Where's My Time

Belom apa2 dah pkl 5 ke? Jap lg dah nak kena gi launching Music Festival, oh no!!!! Terasa mcm baru bbrp jam lps je sat there for the seminar pg td on Rule-Based Composition (which made me feel horribly stupid, btw, sbb aku x dpt appreciate score music org tu spt mana musicians lain. In fact, I was lost terus semasa mengikuti score tersebut. Tp itu cerita lain la), then baca satu paper ni cpt2, before heading out again utk jaga Aisyah whilst Hubs solat Jumaat (me & Aisyah had Fish & Chips, yummy!), then teman Hubs gi Sainsbury's beli groceries ala kadar je, then gi Mothercare beli hadiah utk Anna nyer Farewell Do / Baby Shower Monday nih, then balik lab, solat Asar, replied a few emails, and what do you know? It's time to shoot off again. Aiyoooo!!!!

Ok gambar hari ni ialah what we bought for Anna (lab member kitaorg yg akan balik bersalin di Italy Rabu dpn) - a nappy wrapper thing-a-magic and a Baby Essential Care Kit. Hopefully beliau belom beli lg brg2 ni, bcoz this is her first baby so harap2 la dia masih lom terpikir utk beli brg2 begini.



Entry ni disudahi dgn video klip Selawat Nabi oleh Raihan. Mari lah sama kita berselawat ke atas Nabi Junjungan kita, Muhammad S.A.W, kekasih Allah (sini masih belom Maghrib, makanya masih lg Maulidur Rasul).

Alice in Wonderland in Plymouth?

Smlm kan baru ckp nothing interesting ever happens kat ceruk Plymouth ni kan?

Well, tu sblm teringat yg Alice in Wonderland ada buat shooting kat Plymouth, you alls, of all places. Kat Antony House, Torpoint, utk scene minum ptg at Mad Hatter's Party. Even the 250 or so extras tu pon amik org2 Plymouth jgk. Alice in Wonderland 2010 tu baru aje premiering smlm kat Leicester Square, and will hit the cinemas on March 5 di UK and USA. X de sebab pon patut bergumbira sbb nothing concerning me, but as Plymouthian (chewah dan2 ngaku), harus la berbangga sket ngan kawasan molek kaya dgn keindahan alam semulajadi ciptaan Allah ni kan heheheh... *kembang kempis idung jd Plymouthian*

Antony House

Ni excerpt drpd berita The Plymouth Herald, dated September 2008 masa shooting tu tgh dibuat. I wasn't even in Plymouth then! kalo x harus nampak muka aku menempel jadi extra gak


"... Meanwhile, at Antony House filming has started and has already been creating a buzz of activity at the historic site. For the coming weeks more than 250 extras, from Plymouth and surrounding areas, will be dressing up and acting in scenes under the expert hand of Tim Burton.

And yesterday The Herald visited the set to catch a glimpse of tinseltown’s adopted home.

Surrounded by women wearing the period costume, complete with corsets, wigs and bonnets, it was The Herald photographer and I that looked out of place in the grounds of Antony House.

Walking down the long and winding road towards Antony House you could imagine what attracted the gothic-inspired director to the setting.

Ancient oak trees overarch the stretch blocking out the sunlight.

Despite the hustle and bustle of the film set further down the road, the estate’s silence is deathly.

Upon reaching Antony House itself you immediately realise the grand scale of the production. Between 600 and 700 people, ranging from actors, extras, cameramen and production staff, are believed to be operating at the site. Hundreds of cars park in a field converted to a make-shift car park. Adjacent to them are large trailers presumably used for wardrobe fittings and catering and hospitality.

Big, burly – but nonetheless friendly – security guards line the site like a human brick wall.

Despite the disappointment over Depp, looking at the set and those involved you can see that the local economy has to be a winner in all of this. Countless taxis and catering companies are present at the site, and all the actors and production staff involved are presumably staying and dining locally.

