, eh kantoi plak x mandi gi nursery, Tp x pe, feeling2 omputih sket, budak2 lain bkn mandi pon. Tapi aku and Hubs mandi pg aaaa, Aisyah je mandi sessi ptg). Anyway, Aisyah ni x berapa gemar mandi, dia x la menolak sgt, tp suka berdalih wat lambat2 (sejuk kot, so malas). Tp kes nak pujuk Mummy punya pasal, tu diaaa sanggup mandi tuh. Mmg rindu habis la ni kira nya...hehe

Post Holidays

2012-01-09T22:29:00.000Z

What holiday? <--- ececehhh... bajet rajin berdo'oh la kan, hari2 gi lab semasa holiday la konon

God, entries to this blog mmg sgt flat. Mcm boring giler life. Well, the life might be a bit boring, stories might be a bit stale, but thank goodness work productivity seems to be inversely proportional to those two variables. So spt jg kebanyakan PhDiers lain nya, bila dah hujung2 ni, blog entries pon mcm mandom. I think analysis/thesis writing saps out all the creativity in you lah kan. Cerita ada, but once I opened up blogger.com/start, (IF I ever get the chance to open up blogger's dashboard anymore, honestly mmg mcm x sempat), I would be thinking, mehhh... too tired, esok lah!

Tp aku rasa kena cari masa hapdet jgk la. Bkn apa, I don't want to go back after later2 bila tgk2 balik my own entries and be like, erk, what the hell happened between dec 2011 to say, dec 2012? Kan? Rugi ooo. If you start something, commit to it (that's just me). To combat the sawangness yg bakal menjelma kalo diikutkan malas dan alasan tiada masa, I thought tulis small2 portion je lah. Not so menggerunkan kan? Mcm thesis writing jgk, tipu diri sendiri, buat sket2, so x la overwhelm sgt kan? So this is another one of those quickies.

Mempersembahkan, sebelum... dan selepas...

Sebelum Uni bukak (around a week after Xmas) - sila fokus betapa kosong nya media room kat library tu ye. Kosong giler! Masa ni mmg agak berhati2 la gi lab, but my paranoia of not completing this on time mengatasi segala. I can skodeng the library from my room, and I think people from the library can also see me lah (sbb dah pernah duduk kat library betul2 ngadap bilik lab sendiri and I saw cleaner cuci carpet. Sohih bole nmpk selama ni aku solat tertonggeng2 from this view. Terbaekkk lah. PS- Aku mmg malas sket gi Chaplaincy, solat dlm tu, sbb asyik pak Arab je conquer winter2 nih. X pe la, biar org laki imarahkan. Syukur lab aku xde sapa heran nak solat public2).

Selepas Uni dah naik balik (9 Jan 2012) - penuh koooo. Ini nama nya buat assignment last minute. Ado 3 minggu cuti, tp nak jgkkkkk tunggu dah naik kelas semua baru nak buat assigment segala mala. Aku sekeh jgk kepala budak2 undergrad ni. Tp ok la, kira kurg sket gabra tu tgk ramai2 flocking library sebelah hehehe...

Ok tu je for today. Aku pon kaki last-minute gak ni sbnarnya. Kalo x last minute, x la sesengsara ini kot hujung2 pengajian hehe. Apa bole buat, idea and rezeki itu datang on the 9th hour (chopp, belum 11th hour tau)...

Ok, I know this entry is so yawn-yawn, tp mental and physical state aku jg begitu. It's 10.30 pm, it's been a long day, and Aisyah was up 1/2 of the night smlm sbb dia gatal hidung la (selsema), gatal kaki la (eczema), batuk la. Sudahnya I was up 3 hours before my normal wake up time. Harap2 mlm ni dia tido better. We had kept her up (no naps), in the hope that she's all tired out and goes to la-la land as soon as she hits the bed. Have a good nite all. Well, for my Malaysian readers, you'll be just about starting your day la kan, so have a good day!

Berakit Di Hilir

2012-01-05T00:25:00.006Z

Note: Entry ni aku tulis last year, a few days before Xmas. Atas dasar keselamatan dan nak berjaga2, aku x publish entry ni sampai hari ni, where the office activity has resumed back to normal since Tuesday, Alhamdulillah.

Hari ni officially hari last la sblm cuti. Yg sebenor nya, dah LENGANG uni and kawasan perumahan kitaorg. Tp mmg terasa la beza raya Xmas ngan waktu x raya ni.

Tapi bg org yg x sambut Xmas mcm aku, nak plak keja bertambun2, maka spt biasa aje la kekdah nya, keja sampai mlm gitu (well, sbb pegi pon lambat). Tapi Alhamdulillah, hari ni Hubs dpt off half day (Boss dia suh balik awal), so dpt la aku dtg lab awal sket, yakni lps dia solat Jumaat td.

Sbg kenang2an di masa dpn, aku nak tepek gmbr2 yg aku rakam spjg 'bekerja shift malam' ni.

[1] Korridor gelap bila org dah xde. Nak terkecing pon ku tahan Jebattttt (ni bukan main2, ni betol2. Nmpk je labmate kemas2 brg dia nak balik, cpt2 gi toilet. Last trip dah tu. Lps tu mmg x kan minum2 air lg. Kalo nak terkuchil jgk, tggu la sampai rumah baru gi qadha hajat :P)

[2] Kena lalu tepi bar yg berderet2 sblm sampai rumah. Mmg selalu berdoa agar tidak disakat org mabuk. Pernah sesekali ada, tp setakat verbally, pura2 x dgr aje lah. Org mabuk ni bukan bole kita layan. Alhamdulillah, so far selamat.

[3] Start from today, central heating dlm bgnan dah off, sampai lah 2 Januari. So skang ni kalo dtg opis, kena bukak portable heater (uni bg pinjam), tp nmpk nya mmg kecil lah utk ruang lab yg besar ni. So sesapa yg keja gomen and dpt pekeliling air cond kena maintain constant 24C, masih ok lg tu. Sini pon nak jimat elektrik siap tutup central heating satu Uni huhu... Tp x apa lah, ada heater portable. Masih boleh bersyukur :)

Bkn apa, besok kalo dah senang, ingat balik kesusahan semasa bergelar pelajar. Jg utk tatapan dan dorongan buat adik2 ku jua, bahawasanya bukan senang nak senang, dan bukan susah nak susah. Nak mengejar apa yg kita mahu, kena berusaha bersungguh2 dan bukan mengambil tindakan spt melepaskan batuk di tangga. Kerja keras, x kira lah sama ada masih belajar atau sudah bekerja, adalah lumrah kita manusia, so jgn lah kamu wahai adik2 ku mengeluh.Nmpk org senang (dlm gmbr, dlm blog), kita belom tentu tahu apa kesusahan atau cabaran org tu. Yakin lah setiap kesungguhan dan pengorbanan kita (kalo ke arah kebaikan, Allah balas berganda2). Dia sayang hamba Nya.

Ayat aku ni sedikit cas Ustazah, tp ni sbnarnya peringatan utk aku jg. Hubs kalo baca ni mesti ketawa berdekah2 sbb aku la paling senang lupa bab Qadha Qadar kalo bercakap dgn dia hehe. Tapi x pe la, time ingat, kita catit. Time lupa, hah tu mmg tugas dia lah sbg suami utk memperingati isteri dia kan? kan? kan? hehehehe....

Feels Like A New Year Celebration...

2012-01-04T21:11:00.000Z

1 Januari 2012 hari tu jiran kami wat mkn2. Dah mmg pesen org di musim winter, x de celebrate apa2 pon ajak bertandang ke rumah. Bkn apa, aktiviti apa lg sesuai di musim sejuk ni kan? Nak ajak berkelah tepi pantai, sungguh la x sesuai. So gini lah cara nya kami mengeratkan silaturrahim. Like I had written once before, majority student PhD Melayu kat Plymouth skang are in their 3rd/4th year, meaning semua dah di tahun akhir dan busy yg amat. Bila ada gathering2 mcm ni je baru la ada can nak borak2, kalo x, mmg kalo x menelepon, mmg masing2 x tahu apa la sgt cerita nya. Alhamdulillah org laki wajib solat Jumaat, so kdg2 tau jg cerita sket2 depa duk kumpul after Jumaat tu kan.

Anyways, aku lately berblogging mcm melepaskan BATOK di tangga. Mmg tangkap muat je. Sorry la readers yek, cerita ada mcm2 tp mmg agak kesuntukan masa. Kejar deadline ni. Kdg buat kerja straight, tahu2 tekak mcm perit sket. Oh, dah 2 jam x minum2 air asyik tgk skrin aje. Or tau2 pundi kencing mcm dah sarat sgt apehal ni? Oh terlupa nak gi toilet. Mcm tu skali, bole? Tepek gambar pon sbb mcm nak buat kenangan diri je, these were the stuff we did whilst we were in the UK, and the nice people we met, the food we cooked (kot esok2 dapur dah kurg berasap ke)... etc...

Faith That The Rainbow Will Be Here Soon

2012-01-03T22:11:00.000Z

Lately ni, spjg holiday melihatkan aku yg mmg menjadi ala2 jaga bgnan kerna dari pg sampai ke mlm duk kat lab. Kerja byk, and I have promised my SV AND MYSELF, that this work that I am doing will not go beyond January. Plus, I have a paper to submit to a conference in London yg Prof sudah janji nak ~~bg gula-gula~~ditanggung cost conference nya kalo published, also due this January.

Bila kerja lebih masa, biasa nya otak mcm masih OK, tp badan sudah KO. Lenguh la, letih la, mata nmpk dua (kes ngadap skrin lama), perut lapar keriokk keriokkk kerieeekkkk la (dah mcm bunyi modem dolu2 utk connect internet). Tp x pe la, Alhamdulillah, buat je la setakat termampu. Ni Tuhan nak bg ingat sket pada Pencipta, x semua yg kena pelan bole buat, dpt dibuat sbb kita ada batas. Nama pon manusia. Tp tu la, rasa kurg puas hati dgn diri sendiri. Apatah lg, rasa mcm masa tu bolos jari2 ni, x dpt nak dikejar. Mungkin time mangement sendiri yg agak x efisien.

Kdg2 terbit rasa, apa benda la yg aku buat ni? Betol ke? Berbaloi ke? Mcm hampeh je... Ke nak stop aje kat sini? Eh, tp pemikiran mcm tu mmg buang masa dan sia2, so letak tepi cpt2. Tanya jgk si Al member se-lab ni, champion PhD kita yg dah ada dua Doctorates, and mmg dia jawab 'itu normal. Nnt dah writing, it will all come clear' (aku paraphrase la kan, sah2 la). I hope he's right!

Apapon, aku suka kata2 akhir Al td, "You've just gotta have faith".

Faith in yourself, faith in your SV, faith in your work, and most importantly in God. (Al is 1/4 Catholic, 3/4 Buddhist - don't ask me, but those were his words :P).

So at this stage yg aku rasa seakan2 lost, I just have to keep ploughing forward and believe that Allah will bring the rainbow, after the rain. Lihat shj gmbr2 yg aku snapped td, siapa sangka langit akan cerah terang benderang sebegini, sedangkan hujan semalaman, siap basah nak hantar Aisyah ke sekolah, dan tong2 sampah plak bertebaran atas jalan raya (kuat nya angin). Mmg x kan sangka lah sebelah ptg nya langit cantik gemilang mcm ni, SubhanAllah..

It's all possible, tuan2 dan puan2. Semua kerja Allah. Just gotta have (and importantly, maintain that) faith! ;)

Tazkirah Diri 2012

2012-01-02T20:55:00.000Z

Gambar sekadar hiasan

First entry utk 2012...

Tahun ni ada bbrp aim utk diri sendiri, nnt hujung 2012 kita reveal lah tercapai ke x hehe. Tapi sifat dalam diri yg cuba diubah pon ada jg. Kalo bole nak jd org yg lebih bersyukur dgn nikmat Allah, insya Allah... Paling tidak, bersyukur kerana kita masih di sini, bernafas di bumi Allah dan bergelar hambaNya, Alhamdulillah...

“……………………….Dan sesiapa yang bersyukur, maka sesungguhnya faedahnya itu hanya terpulang kepada dirinya sendiri, (tetapi) sesiapa yang kufur ( tidak bersyukur)(maka tidaklah menjadi hal kepada Allah) kerana sesungguhnya Allah itu Maha Kaya lagi Maha Terpuji". (Surah Luqman : 12)

Tirai Penutup 2011...

2011-12-31T23:28:00.000Z

Alhamdulillah, byk sungguh nikmat kurnian Allah pada tahun 2011 ini... What a good year it was. Let's recap some of the events that had happened this year.

Technically, I'm still in 2011, we are 25 minutes short from the new year. But it's not too early to wish Happy New Year. Praying that 2012 will be a more prosperous new year for everyone, insya Allah... :)

Tanda-tanda Anda Sibuk

2011-12-30T00:36:00.001Z

1) Tulis blog dalam bullet point.

2) Laki anda pon acknowledge yg anda sgt busy, dan berkata, "Rehat lah hari ni, dah kerja kuat dah seminggu tu".

3) Meja anda dah x de rupa meja.

5) Nyaris balik rumah pakai kasut sebelah, selipar jamban sebelah.

Ok dah x bole tulis pjg2 dah, with my state of mind haha...

Time to Take The Cards Down

2011-12-29T22:15:00.000Z

For a lack of a better title, letak la title di atas.

Dah nak masuk tahun baru Masihi, so Xmas cards and pressies have been put down and stored away. Azam baru x de pon, cuma ada ada a few aims utk 2012 yg harap2 nya tercapai dgn izin Allah. Rasa mcm nak cuba cari masa utk tulis a few pending stories in this blog, sbg penutup tahun la kan. X nak terbawak2 sampai thn dpn, x sempat2 nak catat. Byk entry2 mcm ni, especially bab jalan2 sbb pics terlalu byk malas nak select and upload. Insya Allah akan cuba buat.

Before terlupa, nak tepek gmbr out with my close mate, Rh*na. We went out for coffee a few days before Xmas hari tu (Wednesday 21/12/11). She was my bestie mate / mentor semasa bekerja part-time dulu2, and we have still remained close friends by texting or meeting up every couple of weeks. She still works at that place, so lg la byk gossip2 yg disampaikan ehehe. It's a really interesting kind of friendship, sbb dia ni kalo ikut umur lebih tua drpd mak aku, and aku plak lg muda drpd anak2 dia. Tp kitaorg berada di frequency yg sama, so we clicked.

So these are pics of us semasa meeting tersebut, utk kenang2an di masa dpn. Si Rh*na ni sempat plak bg hadiah (well, actually tiap2 thn pon dia akan bg jgk aku hadiah, walau aku x sambut, nice person that she is).

Snow On Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T20:36:00.000Z

Ok, sblm uols tertipu lebih lama, dan cpt2 SMS sana sini utk memastikan kesahihan berita ini, meh aku ngaku siang2, title ni gimmick je lebey. Sbb nya, tahun ni winter is quite warm (so far lah). On Xmas day, it was actually around 8C gitu, much to the dismay of all who had hoped for a white, snowy Xmas.

Akan tetapi, pada mlm Xmas Eve itu, aku ada buat makan2 sket. Just nak ajak jiran tetangga melepak, or istilah cool nya, 'Just Chillin' Out'. Fuh... rumaja kejap rasa. Saja la, sbb semua PhD students kat sini dah final year, and peluang nak berjimba bersama tu dah sgt terhad. So bila wat camni, dpt la tahu sket2 perkembangan jiran2 sekeliling. I made nasi ayam je, sungguh x original menu nya, main tangkap muat aje.