While Disney will no doubt add its own glitz and glamour to the scenes, you have to admit Tinseltown’s visit is a great advert for what we have on our own doorstep.

Alice in Wonderland, which is due for release in 2010, will be shown in 3-D and will see Australian newcomer Mia Wasikowska play the part of Alice...."

Very the hypeeee one kan? So when you are seated in the cinema and enjoying the scenes in Alice in Wonderland, sila2 la ingat kat Oyis di Plymouth ye? Hehe..




Oh dah hampir sunset. Masa utk berbuka posa!!!

PS:
Tomorrow Music Festival akan start dgn rasminya. At sun rise (7.30 a.m) please make myself available utk Sunlight Symphony. Ni konsert yg mana muzik adalah dimainkan oleh matahari. As the light hits the windows that are equipped with sensors, music will be played, but the intensity and layers of sounds tu ditentukan oleh cahaya matahari. Very interesting concept!

Other musical events I want to attend:

Friday
5.30 pm: Launch
6.30 pm: Concert & Film (As Scored By Antonino Chiaramonte)

Saturday
3.00 pm: Concert (Dirty Electronic)
4.00 pm: Concert (Interface III) <--- ahli Lab aku perform
7.30 pm: Concert (Ten Tors Orchestra) <--- hajat je la, x tau dpt ke x dah lewat

Sunday
2.00 pm: Demonstration (Singing Robots)
6.00 pm: Concert (Electroshop)

Of course in between time yg aku catat ni pon ada event and other concerts, right up to 9 pm everyday, but kena select2 je la, x dpt gi semua bcoz of family and other commitments. Pastu next week plak ada perjumpaan ngan SV and Co-SV hari Wednesday. Yikes!

High and Dry

Idea utk menulis lately ni mcm non-existent, which explains the increasing dryness of this blog's entry day after day. Sorry la guys. I guess the deeper you get yourselves into your study, the more boring of a person you become. Tu psl Prof2 semua x hap dah. It just saps all the fun quality you have inside of you, serious!

Plus we're stuck in Plymouth and x jalan mana2 pon bcoz of the weather yg sejuk and muram lg suram, so even entry bergambar pon x menarik gmbr2 nya. So, yes, Oyis is officially boring! Utk membuktikan betapa gersang nya keadaan sekarang (plus my Mom kept asking over the phone, dah spring belom?), here are a few pics to show what it's like around here now. See? Masih dahan kosong tiada berbunga...

Can you spot the squirrel?

In terms of work plak, collect data dah siap smlm, tp pre-processing sket2 hari ni x sudah2 lg. Dgn isu format conversion nya, file size nya, nak compress ke x nya, pastu nak automate everything and buat batch processing aje, tp paham2 je la, bila lama sket tinggal scripting tu mula la kepala pusing. I really was hoping to get this done by today, sbbnya from tomorrow till next Sunday, mmg impossible nak squeeze extra time for this, bcoz my schedule is packed. Plus I realized that this 'To Do list' on my wall is slowly yellowing, almaklum lah dah almost a month old now stuck on the wall there, yet I have only managed to scrape two items off it at most!




Patut la my SV smlm masa masuk lab lps ckp 'Hi' dia kata, 'When you are finished, let me know, we'll have a meeting'. Basically, when a SV says that, it directly translates as 'Eh, x siap2 lg ke weih? Bila nak siapnya?' *oh sila panic skang*

Ok la nak get back to work. Will pass this entry to Aisyah the exercize instructor. Speaking of which, I have not exercized for the longest time, and my gym membership needs renewing (but I prolly won't coz I don't have time to use the facilities these days), but I walk E.V.E.R.Y-freaking-W.H.E.R.E, so that ought to count for something la kan ;P

Mula2 get into your exercising gear, including the right shoes

Ok sit yourselves on the floor and start dgn light stretches dulu

Then stretch sebelah kaki ke depan. Try to touch your toes. Look, I do it oh-so-effortlessly!