Snow yg dimaksudkan di sini adalah yg bebudak ni duk kikis from styrofoam wat alas kek ready-made member aku si Bard bawak. Nak tegah pon malas, sbb nmpk excited sgt diorg main, so biar kan je la, bukan susah nak kemas pon lps tu.

So that's the closest we had to snow lah so far. Sure was fun enough for the kids, though!

Unintended Error

2011-12-28T01:12:00.000Z

Lately ni tgh sakan dah siapkan experiment. I have a deal with my SV to finish them in the soon future, so pulun la jg. In my field, experiment ni dlm bentuk simulation. That means, in order to get the result, lebam lah kena siapkan coding. And I think I am that at the moment. At least around the eyes.

Anyway, anyone who has programmed anything will know that the most annoying thing is bila compile, dpt error plak. Adeh... Aku, being the clumsy one, and sbb ilmu coding pon teramat lah limited, mmg kerap berhadapan dgn situasi begini. Kdg2 mmg berhari2 la jgk menelaah, kenapa la dpt error ni. Apsal haaa? Apsal???

Tp kdg2 syntax error je, sbb kecuaian sendiri. Haaa... ni kerap gak berlaku. Tertinggal (;) la, salah taip la, td declare variable nama lain pastu masa panggil buh nama lain plak la, etc. Sbb benda ni kerap berlaku, it makes me think tau, apakah aku ni selalu begini dalam segala aspek kehidupan?

Aku ni bkn lah bagus sgt, tp cuba sedaya nya mengaji la jg at least satu ain satu hari, time x haid tu kan. Cuma nya, bila baca aku yakin aje aku baca betul. Ye la, x kan la kita sengaja nak ngaji salah2 kan? Tp menengokkan kegopohan dan silly mistakes yg aku buat masa coding, menyebabkan aku tertanya2, ermm... ntah2 masa mengaji pon ada x brp betul dek terlepas pandang jgk kan?

Sbb tu la, ramai org dah khatam dan dah pandai tajweed pon masih bertadarus ramai2, or ngaji dpn tok guru jgk, padahal ilmu dah byk. Bkn apa, kita semua manusia, x lari drpd membuat kesalahan. Oleh sbb sini x de tok guru, the next best thing is pasang QuranExplorer la kan sambil ngaji, which I have tried lately, tp kdg kena pause2 jg sbb Sheikh Sudais ni baca laju ya amat hehe.

Setakat ini, Alhamdulillah, ok, cuma ada jg time2 aku tersalah baca spt yg aku agak tu i.e. Muslimun, baca Muslimin. Hmmm... nak kena lebih fokus ni masa ngaji. Moga2 Allah ampunkan dosa2 x sengaja yg kita terbuat semasa membaca Al-Quran ni. Astaghfirullah al-azim...

I'm Busy

2011-12-23T00:06:00.004Z

Aisyah skang ada habit malas mandi. Actually, dia mandi lah jg, tp dah pandai create excuse utk melengah2kan.

Weekend lps x terkecuali. Waktu tu aku tgh sibuk kemas satu rumah, kira all-out winter cleaning lah. Mana yg berabuk, lap. Celah yg x nampak pon, lap jgk. Yg konfem nak wat balik Msia, dah seal siap2, x yah bukak2 kotak lg. Yg nak bg charity, (brg elok tp x pakai), ada 3 beg plastik hitam. Sampah 2 beg plastik. Mmg sejak pindah rumah baru April hari tu, aku ngan Hubs kerap buat mcm ni. Ala2 inventori gitu. Ye la, sbb dah tahun akhir tu satu hal la, tahun dpn nak balik kan? Sbb rumah terlalu kecik (half the size of previous house) pon ye jg. So x bole la nak jd hoarder. Bagus jg, x la accumulate junk byk2 sgt, and kalo ada mold2 baru nak naik sempena winter bole la disinfect and bleach lekas2.

Anyway, sbb tgh sibuk cuci2 tu, mmg cik Aisyah lewat lah mandi nya. Skali aku nmpk kelibat dia lalu, aku pon sergah, "Hah Aisyah, let's go 'mandi' ok?"

Tahu apa jawab dia?

"Ten minutes, OK? I'm busy. I got something else to do" selamba kodok dia bersuara.

Hamboih, jawapan.

Spontan aku jawab, "You're 3 years old. What in the world could possibly more important than 'mandi'?"

Bagai terkena panahan halilintar aku terpana kjp dgn jawapan aku. Bkn apa, Zuhur dah masuk 20 minit yg lalu, tp aku masih la sibuk mencuci dinding. Lg kan aku yg emak ni bole geram pada anak yg melengahkan mandi kerana pada fikiranku, apa lah sgt sibuk nya dia, dah tentu Allah lg geram pada hambaNya yg seperti aku, tgh melengahkan solat sbb mencuci dinding. Astaghfirullah al azim...

Cpt2 aku sudahkan dan bergegas ke bilik air utk menyucikan diri dan terus bersolat.

Oh anak2 kecil.. kdg2 byk yg dpt kita pelajari tentang diri kita drpd mereka... Aisyah, oh Aisyah, she is definitely my side mirror!!!!

Shopping With Mummy

2011-12-22T23:22:00.000Z

Sejak sekolah Aisyah dah cuti ni, manjang lah dia jd sidekick aku kan.

Salah satu activity yg kitaorg kena buat ialah, grocery shopping. Ha.. sbb dah nak Xmas, aku tgk td kedai pon penuh, bakul pon x de. Sbb ingat nak beli sket2 aje, x bother cari bakul. Tau2 dah penuh stroller. Tu pon sbb Aisyah komplen, 'It's too heavy. I can't carry anymore!'. Erk!!!

Pastu standard lah mak nya blogger kan, kejap2 petik gmbr. Kejap2 petik gmbr. Biar stroller rebeh ke belakang dah overloaded ngan shopping susu, telur, ikan frozen, sayur, bagai.

(Okay, I went overboard with the iSweep Panorama shots, ngaku2)

Tapi Aisyah tatapp lah happy dpt ikut mummy dia, sbb upahnya lumayan. Entah brp kali dah dia naik benda ni, aku lost count. Hari share video plak, heh.

Christmas Show At Aisyah's School

2011-12-22T00:50:00.000Z

Xmas show kat sekolah Aisyah ni berlangsung pada 12 dan 13 December 2011. Ada dua sesi (same show, but tayang dua kali), so that parents have a choice of coming in the morning or evening. Tajuk show tahun ni ialah 'Snowmen At Sunset'.

Aku pegi dua2 hari. The first one tu sbb ingatkan Hubs x nak ikut, so aku gi je la. Then the next he decided to go, tp nak berteman plak, so again I went (show dia 25 minutes je pon). Apparently, better pegi la kalo mcm ni, sbb nya, budak2 akan nangis time dah habis show, tp cari2 mak pak dia xde, tp kawan2 dia semua ada parents (walhal mak pak dia nak dtg esok, or dah dtg smlm). Aku ingatkan lorat je citer kanak2 omputih yg kalo parents missed ballet recital merajuk sakan, rupanya budak2 mmg sedih ye kalo lps show parents xde.

Anyway, dah hadir 2 hari tu, harus la ada stok gmbr and video byk2. Sayang nya, polisi sekolah ckp, jgn share kat social network site sbb ada budak2, so sbb memegang amanah, aku x tunjuk la gmbr budak2 lain. Yg video aku give up la, x kan nak edit frame by frame plak kan. So ni je la ye. Just share utk kenangan esok2 and kot2 sedara mara si Aisyah kat Msia ni nak tgk.Some of the songs tu aku buh link Youtube nya (bkn kelas Aisyah - I assume that kalo parents dia dah upload kat Youtube, then dia bg consent la tu). Kalo feeling2 merry gitu, bole sing a long, x de sapa halang :P

1st Day

2nd Day

Christmas Lunch With Labmates 2011

2011-12-21T21:23:00.000Z

Aku rasa tiap2 tahun kot ada gmbr gi Xmas lunch ngan labmates ni. Err.. x pe la, koleksi. Yg ni tahun 2011 punya plak, diadakan pada Jumaat, 16 December yg lalu. This year yg attended, my SV, Al, Hanns Guber (bkn nama sebenar), Maya (bkn nama sebenar), Hilmi (bkn nama sebenar) and aku serta sidekick ku, Aisyah. Tahun ni mkn2 dkt kedai Jepun, Koiishi nama nya.

I don't quite remember the name of the menu, but it was Squid Teriyaki or something. Quite good, and I love the Japanese Rice, sbb rasa lekit2 gitu, mcm mkn pulut plak. Sbnarnya sejak dtg Plymouth x pernah mkn kat kedai ni, sbb segan, plus bkn Hubs nya taste. But Alhamdulillah, this time around, dpt la merasa (Hubs x ikut, dia keja).

Quite serious jg stuff yg di diskusi kan semasa maskan lunch ni, stuff like viva tips, how long it would normally take to write a thesis, korek2 gosip pal bakal examiner and apakah kecenderungan beliau, etc... Sbb Prof bajet by 2013, xde sorg pon kat meja ni masih ada dlm lab, sedangkan pada masa ni Al sorg je dah selesai correction, Hilmi tgh nak submit, dan aku should be the next one after him (tp experiment masih x abis2 lg maaa). Hans Guber lps aku. Aku rasa Prof nak amik org baru kot, tp style dia, x amik sket2. Dia maybe nak tggu abis semua then amik ramai sekaligus. Maybe la. Harap2 nya by then aku mmg dah lps la, as SV nya pelan (and mine too, gulp!).

Ok gmbr kenang2an.

Light My Night

2011-12-20T22:24:00.000Z

Hari ni gi umah my fren, tolong ~~tgk org lain~~ angkat barang utk balik Msia for good. Nak upload gmbr and citer tu, tp arghh, malas nya nak resize. So kita bukak citer lain la dulu ye.

This one ringkas je, sbb nak balik, sat gi Security dtg nak lock building dah. Selalunya by 10 pm diorg mesti dah round, tp dkt2 nak Xmas ni, wah culas agaknya pegawai tu heheh. Maybe dia ingat x de org dah kot yg dtg wat keja lg this close to Xmas. Ada la, bang. Abang jaga mengular eh?

Library bukak 24/7, tp most part gelap je. X de sgt org la tu. Hmmm...

Aisyah skang cuti, Hubs plak keja, so aku mmg dpt dtg ptg-mlm je la. Tu yg stay back. Siang duk umah ngan Aisyah.

Oh, aku nak share berita baik. Smlm, my close friend Mas dah lulus viva PhD dia. Happy for her! Harap2 in the near future, aku jg beroleh kemenangan yg sama. Takat ni, mcm jln cerita dah ada, tp nak sampai penamat nya, Masya Allah, jauh lg. Xpe, think positive. And take one step at a time.

Sempena ngan tu, tepek gmbr bulan di langit mcm kat atas. Mmg kualiti hampeh gmbr ni, tp mcm kena plak ngan blues jiwa aku skang. Feeling2 ala Light My Night. Rasa mcm Ala2 Light At the End of the Tunnel gitu. Tp kecik je. Kena la gmbr ni kiranya. Smg jalan ini makin cerah dan bersinar bak bulan purnama pada penyudahnya nanti. Moga Allah permudahkan... Amin

Bugs Be Gone

2011-12-19T22:09:00.000Z

Tajuk.... x agak2. Macam spray Fumakilla punya tagline.

Haih, kalo di tgk2 dlm folder gambar, byk cerita yg nak di share. Tu belom masuk funny stuff that Aisyah has said (vocab dia kan tgh expanding rapidly) that I truly wanted to document, tp seperti biasa lah, time is the enemy. Aduhai, x suka guna statement ni, sbb sgt cliche, and just sorta reflects how bad we are when it comes to management, but in all honesty, mmg sgt busy, but in a good way.

Earlier on Aisyah was ill (caught another bug from School after recovering from the first one), and I had to play Doctor about 24/7. She was scheduled for her 3-year booster shot today, tp terpaksa kansel, sbb baru nak baik demam. But she's feeling so much better now, Alhamdulillah and the shot has been postponed to a later date. Dan syukur jg Allah had cleared my head, and have made it possible to resolve my own err,, coding bugs :)

On that note, nak pen off for tonight. I'm still in the lab. Penyakit coding ni, kalo x selesai, haih mkn nasi pon x ingat. Tau2 dah masuk angin. Lately it feels like time just so whizzes by me. Macam roller coaster Aisyah ni jg (this one was taken in between the two illness).

Christmas Bug

2011-12-15T23:53:00.004Z

Tadi dpt panggilan drpd cikgu nursery Aisyah minta tolong amik dia bawak balik rumah, sbb dia asyik nangis drpd pkl 11 pg, pegang2 perut ckp my tummy hurt. Makan pon x nak, hanya mkn epal aje. Gabra juga, sbb panggilan yg x disangka, dah la hari ni lab buat seminar (siri terakhir utk this term). So bergegas la pegi ambik.

Balik rumah cek2 temperature Aisyah, mmg fever-ish sket (38.5C), so cpt2 bg Calpol and Calprofen, then Aisyah sendiri mintak nak tido. Sian dia. Ingatkan dah x demam2 lg, sbb baru je lps kena. Lagikan antibiotik nya pon x habis sebotol lg, alahai. Tp mengikut cikgu nya, mmg tgh byk sgt bug kat nursery skang ni, asyik budak bawak dtg penyakit silih berganti. So mmg typical lah. Yang sayang nya, today was Aisyah's last day at nursery this year, Januari 2012 nanti baru naik sekolah balik, and she didn't get to have a proper goodbye with her friends and teachers. X pe la, lps 3 mggu kita jumpa lg, Insya Allah (3 minggu?! Pengsan la keja aku x de childcare provider, tp xpe, redha).

Alhamdulillah lps dah bgn tu mcm dah hilang panas badan, and Aisyah pon ceria mcm dah sihat semula. Siap mkn roti bun 3 ketul lg bgn2 tu, maybe lapar sbb sejak pagi x lalu nak mkn kan. Harap2 it was just a little temp je la, and nothing else.

I've got to share with you our first Xmas card this year. Hasil nukilan my fren Li*a yg anaknya jg di nursery sama dgn Aisyah. Home made tau, kreatif kan? Dah la tu, joke dia sungguh mengena - Everyone gets a bug at Xmas! Btw, anak dia pon sama jg x brp sihatnya, in fact dah 3 mggu off, one after another sakit nya, selsema, batuk, demam, muntah, cirit birit. Pendek kata, in the winter, mmg lengkap satu pakej la ibu bapa kena duga.

Ni plak yg Aisyah bawak balik drpd nursery td. Sempat jg buat dlm x brp sedap badan tu rupanya.

Semoga Allah sembuhkan kita drpd penyakit2 berjangkit yg ringan2 serta mengampunkan dosa2 kita sbg kaffarah sakit ini, dan phon Allah jauhkan kita drpd penyakit2 berat lain nya, Amin...

Hujan Batu Di Negara Orang..