Then tuck that leg behind, and stretch some more

Now bring both legs forward into a lotus position, and bend !!!

Lower! (babies are so malleable!)

Dah penat ke? Ok la rehat. Sambung lain kali hehe

Shake

Ooo ni tulis dgn tergesa2, sbb nya hari ni busy sgt. I pushed myself really hard, sbb aim nak suh siap jgk data procurement today. Alhamdulillah, berjaya... bosan dah rasanya buat kerja mundane yg sama ni berlama2. I guess it's true what they say, you only have as much time as you allow yourself to have. One of the reasons yg menyebabkan buat jg kasi siap hari ni ialah sbb persekitaran dlm lab ni mmg havoc. Semua org tgh push giler2, sbb music festival tu hari Jumaat ni. Aku rasa diaorg bkn la wat kerja PhD pon, but more to performance related, but still... tgk org tekun, aku pon tekun sama. Ni lah hok org kata, 'kawan dgn tukang besi, badan pon bau hangit besi, kawan dgn tukang buat minyak wangi, tumpang wangi sekaki'. Chewah2 philosophical aku. Sabar je la...

A part of me terasa sedikit ketinggalan sbb aku bkn lah musician, jauh skali electroacoustist, so even budak junior drpd aku dlm lab ni (start PhD lambat drpd aku) pon ada yg akan perform this weekend, psl diorg adalah musician for life. Siapa lah aku, setakat Gamelanist and Percussionist utk Pergendangan Melayu, tu pon jasa cikgu2 drpd Akademi Seni Kebangsaan (now ASWARA) yg dtg ajar kat UPM dulu2 zaman bachelor. Oh and suka suki jg aku and geng amik elektif teori asas muzik masa undergrad. Man, that was a blast... kelakor gile sbb nya suka2 ati je amik kelas tu atas dasar minat. Kira cincai2 musical gak la eh aku hahaha...

Eh eh, meleret plak aku. Plan utk esok: 'basuh data', then trim, and convert to wav. Pastu adegan uji menguji pon bermula la. Semoga Allah permudahkan segalanya. Skang nak balik masak, rehat and main dgn budak kecik tu dulu. Dia peringkat suka main ala2 'Simon Says', or 'Follow Me'. Kalo suruh 'Up', nanti tgn dia ke atas. Likewise, 'Down', 'Clap', 'Pat', 'Turn Around', 'Stomp', and 'Shake'. Verbs tu aku tambah sedikit2 every other night. Nmpk nya so far dia dah paham apa yg aku shout kan, and she will do it. The game is fun, believe it or not, especially time suruh 'Shake' dia goyang badan ke kiri dan kanan. Haha... tu la, aku ngajar anak suruh shake hihihi... But serious, kalo kita engross dlm permainan ni, lepas tu rasa penat, dan mengah pon ada gak, but Aisyah can go for half an hour straight. Pastu x kasi kita duduk or rehat. Hehe..

Ok nak balik dah. Berpinau mata tgk skrin *konon kerja kuat berdo'oh hari nih*

Follow Me - Riak Muka Sebijik Tak?

Entry Merepek Yang Tiada Kualiti :P

Tengah catch up dgn FB la, blog org la, chat YM la, youtube la. Bkn apa, sesambil download dataset nih. Besar jgk data yg diperlukan utk test run kali nih, over 500 songs, so mmg puas la jgk merendek di alam maya. Nak study, x berapa bole concentrate sbb x leh masuk kalo every 5 seconds nak angkat muka tgk balik skrin PC and klik next song to download. Oh, if you guys needed a place to download song secara percuma dan legal (tp lagu2 indie la yeh, pelbagai genre, just bkn mainstream nya), you can go here and here. Promote sket artists yg sanggup publish their work for free. Ni la namanya artists sebenar, yang mana karya tu byk yg lebih bermutu dan talent jauh lebih baik drpd recording artists yg kebanyakan, hmm.. dah kena mix baekkkkk punya oleh sound engineer.