2011-12-14T00:50:00.000Z

Mmg pedih bila kena muka, dan mmg kebas jari2 semua. Walaupon nama dia hujan batu, tetapi tetap lah kuyup, kerana asalnya adalah air jua. Gmbr2 di bawah ni diambil semasa menjemput Aisyah drpd sekolah smlm, sekitar pkl 3 ptg mcm tu. Hujan batu nya kecik2 je, tp bole tahan kalo kena muka, nak2 kalo masuk dlm mata, mcm kaca.

Mcm mana nak tahu tu hujan batu or air hujan besar2? Well, satu nya, kalo ais, bila kena badan kita dia terpelanting2 lg dek lantunan (agak kelakar). Keduanya, kalo yg lekat kat baju or beg, mmg nmpk biji2 ais kecik lah. Ketiga, kalo bunyi dia kuat than average masa jatuh ke bumi (hitting the car roof, etc), mmg ais lah tu. Keempat, usually sejuk giler sblm dia turun. Dan yg kelima, kalo dah nmpk ketul2 putih atas jalan tu, sohih la hujan batu tu.

Dasar org daratan, aku mmg jakun dan excited terlebih la. Of course suka kalo snow, tp Ya Rabbi, sejuk giler, mcm x tahan la. This is first time winter kat umah baru, and I think altho rumahnya agak moden, tp bilik tido dia sejuk berbanding rumah dulu. Ntah la, or maybe sbb rumah ni electric heating, so x sepanas rumah lama yg pakai gas? Apapon, smlm mmg sejuk gile tahap kena psg heater selama sejam sblm tido, then also masa tido peluk Aisyah kuat di bawah duvet, sbb muka mcm kena hembus dgn angin aircon direct. X pernah sesejuk itu! Suhu dlm 3C mcm tu, not bad, but it's the gust of wind kot yg masuk celah jendela yg jd mcm tu sejuk nya.

Here are some more pics of the hailstones. Kecik2 mcm biji polystyrene je kan?

Christmas Fair

2011-12-13T01:02:00.001Z

Last Wednesday, sekolah Aisyah ada menganjurkan Xmas Fayre. Kali ni fair dianjurkan dalam main hall. Spt jg masa Summer Fair hari tu, and jg masa Autumn Harvest Festival hari tu, main jualan adalah makanan, kebanyakan yg parents sumbangkan, like cakes and cupcakes, but also ada hot food like soup & roll, serta tea & coffee & juices.

Kali ni aku x beli apa sgt food, just shared a slice of banana cake dgn Aisyah. Then tgh2 mkn ada org menyapa aku in Bahasa Malaysia. Rupanya a parent of another students dkt sekolah Aisyah ni, org Melayu kita jg, but dah lama menetap di UK and married to a British. Aku mmg excited la sbb bole plak selama ni x tau ada parents lain selain parents Irshad yg sekelas ngan Aisyah tu. Member tu rupanya dah lama perasan kan aku, tp takut silap org/salah bajet tp bkn Msian hehe. Sempat bg Aisyah main game yg anak2 kawan baru aku tu anjur (anak2 dia dah besar sket, Year 4, so dah mmg jaga stall). Main pin the nose on the reindeer kot, x silap aku.

Lps tu, si Aisyah nak gi kaunter face painting. Agak lama queue di situ, sbb budak2 mmg semua pon nak buat la. Kalo sorg buat dah 5 minutes, kira sendiri la brp lama kena tggu if dpn kitaorg aje ada 4 org (x la lama sgt, but for a 3-year old, mmg lamaaaa giler). Glad Aisyah was happy with the result.

Then bawak Aisyah ke gerai arts and cratfs plak, byr 25p utk decorate kan Xmas cracker. So layan la dia tampal2 stickers kat cracker dia. Sunyi sket kawasan ni sbb buat dlm bilik darjah, kalo dlm hall tu Xmas music blaring and budak2 penuh sesak. Rimas la jgk kan asalnya, so that was a nice change. Aktiviti lain yg ada di sini ialah decorate your own bauble dan jg decorate your own Xmas card.

Ada bbrp gerai lain jual jewelleries, cosmetics stuff, 2nd hand toys, tombola stall and Santa's Grotto, tp aku x sempat jejak semua. Nak amik gmbr pon agak payah, sbb byk budak2. Faham2 la polisi nya di sekolah ni kan.

Masa kat fair tu sempat la jg amik gmbr Aisyah dgn bbrp bestfrens dia kat nursery tu, yg sokmo dok sebut2 nama tu kat umah. These are a few. Mak aih, Aisyah ni paras bahu depa je. Come on, babe, we have a lot of catching up to do!

Selepas tu, kami pon balik ~~dan Aisyah pon demam~~ dgn hati yg girang.

Wind of Plymouth

2011-12-12T21:02:00.000Z

Ptg ni x gi lab. Angin terlalu kuat disertai hujan lebat2. Sbg kenang2an di masa dpn, aku copy paste weather forecast hari ni drpd laman web BBC Weather. Tu diaa... 40 mph angin nya (~64 km/jam). Padan lah bergegar tingkap rumah aku ni, berderu2 angin dan hujan menerpa tingkap drpd luar.

Usually rutin aku skang ialah gi lab bila Aisyah gi nursery (9 am - 3 pm). Memandangkan Hubs keja full-time now, I am the one who picks Aisyah up at 3 pm. So masa ni biasa nya aku akan layan2 dia, bg snack, dan borak2. Around 4 pm, if she gets tired, I put her down for a nap, or a little 'quite time' , where I would cook dinner. Around 5-ish Hubs balik, and dinner is usually ready by then (feeling2 isteri mithali dan solehah gitu). We then have our dinner together, before I quickly get ready to go to lab again, until late.

This usually works fine, but tonight the wind and rain was just too much, don't want to risk my health by being exposed to the harsh elements, so duk umah aje. Hari2 lain biasa nya aku bawak balik buku catatan dan stuff I needed to do work with, berat2 kendong tp x bukak2 buku/keja nya when I'm at home. Suddenly hari ni I felt that it was too heavy so tinggal aje lah kat lab, kejap lg nak dtg balik, dan2 hari ni la off all days x pegi lab semula. Hmmm... makna nya, masa utk blogging la kan hehe (x leh blah punya excuse).

Oh, Alhamdulillah aku skang ada kawan baru, budak pompuan Iraq drpd lab depan (Signals and Communication), yg slalu lepak sampai larut mlm, so x la aku takut sgt nak stay back. Selagi lampu lab dia on, aku pon rasa happy sket buat keja sorg2 dlm lab kuheh kuheh. Kalo kena berjalan di waktu mlm dlm hujan, adalah lebih kurg mcm gmbr kat bwh ni. Konon nak snapped gmbr rintik2 hujan di bawah tiang lampu, tp kamera from phone ajor, so quality adalah very masam. Ok tu je short entry sejuk2 ni...

Christmas Lunch At Aisyah's School

2011-12-11T23:59:00.000Z

Alhamdulillah, Aisyah dah sihat. Terima kasih pada readers yg ada turut mendoakan kesejahteraan Aisyah, makbul nmpk nya, syukur lah. Hati pon tenang jg bila anak dah sihat ni.

Ni tepek gmbr event last week, sblm dia betul2 demam. This one was Xmas Lunch with Parents. Actually, a day before that ada Xmas Fayre, tp memandangkan Xmas Fayre tu isi kandungan cerita nya lebih pjg drpd Xmas Lunch ni, kita dahulu kan entry ni dulu (I'm running short on time today).

Nama pon lunch with parents kan, harus la hadir. Even ayah nya Aisyah pon hadir sama, sanggup sync kan waktu office lunch dia dgn event ni (it started 12 noon). Fokus utama bkn lah nak rai Xmas, tp this will be the 1st time kitaorg tgk mcm mana anakanda Aisyah ni mkn time lunch. Tau2 je kena byr GBP18 seminggu, tp apa benda yg dimakan or apa kaedah makannnya x tau sgt (tau menu bcoz I chose every Monday for the whole week (vegetarian), tp paras rupa mknan tu agak2 aje la. Kat mana dining hall pon kurg pasti).

Anyway, dah tau la dia mkn kat mana and susunan meja dining hall ni camne. Rupanya Aisyah ni mkn dlm tray. Dlm mmg tray tu dia gi collect sendiri beratur mcm budak high school amik lunch. Lps amik main course, amik dessert terus. Utk hari tu dia amik Shepherd's Pie dgn grapes semangkuk. X de la fancy sgt pon Xmas Lunch ni, aku order Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with steamed veges and gravy, Hubs plak amik jacket potato with cheese and beans (sempoi giler). Pastu mkn Cranberries Crumble with Custard for dessert. Air plak jus tawar (diluted kot utk budak2). Tinggal psg lagu Xmas la masa dinner tu over the sound system. Tp aku tetap la excited coz it was a first for me. As for Aisyah, well, she did not share the same enthusiasm. Maybe sbb bdn dia dah mula x sihat, or dia mmg tergamam sbb tiba2 lunch ada parents plak. Even lunch ladies pon ckp, usually dia jumping2 nak amik food, hari ni pasif je. Malu la tu agaknya...

I Hope You Get Better Soon

2011-12-09T01:53:00.001Z

My little bumble bee is still unwell. Alhamdulillah, we managed to squeezed in an appointment with the GP yesterday, and despite the typhoon-like wind and rain, I managed to haul the two of us up the hill to her GP in Mutley, for the 10 a.m. appointnment. Although the Dr was less-than-friendly like last time (we got a differene Dr, who kept answering, "Up to you, you are the boss, I am not going to tell you how to raise you child", whenever I asked simple questions like, 'Does Aisyah need to say home or can she go to school?' or 'Would taking her out for fresh air better or making it worst?' - very odd punya Dr mcm x nak held accountable pon ada), but he did prescribed Aisyah with antibiotics (that was a first, sbb kat UK susah nak dpt antibiotik ni), which I pray to God hopefully it works. Please, please keep the doas coming as she is still throwing up about 3 times a day, and refuses to eat sampai perut pon masuk angin and kembung. Dah satu hal nak urut perut kasi buang angin plak.

She has been on/off sick since Sunday night, so naturally, I am worried. At times dia OK, we managed to dart off to school to attend her Xmas fair and Xmas Lunch (will blog about them later), but ada masa dia rasa off balik, maka menangis2 la jg. I am sad and worried, and nevermind that I have lagged behind so much with work.

I pray that my little girl get well soon. And I hope you'll pray with me too on this lovely Friday.

PS: Gmbr di atas masa dia OK sket. Tp kalo OK kan pon at most for 2 hours je kot, then dtg balik her feverishness tu. Kalo x OK biasa nya mmg x bole senyum2, monyok je :(

Under The Weather

2011-12-07T21:28:00.000Z

Get well soon my poor baby.

Day Trip to Saltash, Cornwall (Edisi Terperam)

2011-12-07T01:31:00.000Z

Tgk2 pic files, terjumpa gmbr trip gi Saltash yg x pernah publish2. So let's reminisce of the good ol' late summer days, where the sun was out but the wind was cool, perfect utk jalan2. We went out for this day trip on 15 October 2011, ye almost 2 bulan lps. I am that behind with my entries!

Oh ye, trip ni adalah melibatkan girls2 ajo, Me, Aisyah and Kak Mazni. Hubs did not want to go bcoz he was glued to the footie match on TV. To him, no trip to Cornwall is worth missing his football. Sbb dia dah bg lesen besar utk kuar, aku pon 'Hey OK, see you later bebeh' and out the door we went.

Saltash is the main gate to Cornwall. If you are driving from Plymouth to Cornwall, mmg akan lalu the Tamar Bridge yg ada tol di muka pinti Cornwall ni, yakni di Saltash ini lah. Agak x aci kerna nak masuk Plymouth x payah byr tol, tp nak masuk Cornwall kena bayar plak hmmm... mcm Singapore-JB plak rasa nya.

Cornwall ni sbnarnya, mcm Wales, or Scotland or Northern Ireland, mmg feeling2 negara sendiri, tp masih bernaung bwh Great Britain. But heritage diorg still kekal, ada flag sendiri dan masing2 ada bahasa sendiri. So di Saltash ni, spt jg gi jalan2 di Cardiff yg lalu, mana2 pegi mesti ada 2 bahasa signage dia, English and Cornish.

Ok berbalik pada Saltash, the place itself is very quaint. Mmg kampung habis lah. Berbukit bukau plak tu, kurus kejap tolak Aisyah dlm stroller. Tp org kampung nya peramah2 bila tgk dua 2 gadis bertudung dtg kampung dia. Bridge dia ada dua, satu tu bridge utk kereta (Tamar Bridge) dan satu lg tu bridge utk train (Royal Albert Bridge). Kalo dari Plymouth nak gi Cornwall, atas bridge mmg ramai org snap2 gmbr la, sbb dari atas cantikkkk sgt river crossing ni, especially bila yacht2 bersadai, mmg nmpk kelass gitu, walhal kampung kecik je tempat nya. Saltash ni adalah berada di tepi muara sungai/laut, so kalo pegi masa air pasang mmg cantik. As we would have it (sokmo doh pong), air tgh surut. Salah satu sbb tiap2 kali pergi ke tepi sungai/laut, air adalah surut adalah kerna sampai2 dah tghari (12 lebih mcm tu). Moral nya, bertolak awal. Make sure sampai sblm pukul 9 pagi. Habis cerita.

[1] River crossing atas tren. X berapa lawa sbb air surut. Hmm...

[2] View turun2 drpd platform keretapi. Cantik!

[3] Mary Newman's cottage. Dia ni bekas isteri pertama Sir Francis Drake (pelayar dan knight terkenal drpd Plymouth di era Elizabethan dulu -1500an) rupanya. Dua2 tokoh ni nama mereka ada diabadikan di University of Plymouth (Mary Newman Hall of Residence dan Francis Drakes Cafe). Sayang nya the cottage was closed for the winter already (but the sun was shining still!!!)

[4] Isambaard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer hebat giler. Kalo bukan kerana bridge yg dia bina pada tahun 1854 tu, masih kena naik perahu la kalo nak cross Saltash-Plymouth. Brunel ni juga adalah org yg sama yg bina the Clifton Suspension Bridge yg glamerz di Bristol nun, and also the Thames Tunnel in London. Woh, sekampung2 Plymouth-Cornwall ni pon, merasa jgk ye sentuhan ajaib beliau. Actually, beliau ni la yg fought kat Parliament suh biar ada railway link kat area Plymouth Cornwall ni. haih besar jasa dia. Kalox agaknya khidmat keretapi x sampai la ye kat ujung sini. Btw, bridge yg Brunel ni bina adalah utk tren ye. It wasn't until more than 100 years later (1961), baru ada bridge utk kereta.

[5] Tepi laut. Again air surut. X cantik sgt huhu. Ada alasan utk pergi lg.

[6] Promenade & Park

[7] Town dia

[9] Random-Miscellaneous shots

[10] Aisyah makan mee hoon goreng (bekal) on the way balik. Alhamdulillah, x susah bawak dia jalan2, sbb dia dah biasa travel style org susah (budget travel/backpacking naik tren).

Christmas Is Almost Here

2011-12-06T19:30:00.000Z

Sekolah Aisyah ni mcm2 aktiviti laaaa dia plan sempena Xmas. Hish, pening nak keep track satu2, takut la lupa, aku catit dulu:

6-12-11: Xmas party

7-12-11: Xmas rehearsals at Methodist Central Hall (morning)

Xmas Fair (after school)

8-12-11: Xmas lunch with parents

12-12-11: Xmas performance

14-12-11: Xmas Show & Magician

16-12-11: School's out sampai la 3 Januari 2012 baru bukak balik.