Ok, ok merepek apakah aku ini? Satu lg yg aku tgh buat skang ialah a list of food that I want to get my hands on bila balik Msia next month. Yes peeps, you heard me right, I am going back to Msia for a short break as my brother is getting married next month, yeay! Everything has been prepared, tinggal nak pack and board that plane ajo. Tp kan, test nya x run lg nih, so kena sabar2 kan hati dulu. I'm sure families yg di Msia pon tgh membilang hari juga ni. Mula2 x la rasa mcm excited sgt nak balik, skali bila tgk kalender it really is coming true, keterujaan tu dgn sendirinya dtg. Things that I never knew I have missed pon mula la menjelma dlm kepala, hence terhasil la food list tuh. Walhal dah 15 bulan x mkn x apa2, skali tau nak balik, x sabar2 nak get my mouth hands on them. Anyway, the list tu terhasil sbb aku baru je lps kuciwa dgn ice blended yg di order tghari td di Costa Coffee. X sesedap Msia la. Nothing is as good as it tastes in Msia . Frustrating tau, craving punya lama, smlm sanggup jln jauh2 ngan Hubs and Aisyah dalam hujan rerintik, tp kedai dah tutup coz it was Sunday (it was only 4 pm! Tp Uk on a Sunday mmg ghost town pon, x pandai ekonomi betul la govt dia), pastu dah siap bole taste it in my head how good it was gonna taste, tetiba bila dpt beli hari ni, minum2, x sesedap mana pon. So geram punya psl, buat list layan jiwa tulis sambil mendownload.

To Indulge In:
1. Mc Donald
2. KFC
3. Ayam Percik
4. Ikan Bakar Kuah Percik Putih
5. Satay Usus
6. Nasi dagang gulai ikan aya
7. Ice Blended Neslo
8. Tomyam Malee's, plus udang/sotong celup tepung
9. Buttered Prawn
10. Sotong Bakar
11. Apam Balik
12. Ikan Kering
13. Nasi Lemak Beli Tepi Jalan
14. Popia Basah
15. Sizzling Yee Mee
16. Johnny's
17. Keropok Lekor
18. Burger Ramlee, special + cheese + blackpepper + mayonis banjir
19. Siakap Tiga Rasa
20. Char Kuey Teow

Ok tu je dulu. X leh pikir dah kang salivate lebih2. Kalo dpt mkn semua ni gile gumuks aku jd. Sebenarnya mkn apa pon x pe, yg bkn air tgn sendiri. Take a break kejap daripada masak. Ni dia attempt aku itu hari, buat ikan percik kuah putih (Kelantan) dan jg ayam masak ungkep (Jawa). Rasa dia biasa2 je, altho susah betul nak dpt texture yg betul utk kuah percik tu sbb pakai santan cair drpd tin. Ni baru betul namanya east meets west.




Anyway, brg siapa (frens/ families/ bloggers/ readers) yg nak jumpa belanja Oyis di Msia nanti, bole la start merancang dari skang. I suka je, especially kalo ada yg open table hihi. Kat mana2 pon ok, bole pilih food type drpd list kat atas tu sbg guidance hehe... (mcm la ada yg nak belanja pon)

Membebel x psl ni sebenarnya sbb no 'real' work is taking place. Altho downloading dataset is part of the job, tp it requires very little neuronal functions so kiranya mcm otak aku stagnant la. And my SV pon busy skang ni with the upcoming music festival, so I know x yah cpt2 wat apa2. Add that with going back to Msia soon la and also the relief yg dah pass MPhil/PhD upgrade itu hari, aku jadi sedikit lemau huhu. On top of that, ada sedikit konflik sosial-relation di tempat kerja makanya emosi sedikit terganggu. Masalahnya kecik je almost non-existent, tp aku ni, don't handle conflict and con troversy very well. Terus isi blog pon jd mcm hampagas. I'm surprised you guys are still reading this. Tsk.