X ke giler tu? X masuk bab2 melukis Santa ke, baca buku bertemakan Xmas ke, lukis reindeer ke, nyanyi lagu Xmas ke. Tu x kisah la sgt. Budak2 lg kan. Yg Xmas lunch, Xmas performance pon, aku layankan je la. Tp aku mmg x leh terima la bab Xmas rehearsal kat Methodist Hall. Apehal nak hangkut anak2 ni masuk church ha?

Walau ada bg permission slip suh parents sign, kalo x setuju, x yah sign tp aku ralat sbb diaorg x sediakan kelas khas utk budak2 yg x nak pegi ni. Sedangkan sekolah ni dlm laporan OFSTED nya mmg aware ramai student international (read: from negara2 Islam mcm aku, or Iran, Iraq, Yemen, etc). Apa lah salah nya kalo diorg longgok kan sahaja budak2 yg x dpt pegi ni dlm main hall ke, pastu pasang citer Disney pon x pe. Bertambah kesal sbb sekolah bgtau aku psl event ni hari Isnin kan dan kena reply by Selasa, sbb event nya Rabu. Ingat senang ke aku nak cari alternatif childcare? Nasib baik aku ni student PhD, jadual flexible la jgk, kalo aku laki bini keja high-profile yg bangsa x leh amik cuti camne? Sudahnya aku jugak yg kena duk umah jaga si Aisyah, sedangkan session dia aku dah byr. Bila x pegi tu faham2 lah, keja aku pon turut x jalan.

Aku bukan apa, risau la asyik amik cuti. Smlm dah x gi lab, bahu aku sakit tersalah bantal kot dlm tido. Tahap berdenyut2 dan pening kepala x leh hadap keja langsung. Alhamdulillah la dah kurg byk hari ni. Tp nya si Aisyah plak demam smlm, so pg ni aku x kejut dia utk ke sekolah, biar dia tido puas2.

Esok dah sehari lg x gi lab. Then starting from 16/12/11 ni, budak2 cuti pjg, sampai tahun baru. Argghhh... jgn la dgn aku2 skali tutup buku mintak2 nya.

So there you go, altho Xmas nmpk mcm fun, tp ada jg bab x fun nya. Tp satu la mcm kelakar sket, kitaorg budak PhD ada dpt Netbook baru ooo, jenama Samsung. Spec dia quite good la, FOC lg. Mmg happy gile.. Sebab dah dkt2 nak Xmas, budak2 ada berseloroh, 'Oh, Xmas came early', walhal x de kena mengena. Baru je tepon mak aku, nak eksyen2 cite psl Netbook baru yg free, mak aku plak bole gi ckp, "Eh kat sini Netbook free2 ni budak sekolah rendah lg dah dpt"

Lah, ye ke? Aku yg ketinggalan rupa nya heheh.. Apapon, Alhamdulillah, rezeki. Moga lebih cpt dpt siap PhD aku hendaknya dgn ada nya Netbook ni, Insya Allah...

Hair And Skin Care

2011-12-06T01:57:00.001Z

Kadang2 dtg angin rasa mcm nak chop chop chop rambut si Aisyah ni kasi pendek, tp skali pikir, mcm sayang giler, sbb rambut dia lambat nak tumbuh. Or more correctly, growth rate dia tu normal je, tp sbb rambut dia curly, x terzahir sgt. Kalo lps mandi mmg nmpk la panjang, tp once dah kering, toinggg dia pergi bergulung2 balik, terus nmpk rambut dia pendek. Satu lg, aku terpikir je, org kata kalo rambut curly2 ni kita kerap potong curls dia, nnt2 rambut dia jd kurg curls, yg jd straight terus pon ada (ye ke? or id this pure hearsay? As a scientist, I have my doubts sbb as far as I know, kalo you carry curly hair genes, bukan forever ke they stay with you?).

Anyway, in an attempt to see how she would look like with short hair, here are some pics:

I think budak2 yg rambut pendek (kerat mcm anak2 amoi slalu buat), adalah sgt cute. Certainly would return Aisyah her chubby baby cheeks that we sorta lost now. But then again, I guess I'll keep her hair as it is now lah, trim sesekali je, bcoz it's easier to manage for school (ponytails, plaits, buns - it is my guilty pleasure jgk anyam rambut dia ni).

Dalam gmbr ni muka dia berminyak, sbb baru lps sapu Vaseline kat muka. This winter has hit her skin really hard, kering2 sampai flaky apa semua. Sampai kena gi klinik jumpa Dr tahu? (sila gasp ye, sbb kat UK ni selagi x betul2 kronik x de nya dpt jumpa Dr. Even then, dah 1 week book baru dpt jumpa tau, sian anak I dkt 2 minggu kulit dia kering giler2 sbb nak tggu ppointment, tahap buh losyen pon nangis coz it stung).

Skali pegi, Dr sah kan dia kena eczema. Mmg agak teruk, especially kat muka, area around mata tu, sampai dah jd sepet korg tahu, kes kulit kering dan area around mata membengkak. Muka dia sejibik mcm org baru bgn tido, dgn mata sepet dan white flaky skins tu, walhal dah mandi apa semua, oh my poor baby.

Nasib baik Dr yg rawat dia ni very baik and sympathetic, jarang nak dpt Dr cam ni kat UK. Maybe dia mmg naturally baik, or dia bole relate sbb dia ckp anak bongsu dia pon eczema jgk. Siap bg 2 tub emolient, 1 tube hydrocortisone, 1 tube apa benda ntah x ingat nama (but a stronger steroid cream utk badan). Also kena amik antihistamine daily, utk kurg kan kegatalan dan swelling. X pernah2 dpt prescription seganazzz ini, seplastik ko...

Alhamdulillah, her skin has improved, altho still kena pakai lg cream tu twice a day. Agak terkejut coz she has been living here for 4 winters already, x pernah plak kena. Tup2 skang ada, tp as long as manageable, x apa lah, Alhamdulillah.

Woeing Wails of Whales

2011-12-05T01:45:00.000Z

Baru lps present demo dkt pelawat td. Fuhhh legaaaa. Mmg bbrp hari sblm ni dah stop kerja2 lab and fokus adalah tertumpu di situ. Sbb nya, pelawat bukan calang2 pelawat, tp x lain x bukan drpd director company contemporary dance terkemuka, ‘Rambert’ yg based in London, tp kini touring di Plymouth utk show di The*atre Ro*yal. Siap SV aku pesan dalam emel nya lg, “There’s a chance for collaboration. We need to impress”. Mana x panic. Walaupon aku x rasa depa nak collaborate dgn keja aku yg agak dhaif ni, aku x nak la jd penyebab diorg elok2 nak wat collaboration, sekali tgk keja aku terus kansel niat suci murni tu plak.

Apapon, Alhamdulillah, I think the demo went well. I guess this time I invested more time and energy for this so-called presentation sbb nya I wanted to make up for a sucky one I did in October. Nyata lah, sebenar nya kalo kita buat sesuatu tu dgn lebih teliti dan budget masa yg secukupnya (well-prepared la kira nya ni), hasil nya jauh lebih baik drpd buat kerja dalam keadaan terkocoh2. Walaupon still ada jg moments ala2 last minute td, tp it was extra2 stuff that came into my head as the day went, but the main part of the presentation dah siap awal2 lg, so was not as panicky as last time.

Walau rasa ralat sgt hari tu sbb present mcm hampeh, but I have to admit the wake up call did me good. I NEEDED it. Because I didn’t get to deliver the punch line of my PhD during last seminar (my own fault as I was too frazzled trying to get latest results in without trying to digest and analyze them first – mmg mengundang utk kena fry aje lah kan), it got me thinking of what did I really wanted to say about my research. Although I was down and depressed for I think a few days after that, I spent a whole 3 weeks afterwards revising my objectives (write, re-write, re-re-write) and refining my tests, and I feel that I have found a ‘chord’ in my work, which was all worth it (I hope!).

Smlm ada seminar group kami. Kali ni Hilmi tu yg present. Oleh sbb bidang aku dan Hilmi lebih kurg sama, byk jgk aku dpt observe dan baca drpd potential internal examiners nya soalan2 (internal examiner ni ahli lab jg – maybe postdoc or lecturing staff). Rata2 nak tahu use and application, x mau sgt theory2, kena bg seketoi contoh kegunaan yg mendatangkan manfaat dan memudahkan cara.

Oleh yg demikian, aku pon buat la composition sket2. I never really got serious with composition because I kept thinking that I am doing this for the technology side, so x perlu spend lama2 on the artistic side, but thoughts like that might just grill me alive during viva. So like it or not, I have to show and demonstrate that there IS a space and need for my work in the music community.

The timing for pelawat td dtg couldn’t have come at a better time, because everyone was asked to prepare a showcase of their work. So utk julung2 kali nya, I feel like sharing a bit of what my work is really about.

I’m working on concatenative sound synthesis (CSS). Simplified, it’s where you use snippets of audios from various sources to make a completely new sound, based on a target sound that you ask the ‘concatenative system’ to generate. My work involves finding out what affects the concatenation, and of course, developing the system that addresses some of the shortcomings of existing systems (it is a relatively new field). Unlike Music Information Retrieval, CSS is not really focused on returning an EXACT match, but more like, cari sound yg serupa tp x sama. Perhaps the pics below would help clarify further (it’s from a slide, but I took only part of it. Could have used SlideShare or something like that, but I have materials I’d rather not made public yet (bahan x published lg), and am too lazy to edit. So snapshot aje lah solution nya.

Okay, so what sort of sounds would you expect from my CSS system? Something like below, so I have to say that this might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Some may even hate this piece, but then again, it’s like that with art, especially avant-garde art, very risqué gitu. I have to say this piece is quite raw. I didn’t have much time to clean up the audio, there are clicks in the audio that I need to get rid of, and I couldn’t be bothered to do fancy transformation on the piece, so basic fade out would have to do at the moment. I incorporate beats that I took of the internet (for free, thank you!), and combined it with the sound of the whales ‘singing’, that was generated automatically using my CSS system.

The title of this piece is ‘Woeing Wails of Whales’. It’s meant to portray the woeing and wailing sounds that whales make prior to and during their act of mating. The original sound file of the whales before the synthesis took place was actually sounds of mating whales, and I added the beat to sort of show the ‘speed’ of the process, i.e. courting (slow, cautious – first 15 seconds, and then mating (where the wailings start and beats got faster), and an abrupt end at the peak (as in, dare I write this, orga*sm (???), as you’d normally expect in the animal kingdom.

Ok, mmg ada unsur2 erotika plak, but what’s contemporary art without one kan? You can’t go past a gallery without a nude scene, so themes like these are heavily played in this field. Looks like all that ‘learning and studying’ at the galleries have paid off. Heh.

Also, pemilihan imej tersebut bukan lah suka2 sbb dia gmbr whales. You might say imej ni resolution teruk lah, berkotak2. It's not a smooth image because the picture is actually made of composite of other images, in a process known as Photo Mosaic. If you look closely, the pic of the whale is made up of smaller pics of ramdom pics in my pics folder. Similarly, CSS uses smaller, random sound files to compose a bigger, coherent sound.

Even if it sounds godawful, please bear in mind that my work is on the Artificial Intelligence side of it, lots of calculation and coding, and trial and error, to actually get a COMPUTER to COMPOSE this. So we can't really expect much (yet). Apapon, I'm already happy that SOMETHING is coming out of the system. Just need to justtify lah in the thesis and argue the empirical findings after this (which is not yet finished, oh dear me) :P

So what do you think if the piece?

Roller Coaster Ride

2011-12-04T13:44:00.000Z

Aisyah dah bertambah2 berani with the rides. Horses, planes, mini roller-coaster, semua dia dah conquer. Biasa la, dkt2 nak Xmas ni mcm2 attractions ada, so aku and Hubs layankan je lah, kalo setakat 2 pound gitu (anak sorg ok la kot layan one round, kalo anak lima, skali naik, dah 10 pound, erk). This time dia nak naik roller coaster Thomas plak, sorg diri lg. My God, that thing went fast, especially round the corners, lap kemain lg. I was pretty sure Aisyah was going to cry, but Alhamdulillah she didn't. But muka dia mmg cuak sesudah itu and she kept repeating, 'I hold (held) the handles, I hold the handles'. She did hold on to the handles in a way that the Kelantanese could only describe as, 'Kemah Keming'. Hehe. Comels plak muka panic-stricken anak aku neh. X pe, Aisyah, ni nama nya fight or flight situation, and Aisyah sudah berjaya overcome and handle your fears gracefully. So proud of you, my brave bebeh :P

Plymouth At Dusk

2011-12-03T13:38:00.003Z

Kot2 esok2 dah balik nanti terbit rindu...

Real Rest

2011-12-02T20:26:00.000Z

Baru habis presentation. Phew, lega and happy jg. Now I need a real rest!

Have a great weekend, all!

Bergayut

2011-11-30T23:50:00.000Z

Suatu perbualan sebelum Ibu dan Anak tido..

Aisyah: Mom, I like Liam *giggle*

Me: Liam from nursery?

Aisyah: Yeah. He pulled my bag

Me: Really?

Aisyah: Yeah. I said to him, 'It's not your bag. That's my bag'.

Me: Oh. Why did he pull your bag? Was he helping you?

Aisyah: No. he was just pulling

Me: Do you think he likes your Minnie bag?

Aisyah: Maybe. He has a red bag

Me: What colour is his hair?

Aisyah: Orange. No, yellow. No, orange *giggle giggle* (blond kot)

Me: What colour are his eyes?

Aisyah: *diam lamaaaa* I don't know *giggle giggle*

Haih, sudah ada crush ke? Not really the first time, tahun lps kat nursery lama minat Alex. Yg tu x kisah la, yg aku heran kan, apsal budak laki kalo minat budak pompuan suka usik2? Panggil gelaran mcm2, tolak la, ejek2 la. Ni peringkat 3 tahun dah pandai tarik2 beg org, nnt sekolah rendah tarik skirt la, pastu bila dah menginjak remaja sket, tarik tali bra la. Kelakar la tu agaknya. Bila dah budak2 laki semua aqil baligh baru lah torture sebegini stop. Haih... guna la modal lain kot ye pon minat, ye dok? Sian anak I, 3 tahun dah kena permainan psychology dgn budak lelaki sekelas already hehe.

Aku berdoa agar Allah pelihara anak2 ku drpd sbrg unsur kemaksiatan, nak2 mencabar betul parenting di akhir2 zaman ni kan. But time kecik2 ni rasa funny jg bila dapat record perbualan di 'telefon' anak aku. Huit garang jg, siap, 'No, no, no', pastu 'yes, yesy, yes', 'but I have to', lg jerit, 'wait' (agaknya x bg org tu letak? walhal caller imaginery je). Tp last2 mengucapkan I Love You plak. Siapa la dia berangan dia call tu agaknya hmmm..