Ok la, utk mengembalikan jiwa suh jd tenang, kita sudahi entry ini dgn something yg very calming, yakni doa utk menghilang kan stress dan anxiety

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ وَ الْحَزَنِ



dan jg dgn quote2 penguat diri,

"Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it."
— John C. Maxwell

"Forget the past and live for today. There is nothing you can do to change the past but everything you do can alter your future. Think positive, stay focused and be optimistic. Let the past be a stepping stone to future growth."

Oh, and tgk muka anak pon bisa menenangkan jiwa. Alhamdulillah...

I Need To Go on Holiday

Sesambil mendownload lagu utk dataset ni, bagus jg berangan nak gi mana utk summer holiday tahun ni. Plan asal nak ke South Wales dah kecepek masuk laut, kansel... makanya kena la cari plan ganti. Ingat nak gi Midlands, but we'll see lah mcm mana... Ada rezeki lebih, Insya Allah sampai jua lah kitaorg... Bkn apa, di kala buhsan2 buat research ni, mood lifting la jgk kalo dpt buat pelan2 berjalan yg sengal sebegini. Plus, it's a Friday, so mmg la mood holiday aje hehe.. Ye la, asyik2 round Plymouth je, nak la merasa luar Plymouth plak this time around...

Ni gmbr2 sekitar Plymouth amik this week. Naik muak dah kan korg tgk? Konon nak capture sunset tp ada budak kecik tu insisted jugak nak jalan kaki, so sudahnya sunset ke mana, shot ke mana... sampai2 puncak Barbican, hok aloh, matohari said bye bye dah. Nasib x Isyak je huhu...

Have a nice weekend, all!

PS: Ini kalo kat Msia sebakul kena bebel dgn my parents sbb gi pantai Maghrib2 buta hihi ... Shhhh!

Soul Music

Duk dalam lab ni macam2 bunyi. Baru sat ni bunyi mcm org kena rasuk, rupanya ada org tgh reharse electroacoustic piece dia thro a 4-channel audio speakers in preparation for the upcoming 2010 Peninsular Arts Music Festival. Terperanjat haku. tau.! Sebenarnya semua org tgh sibuk mereherase and menyiapkan piece masing2, excited nak perform utk festival tu. Acara festival tu can be seen here. Aku je x terlibat (yet), sbb x de musical piece yg kaw2 lg nak perform. Ni yg buat smgt ni. Tools mesti siap tahun ni, sbb nak x nak tahun dpn aku dah tahun 3, aku naakkkkkkk jgk perform sblm balik Msia. By hook or by crook. Projek aku adalah agak hampir dgn projek org yg aku letak video dia kat bawah ni, ahli lab yg sudah pon selamat bergelar Doktor Falsafah akhir 2008 yg lalu. Kalo dpt buat mcm dia kan best? Standing ovation tuh. Ni masa dia main at the 2008 Music Festival, (aku x de lg dlm lab ni masa tu).

Sebenarnya tgh mendownload pelbagai lagu nih. Utk dataset research. Lama weh kerja download satu2 ni. Mati kutu tunggu. Xde ke yg bole copy paste or drag masuk folder kita terus? Lg best kalo bole automate kan aje, ke buat thro batch. Sekali lg aku underestimate masa yg diperlukan utk dataset procurement. Ada kah patut aku ingat sehari bole siap. More like, seminggu, itu pon kalo aku lucky. Huhu..

Ok la nak balik, sbb dah janji ngan Hubs and Aisyah I will spend more time this evening with them, sbb pg td gi Uni awal, ada course on how to use the UoP MySite (intranet page). Saja je gedik tulis jgk sbb dah habit kan heheh. Ok ta!