Heart-tistic

2011-11-30T08:50:00.000Z

Td gi kursus EndNote. Rasa nya dah pernah pegi dulu, tp mcm x faham dan x menarik. Alhamdulillah, kali ni facilitator dia best. Mcm nak emel je dia ckp what a good session td. Hands-on practice pon mmg berguna. Dah faham dah trick2 dia, so Insya Allah lps ni bole terus guna. Apatah lg dah cek kat lab PC bole install and now dah running (uni nya subscribtion) and kat laptop pon bole sync kan dgn EndNote Web. Oh happy2. Sblm ni mmg x bercadang nak guna EndNote sbb dah selesa pakai BibTex kerna berhajat mahu guna LyX / LaTeX utk thesis write up. Now mcm ada doubts sket, sbb coding dia jd time-consuming (sbb aku x terrer) dan rasa mcm kurg support from tech kat Uni bila ada prob. Kalo pakai Words and EndNote mmg ada correspondent / librarians khas yg bole tolong fix kalo apa2 jd. So tu yg gi tgk2 alternatif. As for now, masih undecided. Nnt2 la decide nak pakai yg mana.

Also very happy sbb dpt pegi tgk art exhibition at Cube3 Gallery plak td (masih lg menyempurnakan misi tgk British Arts Show sampai habis sblm tarikh tamat). Yg dkt Cube3 ni by the artist Greg Lucas. OMG, karya dia interesting sekali! Aku suka la karya2 mcm ni, yg kena tgk 2,3 kali pastu nmpk ironis dia hehe. Cth, yg gmbr di bawah ni, Bird House. Kalo korg tgk skali imbas, mmg bird house, tp tgk betul2, rumah tu bkn bird house. Ia adalah sebuah rumah yg jarak nya lebih jauh drpd tiang di dpn tu, which is tiang kpd pagar tu to begin with. See it? Clever kan? Ini org biasa buat dgn landmark spt Eiffel Tower, seolah tower tu sebesar sejengkal je, walhal jarak dia jauh. Or Leaning Tower of Pisa, x sah kalo x amik gmbr ala2 menolak lg Pisa tu sampai kasi senget. Aku pon pernah buat dulu2 dgn Stonehenge, konon2 jungjung batu atas kepala gitu. Kira artistik gak la aku ek?

Or this one, yg nmpk mcm budak kecik isap rokok, tp sbnarnya 2 imej yg lain, yg tgn org merokok tu pantulan drpd imej lain, tp bila skali imbas, it's shocking!

Or these series of shot, psl bridge and pier. Pier ni nama org. Pier jg nama kpd bridge, tp x sudah. So Pier yg org itu beriang-ria melompat mcm budak di bridge. Sbb pier adalah bridge yg x siap (x membesar, x dewasa). Maka sbb itu Pier org tu berlagak kanak2, bagai kan pier yg x jd bridge, org besar yg berkelakuan spt anak kecil. Pastu yg best, catch phrase dia, pier dgn bridge ni, ARCH enemy. Arch. Get it? Get it? Smart gilerrrr....!

Eh ke aku sorg je yg fikir mcm ni? But this is my kind of art :)

Anyway, bbrp gmbr from tht exhibition ada kami snapped di sini. X berani nak bubuh semua yg kami dah amik gmbr, sbb mcm infringement of copyright plak. But for the rest of his work, bole jenguk sini http://greg-lucas.blogspot.com. You guys should really check it out, he is a total artistic genius! Disclaimer: not my pics, not my art work, but just to promote his work and so that you guys get a gist of what's more at his blog. Secondly, the above was how 'I' interpret his work, he may not have necessarily meant it that way when he captured it. And you may have a different interpretation too, which is good coz that's what art is all about.

Dark and Cold (and Wet)

2011-11-29T15:04:00.000Z

Ramai jg request tanya psl cuaca dan daylight di sini. Skang ni i would probably say it's still Autumn, tho sometimes it does feel like winter is already menunjukkan taringnya. Dlm entry ni aku akan berkongsi gmbr2 sekitar Autumn/early winter this year la, so far.

Plymouth ni sbnarnya gets milder winter than other parts in the UK, tp sbb dia tepi laut, angin dia, Masya Allah. That makes it sometimes rasa twice as cold, especially kalo keluar mlm2.

Let me clear kan definisi mlm, coz obviously, keluar pukul 10 mlm tu mcm dah mengundang utk kena pukul dgn kaki mabuk. Maghrib di sini adalah around 4.15 ptg now on a good day. Kalo hari tu hujannnnn and mendung, mmg mcm pkl 3.30 dah mlm. Subuh plak bole buat sampai pkl 7.30 pg (baru nak sun rise). So yes, the days are shorter now, and it's not just an expression or exaggeration. Ini betul2 hehhe..

I don't mind so much the darkness, but my God, kalo berhari2 x jumpa matahari sbb hujan / awan kelabu, mmg bole bikin aku jd penasaran. Ni adalah simptom2 awal Seasonal Affectived Disorder, yakni penyakit org musim winter. Ketahuilah bahawa sanya kalo x dpt tgk matahari lama2, kesan dia bole membawa kpd kemurungan. So mmg kita yg berasal/menetap di Msia dan khatulistiwa seharusnya bersyukur sgt sbb menerima 12 jam mentari, 12 months a year.

Musim sejuk jg berarti bil2 elektrik akan naik sket. Ye la, pasang heater kan. Kalo x psg heater pon, kena on air panas, kalo nak kejung otot badan masa amik wudhu' plak nnt. Lg satu yg kurg best, baju2 lambat kering. Kalo lambat sgt kering, bole menyebabkan bau hapak.. Maka berseayut lah satu rumah baju bajan. Kalo nak 2-in-1, pasang heater kuat2 dan 'salai' lah pakaiaan sampai kering.

Kalo nak bergmbr pon jd kurg cun sbb kena pakai baju 2-3 lapis. Terus nmpk overweight, thank you very much.

Bila sejuk jg imuniti badan slalu nya mcm down sket. Virus plak cpt merebak sbb semua org duk dlm umah je. Sbb tu sejuk mcm2mana pon, tingkap kena buka walau sekejap, kasi ada air ventilation sket.

Ramai jg org berseloroh kata waktu paling bagus ganti posa sbb hari pendek. Mmg. Cuma liat sket la nak bgn sahur sejuk2 ni kan. Satu lg, kalo nak ganti, ganti sblm betul2 winter, sbb nnt udara terlalu kering, dan sbnarnya mencabar nak posa dgn bibir pecah2 akibat kurg air dan udara kering.

Oh ye. Satu lg, bila winter, tukar from British Summer Time (BST) kepada Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), menyebabkan perbezaan waktu antara Msia dan UK jd 8 jam (naik 1 jam). Xde apa masalah sgt, tp mcm jd kurg ngam waktu nak skype or menelepon ayah bonda berbanding waktu BST.

Bebas Berenang

2011-11-28T14:09:00.000Z

Tahun ni Plymouth adalah selected sbg salah satu tuan rumah utk British Arts Ahow yg ke-7. Hanya bandar2 besar yg mempunyai penagruh dan hasil art yg kuat adalah dipilih sebagai venue utk art show ini. Utk show kali ini, bandar2 yg terlibat adalah Nottingham, London, Glasgow dan Plymouth. UoP ni mmg hebat jg arts dia, bkn lah masuk bakul angkat sendiri, but salah satu specialty dia di situ, selain Engineering (khasnya Marine), Technology dan lain2. Utk pengetahuan umum, Britush Arts Show ni hanyalah diadakan 5 tahun sekali, semenjak tahun 1979. So, rugi yg amat lah kalo x pergi melihat2 exhibition art yg besar ni.

Event yg besar ni bermula Spetember lg, tp biasa lah, bila event dkt2, wat2 jual mahal x nak pegi, skali minggu dpn exhibition dah habis, baru tercungap2 nak attend semua. Oh, and the exhbition bkn setempat je tau. Venue dia pelbagai (in Plymouth), from Cube3, Jill Craigie Cinema, dan Peninsula Arts Gallery di UoP sendiri, then melibatkan jg Plymouth Collge of Arts, Plymouth City Museum and Gallery, Plymouth Arts Centre, dan the Slaughterhouse di Royal William Yard nun. Pendek kata, nak finish sehari tu x bole la ye, unless touch and go je and ada kereta la kot nak pindah2 venue.

Oleh yg demikian, aku telah bertekad utk spend 20-30 minit sehari waktu lunch pegi ke tempat2 berikut. Hari ni dah start dgn yg terdekat, Peninsula Arts Gallery td. Refreshed jg minda pegi, altho admittedly, aku agak blur2 jgk, but since arts ni terpulang pada interpretasi masing2, aku rasa yakin la jgk menebeng di situ hehe. Ingat hari Wednesday ni nak bawak Aisyah plak (sekolah dia tutup sbb nak support strike aginst corporate), just to see how a young child interprets it. Should be fun.

Ok tu je. Oh, the above is my favourite piece today - Freischwimmer by Wolfgang Tillmans. Btw, kat dalam galeri x leh amik gmbr, so aku snatch kat web. Aku harap aku x de kena apa2 tindakan legal plak menampal karya org lain di blog ni. Aku amik kat sini. Aku google2 freischwimmer ni maksudnya to swim free (betul ke wahai my German-speaking friends Sabb and Eti?). Agak absorbed tgk this piece. Tp dua kali tgk mcm sperma swimming pon ada jgk, which kinda makes you think on a whole different level la jgk kan..

Also, ada bbrp free shows and installation showing, so kalo sempat nak attend. They shouldn't be longer than 1 hour per seating, so kalo ada masa nak jg attend at least one. Oh, and there's one talk I really want to attend, I think it's the last of the Arts show series, yg bertajuk, "Future Earth" (thursday lunch time). But at the same time this Friday ada visitors from the touring company at the theatre yg nak melawat2 lab, maka kena la prepare a little presentation and demo audio utk mereka. Keja aku ni malu la nak demo2, tp Prof dah hantar emel mewajibkan semua org bg 10-15 minutes demo, so belasah la labu. Ingatnya nak buat experiment ni cpt2, then on Wednesday start wat slides and 'cosmeticize' kan my work. Sempat ke eh?

Ok hope my plan works. Tahun baru, azam baru, nak jd lebih appreciative of all the finer things in life, including art. And air. And life itself. Salam Maal Hijrah semua :)

Angry Girls, Happy Girls

2011-11-27T00:37:00.000Z

Hari ni nak share sket kata2 falsafah teragung:

"There are angry girls, and there are happy girls. It's not good to be angry girls". - A.N Saiful

Tahu kah anda siapa kah A.N. Saiful itu? X lain x bukan, Aisyah lah hehe..

Honestly, I think that kid has an old soul. Kata2 falsafah ni dia reka sendiri, bila tertengok kat TV satu scene yg mana 2 org perempuan tgh bertekak, well, actually sorg je stress2 dan meninggikan suara, yg lg satu tu kawan dia dgn patiently mendengar, and then cuba menenangkan dgn cara memberitahu kawan yg stress td punca yg menyebabkan org stress tu x menjadi happy seperti dia (ok aku bg spoiler sket, sbb nya pompuan stress tu x fokus dlm bercinta, takut pada komitmen so asyik2 tukar pasangan, gitu la lebih kurg).

Anyway, back on the philosophy, not bad eh, coming from a 3-year-old, yang mana nursery pon x grad lg?

Roller Coaster Ride

2011-11-25T00:14:00.000Z

Anak dara aku mmg dah besar. Terkini, dah pandai and x takut naik roller coaster ride (utk toddlers). That thing goes quite high tau, and fast especially on the way down, but thank God she didn't cry ketakutan halfway through the ride (like budak dpn dia did). Siap lambai2 tgn ke luar tingkap lg ada budak Aisyah ni. Much like her Mum once was la kot, Aisyah didn't show any signs of fear on the ride. Mula2 dulu carousel, then plane, now roller coaster. What next? Apapon, way to go, Aisyah!

Dah bole bawak dia gi Disneyland la kan macam ni? Ehem ehem... *tuju kat Ayah Aisyah*

Cerita Hilmi

2011-11-24T12:40:00.001Z

OK, korg dah baca x entry aku yg sblm ni psl ‘Kambing Dalam Reban’ tu? Yg aku citer aku rasa awkward, rendah diri blah blah blah psl research aku ni? Well, from masa present hari tu lg aku rasa down sbb week after week, tiap2 kali org present lps tu, everyone just seemed to be better and better than mine was, and makin la rasa aku hampagas kan? Tp pencetus sebenar emosi smlm tu adalah sbb lab mate aku ni, kita namakan dia Hilmi (bkn nama sebenar - dia bkn Islam or Msian pon, org Spanish lg ye), tanya aku, leh tolong x betulkan equation dia kat Word 2010, sbb mcm ada compatibility issue dgn version yg dia dah buat kat computer dia sebelum ni. Tp tgk2, aku x boleh nak tolong pon, so lg rasa stupid and helpless gila. Come on la Oyis, bloody Word je pon, bkn hard core programming problem! Bum bum bum bum bummmm (bunyi org jatuh bertimpa2 – that’s how low I felt).

Anyway, pg ni, masuk2 lab, Hilmi ni bercerita la psl dia guna image dulu la utk equation tu, sbb dia mcm sakit hati. Then we got talking psl reserach dia. Selaku AJK Seminar, aku ingatkan dia next week turn dia present, and I look forward to it. Kitaorg mmg mcm buddy2 sket sbb sama2 buat sound synthesis.

Aku pon ckp la, aku x puas hati dgn performace aku yg teruk masa bg seminar hari tu, kalo bole nak repeat aje. Aku kata aku harap masalah penyampaian x de flow aku ni berhubung kait rapat dgn peringkat experimentation aku skang, and hopefully once result dah siap terbentang di depan mata, and aku ada more time to analyze them, aku akan bercekap dgn lebih flow lg, bkn sentuh result sana sket, then bukak slide lain result lain plak, melompat2. Dia kata, betul la tu, nnt bila dah siap experiment semua baru cerita kita akan menjadi one big story, so in time I will improve.

Then dia confess dia pon tgh risau sbb dia pon ada problem present jgk. Dia plg risau bab English, and dia ckp dia mmg nervous giler sampai tahap dia dah mintak ngan Prof nak baca from paper (yg ditulis aje). Dia ni English ok je aku tgk, tp maslah confident in front of audience la kot. Dan2 aku teringat, 2 thn lps kot, ada sorg mamat yg present pakai paper and menggigil2 (goyang2 paper tu), projek dia present tu mmg impressive, tp aku terdetik dlm hati, ‘kenapa org ni main baca atas kertas je ni?’. Rupanya mamat tu lah Hilmi ni, tp masa tu aku x kenal dia sbb dia jrg dtg lab. Pastu terus terlupa dah kisah mamat yg present pakai kertas tu.

Skang baru aku faham, semua org pon ada certain degree of nervousness bila nak present, dan masing2 pon ada isu masing2, just do the best we can. And point lebih penting: kita rasa kita rendah diri (like Hilmi did when he presented with a piece paper dulu2 tu, but truth of the matter is, nobody cares. Kejap je org dah lupa kedhaifan kita tu. Take me, aku pon dah x ingat kisah tu, hinggalah dia ckp present kali ni pon nak pakai kertas, then baru teringat balik citer lama tu. So in my case plak, yes, I had a busuk seminar presentation, GET OVER IT. Takde sapa ingat lahhh...

Utk pengetahuan, Hilmi ni student PhD part-time, so dia x slalu ada dlm lab, dtg pon jrg2 je sblm ni, like setahun 3 kali utk meeting ngan SV, sbb tu aku x kenal sgt dia sapa masa dia present first time tu (2010). Anyway, skang dia mmg nekad nak siapkan PhD dia, so dia tukar jd full-time, meninggalkan kampong halaman (Spain) dan kerja yg dia pernah ada di Spain, so that dia bole siap jgk PhD ni. Dia kata dia mmg x mau lengahkan lg, dan apa nak jd pon, dia nak jgk PhD ni siap. Mmg I look up to him la bab smgt ni sbb bukan senang kalo dah ada life and keja full-time, nak tinggalkan semua tu atas nama menuntut ilmu.

Lg Hilmi ni bukak citer, dia wat PhD ni dah lama (2005). Harus diingatkan, kalo buat PhD part-time completion date mmg expect 6 years ye (2 kali ganda i.e. 2 x 3 years paling cpt). So mmg bunyi dah lama, tp he’s on the right track pon kan. BUT, he did say, 2 tahun pertama PhD di UoP ni, dia ada buat collaboration dgn satu centre di Paris. Skali projek proposal dah finalized, centre tu plak bungkus sbb xde funding. Berkecai jiwa dia sbb 2 years of work x bole pakai (isu hakmilik dsb nya). Tp dia ada admit jgk la masa ni dia x push sgt PhD, sbb keja dia kat Spain as a programmer very demanding.

Anyway, lps tu lama la dia melangut cari tajuk. By that time dia dah sepatutnya hantar Transfer Report, tp x lps2 lg. Dia ada proposed bbrp tajuk kat Prof, tp semua nya heavily computing dan x de significance kat music sgt, so Prof x support la, sbb nnt x cukup expertise sgt nak supervise. Pikir punya pikir lg bbrp bulan, Prof tolong bg dia tajuk, and dia bernasib baik dia bole la carry. Prof kitaorg punya tolong dia, sokong dia dpt suspension, tp bawak dia masuk lab full time (dia tinggal kerja dia di Spain tu) utk start dgn study properly semula.

Dlm masa setahun tu, siap la Transfer dia. Then dia balik Spain lg 2 thn kot, buat experiment dari sana, sesekali dtg UK. Masa ni aku pon beru masuk lab ni, so tu yg x kenal sgt dia.

Lps 2 thn tu, dia decided, that’s it, by hook or by crook dia nak siapkan jgk PhD dia ni. Tu yg skali lg dia meninggalkan Spain dan kerja full-time dia, utk study full-time. This time, dia aim sampai grad dia akan duk sini. And dia ckp, dia dah nak siap writing ni. Dia rasa in January dia boleh submit. And aku sgt2 happy dgr berita ni, although sedey sket sbb lps ni lab kembali sunyi la kot.

Dia kata, mmg MENCABAR GILE buat PhD part-time, benda paling susah dia pernah buat kot. Aku setuju la, sbb aku kata, walau pon aku buat full-time PhD, tp 2 thn gak aku kena keja part-time, and I did manual work atas sbb duit elaun x cukup menampung 3 org dalam keluarga kami. Much like him yg quite surprised how fast he could write his thesis, now that he has left everything in Spain utk siapkan PhD ni, aku pon bersyukur ALhamdulillah that bila aku dah berenti keja part-time ni la aku rasa laju wat kerja, and lebih clear intipati sebenarnya thesis aku ni.

Lg satu, sebelum ni aku asyik rasa aku mcm xbrp nak ade potensi nak lulus pon, and aku rasa mesti Prof menyesal gile amik student hawau cam aku. Tp masa bincang td, dia ckp, PhD ni mmg kalo x commit or fire dlm diri tu x de utk menyiapkan, mmg x akan siap. Tp seteruk mana pon kita, kalo perasaan ingin siapkan tu ada dlm diri, akan bole buat jg. Kata dia lg, dlm lab ni, masa dia start ada ramai yg saing2 dia. Tp 3 org kot lps tu terus missing in action, satu student tu walhal dah tinggal writing je, tp sbb masa writing dia balik negara terus x dtg2 UK lg.

That sort of makes me think. Teruk mana pon aku, kalo push jg nak bg siap, mesti ada an ounce worth of respect jgk kan drpd SV kita? Drpd kalo buat experiments and sound composition yg gempaqs2, tp last2 ghaib x siap thesis, itu lebih teruk bukan? Apatah lg yg 3 tahun di lab asyik tukar2 tajuk, then ghaib, of coz la lg ammarah SV tu kan? At least, kalo slow mcm aku pon, tp hari2 menebeng di lab perah otak wat sket2 setakat mampu, that counts for something right? So, x perlu rasa diri tu hampeh sgt la. Do the best that we can, and heads up, face forward, and off we march!

Tujuan aku tulis ni, bkn nak dedahkan cerita psl Hilmi ni, tp sbb nak bg diri sendiri ingat (walau pon Hubs akan mencebik je bila baca ni, sbb dia kata hangat2 najis ayam je peringatan diri aku ni, nnt cabaran lain dtg, melt down lg hehe), yg kita rasa kita aje susah dan kerdil dalam dunia ni, yg org lain semua best, tp sbanrnya, semua org ada cabaran dan kekurangan masing2. Kita rasa kita byk berkorban, org lain pon berkorban jg, may be not exactly in the same way as we have, but nonetheless, berkorban jg. --- tapi point ni aku slalu lupa, Astaghfirullah al azim…

Keduanya, di mana ada kemahuan, di situ ada jalan. Jangan putus asa Oyis. Teruskan perjuangan!

Syukur sgt Allah sent Hilmi ni gi berborak ngan aku. Ada byk mesej yg perlu aku lihat, apatah lg mendapat input sebegini slps menulis entry smlm. Byk perlu direnungkan... Alhamdulillah.. Aku share cerita ni agar kita semua beroleh manfaat nya. Here's to becoming a better person, better yet, a better Muslim :)

Kambing Dalam Reban

2011-11-24T00:11:00.001Z

Have you ever had the thoughts in your head like, "what the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here! These people are wayyyyy out of my league"?

Atau,

"Bloody hell, how can make a U-turn this far in the game?" *gulp*

Aku ada. Selalu plak tu. Kdg2 rasa mcm Kambing dalam Reban Ayam pon ye jgk. Sorg mengembekkk, sorg berkokok. Tp live in harmony chewah... Lately ni thoughts like these lebih menguasai jiwa, mungkin sbb aku dah float my head above experiments ni semua, and can sort of see my so-called 'contributions' in the field, and I'm like, WHAT THE... ?

Especially in an interdisciplinary lab like mine, most students punya contribution can be heard and proven aurally, as well as experimentally. Mine? Well, nak kata interface pon x, artistic pon x sgt, more towards empirical analysis. But then aku takut sgt kalo kena fire tang contributions to the musical community, kalo2 examiners challenge, "So EFFING what?"

Haih, tp makkk pasrah je lah uols. Perjuangan dah 2/3 jalan selesai, so kalo bole amend, amend secukup nya. Kurang garam, tambah garam. Kurang gula, tambah gula. X sedap langsung, buh Ajinomoto lebih2 sket. Janji boleh mkn dan mengenyangkan. Asal saja jgn buang langsung ke tanah benda yg dah kita mula kan ni. Yg penting, bkn lah brp sedap masakan kita (altho diakui, kalo boleh mmg la nak masak sedap2 biar org makan berkali and impressed habis si pemakan), tp at least daripada kita x tahu masak sesuatu benda tu, kita dah belajar cara2 betul nak memasak benda tu. Insya Allah kalo buat lain kali, kesalahan yg sama x diulang lagi. Betul x? Btw, ni analogi je la kan, you do know I'm talking about my PhD and bukan cooking skills kan?

Tell me, tell me, tell me, my readers yg dah go through this, are thoughts like these are normal? Apsal aku x ingat plak feeling2 ni masa MSc dulu, walhal buat MSc by research jugak...

Bra Ku Yang Ketat

2011-11-23T00:21:00.004Z

Org lain cerita psl perjuangan team Msia di padang bola Indon smlm, aku pon nak citer psl perjuangan gak. Tp perjuangan yg belum selesai ni lah. Yg bola tu dah konfem kemenangan keemasan kan hehe..

This part of the journey mmg rasa agak sunyi la. Stress level agak tinggi. Masa agak kurg. Tik tok tik tok. Mmg kalo term bola, dah masuk masa tambahan dah aku ni.

Kawan2 seperjuangan byk yg dah balik. Yang balik dah berjaya, Alhamdulillah, tumpang happy utk mereka. Sumber inspirasi. Berdoa- agar beroleh Al-Falah yg begitu jua. Admire their hard work and commitment.

Yg balik tp still struggle utk menyiapkan, tumpang doakan segala laluan mereka dipermudahkan. Admire their and courage and persistence.

Yang masih aza aza fighting, aku doakan kita semua berjaya ke garisan terakhir dgn jaya nya, Insya Allah. Nasib kita x siapa yg tahu. Semoga passion and determination kita ini membuahkan hasil. Mudah2an Allah sentiasa membantu melapangkan segala nya buat kita.

Yang baru nak start PhD, ~~are you crazy?!?-just kidding!!! :P~~ selamat maju jaya.

Sebut isu kawan, teringat satu pepatah yg aku pernah came across dulu2:

“Friends are like bras: close to your heart and there for support.”

So entry ni didedikasi buat friends yg slalu kena angkat tepon time2 aku slightly cracked. Your voice at the other end of the tunnel makes my whole day okeh!Sila jgn pura2 x tahu I'm talking about you guys. You know who you are and I am thankful for having you guys hehehe. And please be aware that the closer I get to the end of the journey, maybe the slightly more frequent the calls will come (you have been warned).

Also friends yg kat FB, yg slalu corat coret and share cerita masing2. Love you guys lots! Part of being a good friend is sharing. Boring jugak kalo ada fren yg asyik nak tau cerita kita, but never share anything on their part. Friendship is not a one-way communication. Luckily, my circle of friends are good sharers, saling spam-menyepam inbox masing2 dgn pelbagai gos2 panas. And also, friends that I make di alam maya. Komen2 and kritikan membina byk jg men-centre-kan mental, I really appreciate them so keep them coming.

Utk hari ni sahaja, khas aku tepek gmbr bra2 aku yg ketat:

Ni plak bila bra2 dah naik pangkat dari cup C ke DD. Maklum lah, ashkar2 dah mula direkrut...

Ekekkee... jgn marah aaa guys.

Free Books

2011-11-22T00:38:00.003Z

Gomen sini ada porgram 'Book Start' utk kanak2, whereby free books are given, consistently every year, from birth, without fail, utk menggalakkan kanak2 membaca. Selalunya dpt dlm 2,3 buku2 gitu. Aisyah mmg dah dpt sejak umur setahun lg. Baru2 ni dpt lg, dibentukkan dlm kotak 'Treasure Chest'. Item2 yg turut diberi sama adalah pensil warna, buku melukis, and panduan utk ibu bapa menggalakkan anak2 membaca. How nice kan kalo di Msia pon bole buat mcm ni?

Plymouth Christmas Light On

2011-11-21T01:49:00.006Z

Menjadi kebiasaan tiap2 tahunnya di seluruh bandar2 di UK, pada satu2 tarikh di bulan November itu mereka akan mengadakan majlis Christmas Light On. As the name suggests, starting from malam itu, sampai lah ke hujung February, bandar2 dan pusat membeli belah akan dinyalakan dgn lampu2 yg bergemelipan menandakan hari perayaan mereka itu telah dkt. Utk memberikan lebih masa utk shoppers membeli brg Xmas, kedai2 dibuka sehingga jam 9 mlm pada hari Khamis (sila gasp skang - ye, pukul 9 pm, satu mlm dlm seminggu tu dah dikira lewat gilerrr la, walhal kat Msia selamba kodok sorong anak masuk Carrefour utk grocery shopping on a Monday night, at 10.30 mlm, heh).

Anyways, kali ni di Plymouth, majlis tersebut diadakan pada 17 November yg lps (Khamis). Kali ni kami beriyuk2 jgk la pegi, sbb konon2 kot dah balik Msia next year. Plus, hampir semua Msians pon pegi, it would be a lot of fun to join.

Mula2, start dgn band rocking around from 4 pm. Kami tiba jam 5.20 ptg, ye la, nak solat Maghrib apa semua kan. Check out manusia yg hadir... Dpn dan blkg kitaorg...

Event ni besar sbnarnya, ada tayang live di ITV West Country News. Bergambar sebelah van dia, selamba kodok padahal dlm van tu ada krew2 dia bekerja hehe...

Show dia ada mcm2 la, yg break dancing (sungguh makk x taste dgn dance ini, apa ke huduh benor, baik lg buat Macarena - tanda2 penuaan), etc.. etc..

Lps tu star yg ditunggu2 - Michael Collins! Mamat ni masuk finalist utk Britains Got Talent (show ala2 American Idol di UK). Mmg superb. Was rooting for him tp sayang nya x menang. But check his vid out from his audition for BGT here, best kan? Sempoi je org nya.

Also, Ronan Parke, 1st runner up of BGT pon dijemput utk menyanyi. Suara budak ni mmg power, cuma aku x pasti ada kah sbb dia x baligh lg ke? Sbb in music, suara budak2 lelaki yg x akil baligh lg adalah highly sough after, sbb very2 unique suara dia. Untuk bacaan lanjut bole rujuk buku Anne Rice, 'Cry to Heaven'.

Ok, slps dah nyanyi semua, mascot Plymouth Argylle (team football Plymouth) pon menampilkan diri.

Pastu Mayor dia pon bg ucapan and siap2 nak merasmikan. Walau mlm2 hari begini, Mayor dia tetaplah pakai jubah formal dia tu, spt jubah konvo.

Tadaaa! Lps dah rasmi tu lampu2 meriah pon nyala la.

Gerai2 Xmas pon byk dah bukak (mcm Bazaar raya kita la kan). Dkt ice skating rink pon org buat show jgk, tp susah nak amik gmbr sbb mmg berjalan pada kadar setapak sesaat.

Dkt dlm mall. Xmas display dah memenuhi kedai2.

Biasanya hiasan2 dan lampu2 ni tahan sampai end of January, so peluang nak amik gmbr tu masih byk lg, kot ada sesapa nak dtg UK in the meantime :)

Random Sunday

2011-11-20T17:47:00.002Z

Ada guests hari ni. Buat ayam gulek sahajo mkn dgn nasi lemak. Amacam, menggoda x ayam aku? Tp mcm charred sket. Macam mana nak dpt kaler ayam biar kasi golden mcm turkey org hidang utk Thanksgiving itu yor? Ada sapa2 ada tips?

Anyway, lps guests balik I ke lab. Dlm blog ni asyik cerita psl pegi jalan / happy2 events sajork, jarang nak tulis psl pengorbanan or kesusahan or keresahan buat PhD sbb aku berpegang pada konsep write positively dan jg laki aku marah kalo berkeluh kesah even di alam maya skali pon hehe. Harap2 x de la org perceive yg buat PhD ni enjoyyyyy semata2. Utk menepis tanggapan sebegitu, sesakali meh kita tayang kerajinan diri sket hehe. Pegi lab ptg2 dlm keadaan dah gelap. Dpt double markah tau sbb hari ni hari Ahad, so kira overtime hehe. Owh, pada waktu gmbr ni diambil, jam menunjukkan pkl 4.44 ptg. So to those yg ala2 antara percaya dan tidak pkl 4.30 ptg sudah Maghrib, bole rujuk gmbr ni. In fact, pada masa gmbr ini diambil, I telah pon solat dulu sebelum kuar rumah dan menuju ke lab, so Maghrib ternyata lebih awal drpd 4.30 ptg pon skang. Ye, I x bermekap and muka pucat lesu, begitu lah smgt nya nak gi buat keja... (konon).

Gmbr last tu tunjuk library. Bkn ko sorg saja yg ~~buat2~~ rajin lah, Oyis. Penuh hah library tu :P

Bonfire Night 2011

2011-11-18T17:02:00.002Z

In this entry nak share gmbr psl Bonfire Night that happened on the 5th November yg lps. Entry ni tertangguh2 sbb masa tu tgh wat entry Cardiff, then we had Raya Aidil Adha, which then I fell ill after plak. So here is the postponed entry.

Spt biasa, tiap2 tahun UK celebrates the Bonfire Night (also known as Guy Fawkes Night) November 5th. As usual, in Plymouth, celebration is held at the Hoe. We would normally have shows/concert, then the bonfire is lit, followed by the firework display, and then of course ada mcm2 gerai mkanan, funfair and all the rides. The only difference this year was ada the Plymouth Wheel.

The weather was warmer compared to last year, but I think the display has gotten shorter and shorter by the year. Di Plymouth, firework display ni diadakan setahun 2 kali, the first one in August, and the second one during Bonfire Night. Memandangkan dah missed the one in August (sbb di bulan Ramadhan), kami gagahkan jg pergi this one, altho ianya adalah di mlm raya eheh (kami pergi lps dah siap2 takbir and masak lauk raya apa semua tau).

Ok here are some pics of the night, and an extra video too if you want to see what the hype is all about :)

Perception

2011-11-17T12:37:00.002Z

Korang kalo tgk simbol mcm kat atas tu, baca mcm mana? Utk pengetahuan, simbol ni embedded atas simen kaki lima jalan, so aku baca sbg huruf E dan L lah kan? Mungkin initial tukang wat simen tu i.e. maybe nama dia Eliott Lane ke, Eddy Longthrottle ke, Ethan Littleoowds ke, agaknya la kan.

Tp pada Aisyah kan, bila aku tanya, dia jawab, '3 and 7'. Terkejut kjp sbb x expect, dan sbb aku x pernah pon interpret simbol tu sbg nombor.

Aku suka bila benda mcm ni terjadi, sbb akal budak2 ni mulus, belom tercemar atau tertanam benda2 yg society expects or mould, x macam kita yg akan bg jawapan mengikut things that we dah learnt along the way (learnt perception). Kiranya, idea mereka original la kan. Sbb tu kalo dia melukis, aku x pernah suruh/ajar dia lukis mcm tu mcm ni (i.e. asal lukis rumah je mesti buat 4 segi pastu atap siap bubuh tiang kat bwh rumah and pokok kelapa sebatang kat tepi, mcm kita slalu2 lukis tu masa sekolah rendah). Sbb aku nak tgk keaslian yg belom tercemar lg drpd dia. Nak tgk how does she perceive a house, a car, a cat, etc...

Ok tu je aku nak share hari ni. X dpt tulis pjg2, ptg ni ada seminar, aku dilantik jd AJK menggantikan Al (naik pangkat x psl2 dpt keja lebih). Hari ni cuaca molek and mood buat kerja pon mcm bagus sket. Sbb ada seminar, harus lah pakai baju yg semenggah sket, so aku put on baju baru stripe2 gitu kaler plum, feeling2 vogue kjp sbb aku rasa kaler plum ni masuk plak dgn aku ~~yg semakin plump ni~~. Ke tidak?

This is my princess dgn crown dia buat sendiri hasil tgk Mister Maker kat TV (mcm Art Attack). Dia tiru sebijik2, ditaburnya glitter sebotol ke atas gam yg telah dileser ke atas kertas, pastu remnant glitter di-shake2 supaya area ada gam sahaja melekat glitter tu. Baki glitter jatuh ke mana? X lain x bukan jatuh atas karpet, kusss smgt.... Menyumpah2 aku dalam hati kat Mister Maker sbb mengajar benda mcm ni. Mister Maker tu ok la buat mcm tu, glitter tu TV production dah sponsor, sepah atas lantai tu ada cleaner khas kot cuci. Haih, nak marah x jd sbb Aisyah bersungguh2 buat. Org tgh smgt mcm tu x bole dimarah, nnt terbantut kreativiti dia. Aisyah ni kalo dibagi chance, hari2 pon dia nak wat art work. So cantik kan crown dia? (minus tolong gunting sket and lekatkan selotape in the end, semua dia buat sendiri. Ok x?). Tgk dia senyum mcm ni, bersyukur sbb mulut ku terkunci drpd memarahi dia. Ongkos glitter: 50p (kot?). Ongkos letrik sedut glitter atas karpet: ~10p. Tgk anak senyum bangga dgn hasil tgn sendiri: priceless!

Hari Raya Aidil Adha 1432H/2011

2011-11-15T18:08:00.000Z

Recap sket citer raya ~~walaupon dah agak basi la~~

Raya tahun ni sambutan kecil2an aje. Aku masak nasi himpit dgn soto ayam, then menjala roti sket (roti jala & kari ayam). Rumah aku jadi port berkumpul slps solat sunat raya utk Msians yg duk di 'Lorong Hj Badr*l'. So masing2 ada bawak lauk2 masing ke sini, mkn ala kadar, sblm berangkat ke open house yg dianjur Msians di 'Lorong Chempaka' pula.

Even kecil2an aje sambutan nya, namun sempat la dokumen kan jg rentetan sambutan tahun ni, spt yg di bawah. X dpt nak ulas pjg, mmg sibuk bersambung2, so mcm biasa, layan gambarzzz eh...

Ni kat umah aku, pg raya, lps solat sunat:

Lps Zuhur gi open house Jalan Chempaka pula. Mmg feeling raya abis, dgn cerita ET tertayang di TV, ah very the 80s punya raya la feel dia::

Finally, last week, geng satu lorong ngan aku dpt menganjurkan open house plak. Kali ni buat kat umah neighbour aku, Shafie n wife nya Kam:

Alhamdulillah, raya secara sederhana tp meriah. Syukur jg sbb raya jatuh pd hari Ahad, kalo jatuh hari weekdays, silap2 beraya di lab/opis/nursery aje kami bertiga hehehe. Spt biasa, masak memasak semua buat sesama sendiri kerna tiada option catering di sini.

Cardiff Trip - Part 3

2011-11-14T17:50:00.000Z

Lama betul x berblog. Masa mmg x byk, kerja bertimbun2, ditambah dgn badan x sihat, serta selit sket majlis open house AidilAdha and entertaining guests, tu psl blog jd berdebu. Alhamdulillah, badan dah sihat sket, so gagahkan lah juga tulis, sbb bykkkk benda nak citer, and my mom pon dah tanya2, tp asyik x dan2 nak documentkan. Start ngan citer lama gi Cardiff hari tu la yeh, sbb entry ni dah tulis lama, cuma x publish2 sbb x abis upload gmbr. Lps ni leh bukak citer raya dan lain2.

Now, where was I? Oh ye, part 3. Hari terakhir di Cardiff.

Pagi2 lg dah checkout and amik tren daripada Pencoed ke bandar Cardiff. Plan nya adalah pusing2 Cardiff sampai lebam hinggalah waktu tren bertolak balik ke Plymouth tiba. Basically, x de pelan lah, just jalan2 hehe..

Amik feel Millennium Stadium Cardiff. Emma, kamu jogging di sini kah dolu?

Suka tgk architecture bandar Cardiff, sbb bgnan cam klasik2, zaman kegemilangan British dulu2 kan. Bandar2 lama di UK ni byk building dia mcm ni, tp sayang nya, di Plymouth semua bgnan kotak2 (era 60s ke atas), sbb masa perang dunia 1 dan 2 dulu dasyat Plymouth kena bomb, sbb dia adalah kawasan military dan jg kalo dari arah Eropah (Germany) nak masuk UK, lalu Plymouth dulu, so mmg prime target utk kena bombed. Sudahnya everything terpaksa rebuilt balik in a haste, x lawa dah bgnan2 dia, x de nilai2 estetika. Eh knp cerita psl Plymouth plak ni?

Target utama aku hari tu adalah nak masuk Cardiff Castle. Alhamdulillah dpt. Tiket dia agak pricey, GBP11 adult, GBP9 student. Under fives masuk free.

Ada mcm2 la jgk dlm kawasan tu, from the Roman Fort (zaman Roman2 lg tau, lama betul sejarah2 di tanah ni!), kepada zaman Norman, then seterusnya zaman Victorian dibina sebuah mansion plak dalam nya kepunyaan Willam Bute. Maklumat lanjut leh baca di sini. Aku main ngelat eh, nak tepek gmbr je ni. Citer sket2 sudah...

[1] Pintu masuk

[2] Cardiff Castle ground. Aku mmg dgn gaya tourist sejati, siap dgr audiophone bagai terlilit di leher.

[3] War shelter. Sbb castle ni teguh, masa perang dunia dulu, askar bole jdkan lorong2 bawah tanah di castle ni sbg tmpt berlindung, dan selamat walaupon tanah di atas nya berderu2 kena bomb. Underground shelter la ni. Walaupon slmt, tp sadis gak la kehidupan bwh tanah tu aku tgk. Mmg tertekan la kalo kena tido ramai2, mkn catu2, gelap spjg asa, dan siren plak berbunyi non-stop menandakan air-raid sdg berlaku. Horror jgk. Nasib baik Aisyah x takut di sini. Even masa tgk video dlm ala cinema yg gelap (cerita intro psl castle ni - zaman knight in shining armour, zaman perang, etc), Eksyen aje dia berlari2 (sbb ramai tourists lain pon dlm ni).

[4] Tempat kitaorg pijak ni la di bawahnya underground shelter td. Ni adalah walkway utk askar Norman itu pergi berperang (Battlefield Walkway), ala2 catwalk runway la kot kalo dlm dunia model.

[5] Ni plak dlm mansion kat sebelah castle tu. Luxurious giler rumah ni. Fokus dkt detail2 on the ceiling tu ye. Ada tukang ukir khas, buat pakai tangan slow2. Dahsyat...

[6] Banquet Hall

[7] Drawing Room

Ada mcm2 room lg, tp aci x berenti di sini sahaja bab room2 ni? Ada Arab room, Library, Dining Room, dan ntah apa nama nya lg ntah. Semua lawa2 ukiran nya. Brp la agaknya tuan rumah berhabis utk buat mansion ni. Sudahnya jd muzium je huhu...

Slps itu, kami pon checked out castle, dan pusing2 kotaraya Cardiff. Sbnarnya x leh lama2 sgt, sbb aim nak naik tren pkl 2.15 ptg. Sblm berangkat meninggalkan kota Naga Merah ni, sempat kami tapau koleksi mknan drpd Chicken Cottage yg glamerz ni. Ya Allah... mmg aku rekomen la korg singgah sini, especially kalo korg drpd tmpt susah nak dpt ayam halal mcm Plymouth ni. Sila la beli byk2, buat mcm kedai KFC Halal sendiri eh. My personal fav, Spicy BBQ Chicken Burger. Kitaorg mkn dlm tren wat mcm gerabak ini bapak ana yg punya. Pedulik la bau satu coach pon. Tp aku rasa org x marah kot, sbb dgn ke-bold-an kami, masing2 bukak bekal masing2 lps tu, dan mkn secara berjemaahnya.

Tiba di Plymouth dgn slmt nya jam 7.10 mlm. Alhamdulillah.

THE END

Flu Away!

2011-11-09T14:33:00.000Z

Salam semua...

Hrp nya masih x terlambat nak ucap Slmt Hari Raya Aidil Adha, maaf zahir btn buat semua. Cerita byk diperam ni, tenaga dan fokus x de utk menulis.

Lama x jenguk blogworld. Sbb utama, keja mmg sibuk bersambung2, tp rasa mcm masa sgt2 pantas berlalu. Bila masuk winter biasa mcm tu, ilusi sket sbb hari cpt bertukar menjadi mlm (4.30 dah Maghrib dan gelap gulita).

Tambahan plak, aku tgh kena flu ni. Patut la bdn sakit2 sejak bbrp hari lps. Ingatkan gara2 berjaga mlm nak siapkan kerja hari tu. Or gigih memasak utk juadah raya haji bagai. Or tersalah posisi tido. Or sbb nak dtg bulan. Or tekun menaip sampai sengal2 otot bahu/blkg/leher (perahsan ngadap kerja lama2 la ni). Rupanya sore muscles and joint tu adalah onset of the flu oh.

Peliknya, kena flu, tp x leh tido. Padahal ubat flu adalah rehat. Camne nak baik cpt kalo mcm ni? Smlm sampai pkl 2 pg terkebil2 atas katil. Mula la pikir psl PhD, sempat kah aku siap? Cukupkah contribution? Kena x extend lg lps ni? Kalo dpt, cukup kah duit nak sara diri n keluarga? Sempat x nak viva apa semua? Kalo kena balik Msia and dtg viva semula, ada x duit? Lulus x viva? Melarat2 sampai graduation apa semua. Makin la x leh tido.

Dah mkn Panadol Extra pon mcm x jln. Badan asyik sejuk, wlaau dah pakai thermal socks and hoodies kat luar. Tp mkn lalu. Kjp2 mkn2. Kjp2 mkn. Nak ngadap keja x bole plak. Berdenyut2 kepala and berpinar mata. Ni pon dah berair2 mata and rasa terhuyung hayang jap. Better pen off dulu la kot. Terbersin2. Kang x larat nak amik Aisyah from nursery plak, lg 45 minit balik la dia. Syg betul tgk masa berlalu begitu saja, x bole nak buat apa2, sedangkan masa Aisyah kat school la patut pulun. Masa yg patut nya bole buat kerja tu terpaksa di spend bawah duvet sambil tgk rubbish show from the daytime tele.

OMG x berenti2 lg bersinn sejak taip paragraph di atas. Ok betul2 better pen off. It is freaking cold now. Around 10C at the mo but certainly feels like 5C. Winter is definitely here. X sompek den nak gi cucuk flu jab dah kena attack dulu. Ingatkan after 3 years badan aku immune sket, ghope nya, x de beza dgn mula2 dtg dulu heh

Cardiff Trip Part 2

2011-11-02T01:24:00.000Z

Okay sambung kisah coti2 di Cardiff.

[1] Kan smlm dah bgtau menginap di Travelodge Pencoed kan? Sbb hotel nya kecik aje, x de dewan makan pon utk sarapan pagi. Tapi bole order breakfast pack kalo mahu, consisting air jus oren, cereal & susu set semangkuk, croissant and strawberry jam and blueberry muffin. Oleh sbb kami x sempat singgah Tesco beli roti smlm, terpaksa la order sebungkus pek ni, mkn share2 sbb bukan la lapar mana pon, kasi alas perut je. Excited nak gi shopping kat Bridgend punya pasal.

[2] Ni dia tempatnya. Kalo x drive mcm kami, amik teksi chartered dari hotel ke outlet ni GBP18 (pergi-balik). Kalo naik tren or bus lebih kurg jgk, or murah sket, tp lama sbb servis x frequent sgt.

[3] Kitaorg sampai awal, dlm 15 minit sblm kedai2 bukak. Tgk lah aje langit blkg Hubs tu, fajar masih menyinsing weih (fajar musim winter la, tu yg lambat cerah, padahal masa ni dah pkl 9.45 am kot?

[3] Kedai2 branded yg ado. Byk lg tp x sempat amik semua, sibukkkk dah masa ni... hehe. Ni gmbr hiasan je, x bermakna aku spend kat semua kedai ni plak

[4] Tiba2 jd mokcik2 dan terjebak plak ngan Portmerion. Tp x amik set lah, serving platter je and mangkuk kuah/lauk. Bak kata Hubs, 'kalo kuah x bertambah sedap lps ni, x tahu lah....'

[5] Pegi masa halloween and tambah2 budak2 tgh cuti sekolah, mmg menarik. Mcm2 ada. Semua staff dia berpakaian beragam. Ada monster, ada skeleton, ada wizard...

[6] Hiasan kaca kedai pon x kurg intersting jg

[7] Berenti makan lunch kjp di food court dia. Aisyah kalo mkn jacket potato mmg girang. Sedap je tgk dia tarik cheese cair panas2 tu pjg2. Kalah Pizza Hut nya iklan

[8] Sambung shopping. Boss mau cari work boots masa ni

[9] My maroon winter coat itu sgt gedobos, very deceiving, not in a good way plak tu. So kena tepek satu gmbr without coat.

[10] Kat kedai Nike plak. Masih mencari sepatu. Btw, dah nama nya outlet kan, what you see is all they have lah. Kalo x de saiz, then x de lah. Tp harga mmg best. Off-season sket2 sapa kesah?

[11] Salah satu sepatu ni saya rembat, tp yg mana yea?

[12] Terkejut tgk org queue sampai luar kedai nak beli emas. Ni kedai emas ok. Aku yg berasal dari negeri Cik Siti Wan Kembang yg rakyat nya rata2 tiap2 hari raya mesti gi kedai emas pon tergezut tgk line sbgni pnjg.

[15] Kot sapa2 nak tgk peta kedai2 nya. Lg terperinci ada di laman web ni (klik sini):

In conclusion (tiba2 je conclusion, ntah apa2, bahana ngantuk, nak truncate story short), kalo ada masa, kalo ke Cardiff, singgah la kejap kat sini, especially kalo dah dari tmpt ulu mcm aku ni kan hehe. Ok tu je lah dulu. Sbnarnya karangan ada pnjg lg dah taip siap2, tp x larat nak upload gmbr nya. Esok la eh tambah lg. Mau tarik 2 part lg ni baru tutup buku Cardiff tih tih tih...

Nite2..

Trip to Negara Naga Merah (The Red Dragon - Wales)

2011-11-01T00:54:00.000Z

Lama x post apa2 sbb since Friday hari tu gi ibu negeri Negara Naga Merah - Cardiff, Wales. Pegi buat Biometric scan utk urusan visa dkt UKBA nya home office, so sambil menyelam minum air la kan. Utk makluman, Cardiff adalah bandar terdekat ngan Plymouth yg ada UKBA office ni, so nak x nak 'terpaksa' la travel jg.

Sbnarnya letih x brp nak hilang lg, dgn hari ni sehari suntuk duk kemas2 dan did laundry apa benda kan, ye lah, dah nama nya travel. Demi x menghampa kan readers yg dtg menjenguk (knock, knock, ada ke?), update la sket and buh pics seketoi dua. Cerita pjg akan follow soon, Insya Allah.

[1] This was drawn a few days before the trip to Cradiff. Mcm tau2 je org nak gi Cardiff, dia dah lukis gmbr bendera Wales dulu hehe. Ada rupa kan?

[2] Train from Plymouth - Bristol Temple Meads - Cardiff Central. Amik yg jam 8.25 pg. Mmg dah autumn, lovely colours around.

[3] Mcm2 aktiviti spjg 3 jam travel. Nama je 3 jam, tp kalo travel dgn budak2, biasa la, rasa mcm twice that long, especially on a public transport! Campur ngan aku yg mudah mabuk perjalanan, lg la rasa lama train ni, nak2 winter when they put the heating full blast. Very stuffy. Poning makk...

[4] Dah sampai pon. Kejakunan mula melanda diri sbb bahasa Welsh ni terasa begitu foreign skali. Aku pon x pasti Wales ni satu negara ke negeri, tp for sure, rasa mcm jejak negara eropah kih kih..

[5] Jalan2 around town dulu sket2. Mmg terasa Plymouth begitu solok skali kalo dibandingkan dgn Cardiff. Tiba2 mata jd luas tgk shopping complexes berderet2... berderet2... berderet2...

[6] Meriah! Shoppers pon ramai. I loike!

[7] Eh, on the way, terserempak ngan bgnan Computer Science & Engineering Cardiff Uni la. Verangan kjp, kalo jd student sini mesti menjadi penghuni bgnan ni, heh.

[8] Mkn bekal lunch kat park jap, sambil2 tggu waktu appointment.

[9] Ni dia bgnan yg dicari - UKBA Home Office. Sejam lbh sket la settle urusan di sini. Ingatkan dah lama tu, rupanya average waiting time adalah 2 hours and 15 minutes. Count your blessings people, count your blessings!

[9] Masa ni tgh cari makanan Halal dan masjid. Tgk peta mcm dkt, skali tipah tertipu betul. Dgn mengendong beg hiking bagai, menapak. Org Cardiff pon x de buat ni weih. Sampai2 masjid, pintu plak kunci. Ammarah nya. Balik town naik taxi huh.

[10] Mlm tu tido sini - Travelodge Pencoed. Nape x tido Cardiff City ajo? Well, sbb esok nak gi MacArthur Glen Retail Outlet di Bridgend (dkt dgn Pencoed). So kisah di Bridgend sambung esok naaa? Ikuti kisah seterusnya ok? Nak tidoooo dulu ni :)

PS: Tulisan Welsh adalah sgt comel. Lain ditulis, lain dibaca. 'Ford Allan' (Way Out) tu rupanya pronounced Ford Ashkhen. Bahasa dia tu aku dgr mcm byk pakai huruf Kho la, kalo ikut huruh hijaiyah kita, English x dak ni. Lagi satu, tempat kitaorg menginap, Pencoed, pronounced Pen-kooy-d. Nasib x sebut Pen-ko-ed masa nak beli tiket kih kih kih. Tp org dia peramah sgt. Tu yg sempat belajar phonics diorg atas train lg tu, sambil bual2 ngan makcik sblh, dia ajar cara baca sket2 hehe.

You Happy, I Happy

2011-10-26T18:40:00.000+01:00

Half-term is here and Aisyah's nursery is closed for a week.

My God, a week!

Lama tuuuu....

So the first few days adalah haru-biru, keja ke mana, rumah ke mana, and 80% of the time aku bertukar menjadi Incredible Hulk.

Tapi tu citer dulu. Skang dah tau tektik.

Tektiknya, pagi2 dah kena bawak Aisyah kuar2 rumah. Then dlm lunchtime gitu balik umah. Lps tu baru Aisyah akan main toys ke, tgk TV. Masa ni leh wat keja. Masuk pkl 3 ptg or 4 ptg, suh dia tido. Slalunya dia akan tido 2 jam mcm tu. So leh wat keja lg. Kalo x kuar rumah, pg2 lg dia dah bg dia main toys, by 11.30 pg dia dah bosan and mula la buat pe'el menggoyangkan meja laptop atau memanjat kepala aku. Satu lg advantage kuar rumah ialah, paksa dia jalan kaki, bg penat. Nnt terguna habis energy dia, x la aktif smcm kat umah. Hati aku pon senang, pagi2 dpt merayap dulu, supermarket pon jd la, janji xde la terkurung je dlm rumah jd singa.

Kebetulan hari ni ada bbrp benda nak kena buat- book tiket tren kat railway station, gi bank, so mmg kena kuar. Cuaca pon cantik. Museum pon ada wat program 'Cutting Edge', workshop utk kanak2 sempena cuti sekolah, so apa lagi, bawa kan dia kat situ, main gunting2 dan tampal2. Alhamdulillah, dia seronot, aku bertambah2 la seronotttt!

Esok Insya Allah nak gi lg, janji dgn kawan aku Li*a dan anaknya J*mie yg sekelas ngan Aisyah. Aku rasa better spend half day kat luar (ala2 burn waktu study), tp balik bole study, drpd cuba study one day, x kuar2 rumah, tp sudahnya mmg x menjadi satu hapa sbb anak jeles dgn laptop.

Moralnya, it's NOT the quantity if time you spend dpn PC that matters, BUT it's the quality of work you dpt produce at the end of the day that does.

Kdg2 aku masih lupa borderline antara wife, mummy, and student, and that it should always be in that order. Apa la ... :P

And satu lg yg bapak aku dok pesan2 sokmo, isu keberkatan.

Tapi nak berkat hati mau redho.

Jgn dah plak nanti, dah la masa nak wat kerja mmg x byk, plak bila buat x de keberkatannya. Konfem sia-sia. Nauzubillah...

Lawan Mata

2011-10-20T00:39:00.000+01:00

SV aku mmg sah kuat bekerja.

Asalnya aku emel dia pkl sepuloh mlm lebih. Ingatkan dia masuk opis esok la dia jawab.

Skali...

Hah, 11.03 pm pon online lg. X tido lg rupe nya dia.

Harus la tunjuk anak buah lg rajin kan. Dan2 aku balas masa sedar emel drpd dia dah masuk. Cannot wait for tomorrow dah. Untung2 dia ingat aku sokmo rajin stay up mlm wat keja. Walhal rutin ni baru dlm fasa ekspreimentasi lg. Baru start minggu ni. Bole la...

Anyway, by the time aku balas, 11.34 pm.

Tunggu...

Dia x balas. Sohih dia dah tido...

Heh, aku menang. Aku lg lama buat keja (konon nya la).

Tp aku tetap rasa mcm loser.

Sbb nya?

Well, emel tu kitaorg duk bolak balik pasal satu benda kecik ni (kerja aku le). Mula2 dia mintak aku suggest sesuatu. Dlm backup plan dah ada la cara nak buat, tp tu idea asal dia, and mungkin dia nak dgr idea aku, kot aku ni lg kretif and kritis. Ni cerita 2 hari lps.

So menggagau la aku pusing2 otak. Pikir sana, pikir sini. Google sana, google sini. Nak suggest apa ni kat dia. Diskas2 dgn lab mate bagai.

Last2, dapat la propose 3 potential solutions. Tu yg dan2 email pkl 10 mlm eheh.

Skali, dia jawab mcm ni.

Walaupon ayat dia pendek and mudah aje, translation terlindung adalah: "Suggestions apa yg ko bagi kat aku ni, ape ke x releven satu pon? Baik tok sah suggest langsung"

Or kalo Ahmad Nisfu sure dia ckp, "Apa yg ko merepek ni, *&^%$"

Oh, loser nya rasa.

Hmm..

Masuk tido ah camni.

Apa2 ntah. Ngan SV pon nak wat2 merajuk. Manja nih, babap sket! :P

Harvest Festival

2011-10-19T23:14:00.001+01:00

Perbualan ibu dan anak sebelum anak ke sekolah.

Aku: Aisyah, you've got the Harvest Festival today at school

Aisyah: I know

Amboih, dia jawab I know tu. Tanya lg..

Aku: Why do we have harvest festival? (bajet anak akan jawab merepek)

Aisyah: Because it's winter. Cold is coming

Oh, tahu jgk rupanya dia. Musim menuai ni sblm dtg nya winter, sebelum tanah gersang dan kering kontang and tanaman mati dek frost semua. Alhamdulillah, masuk ilmu yg cikgu dia ajar, sejuk hati dan telinga mendengar... hehe

Tp mmg dah sejuk la. Time aku menaip ni dah gigil2 sket sbb pakai baju sehelai je. Malam ni dijangka 3C. Almost frost-inducing tuh, aduh.

Alang2 dah sejuk, sompet gi beli baju coat baru. Burgundy/maroon gitu. Seswai ngakk? Asyik pakai coat hok hitam jo, tahun ni mencari kelainan sket. Winter terakhir la katakan huhu...

Anyway, ni gmbr2 lps amik Aisyah drpd school ptg td, dkt Autumn Fayre (Harvest Festival) tu la. Ada mcm2, dan mmg penuh sesak, tp sbb aku x brp clear ngan policy camera in school, aku hala kamera kat muka anak aku je la. Ni pon dah cukup baik. Nursery lama dia, handset tu x bole bawak keluar drpd beg/poket langsung. Klao ringing kena jawab kat luar compound lg. Ganas..

Best aaa... food2 yg dia jual. Semua nya yg berasakan autumn harvest la - pumpkin, marrow, courgettes, etc. So ada byk la td mcm pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, marrow and mixed seed soup, pumpkin tart, apple tart, pear tart, pumpkin tajine, pumpkin quiche, toffee apple, etc. Makanan2 ni parents yg donate, dan soup2 tu plak, budak Year 2 yg masak. Tp pumpkin, marrow, semua bahan asas tanaman tu, hasil garden sekolah. Bagus ek, negara yg sebegini terhad matahari pon dah ajar budak2 gardening and becoming self-sustainable. Impressed woh. Air plak diorg buat jus apple perah sendiri, tp apple x tanam la, apple dia parents yg donate. Mesin jus apple dia ada rupa mcm mesin tebu la jgk. Aku byk gak beli food td, saja merasa, sbb vegetarian je mostly. Beli banana cake 2 slices (30p), pumpkin soup with roll(50p), lagi beli air utk Aisyah and also tapaukan pumpkin tajine with cous cous (30p) and pumpkin quiche (50p) serta pumpkin tart utk Hubs (30p).

Lagi ada games - mcm mengagak berat labu (besar sih, sepemeluk aku ada), raffles tickets, lg ada stall utk buat craft from dried leaves and cones (sgt la tema autumn kan), and also stall utk tanam bunga daffodils in a pot (20p). Ha yg ni aku gedik sket, main tanam2 ngan Aisyah. Tp lmbt lg la nak bernunga, expected next spring ok. Dah la masa on the way balik Aisyah kendong pot tu siap terlucut drpd tgn, dah tggal sekerat pot je tanah nya. Tsk. Nasib x hilang ngan bulb2 dia skali.

Sekeliling kawasan sekolah ada tertampal poster2 dan lukisan pumpkin. Itu hari Aisyah ada bawak balik kertas utk entry pertandingan buat design pumpkin (ni ala2 lukis kan Jack O Lantern nya design la ni, sempena Halloween in 2 weeks time). Aku agak tidak peka, dan mcm rasa x de harapan menang je sbb contest ni terbuka utk semua year, Aisyah baru nursery, pencil control pon x mantap, x mungkin la menang lawan budak2 tua drpd dia kan ~~lain la kalo aku yg lukiskan ehek~~. Kalo buat by age, bole la layan lg. So buat2 x ingat. Rupanya semua penyertaan pon ditampal sekeliling sekolah ~~even yg coreng dgn pencil sampai lebam muka pumpkin tu~~. Ish rugi betul x enter, kalo x, dpt juga menjejak pic Aisyah buat. Patutnya, it's not about winning, it's about participating. Ape ke mesej aku nak sampaikan kat Aisyah ni, penyakit kiasu x abis2. Haih... Lain kali yeh Aisyah... (dia x tahu apa pon sbnarnya).

Anyway, semua duit goes back to the school, kira charity event la ni. It was fun and I would say it was a big success utk budak2 sekolah rendah and parents nya anjur aktiviti mcm ni.