Barcelona Trip Part 3 (Day 3 Continued)

Haih liatnya la nak menyambung cerita Spain ni, sbb kerja pon byk, and masa pon terhad, tp ni squeeze jgk la sket, utk kenang2an di masa hadapan...

Now where had we stopped? Oh yes, second half of Day 3 on the Barcelona trip. Ok lps lunch buffet hari tu kan, we went back to the class room, and had a one and a half hour sessions on 'Sound Recording and Techniques'. Kelas ni agak droning, sbb dia went on and on psl mic, and also psl aku ni not really into recording per se. Anyway, layan aje lah kan kelas dia. Nasib la it was a one-off thing, so utk hari2 seterusnya dah x de la kelas yg sama, x mcm kelas2 sebelum ni yg went on everyday.

Lps kelas tu dah abis, around 6 pm, we had another activity, called Sound Walk. This was actually where we walked around Barcelonetta (near the beach) and just walked. No talking, no texting, no phone calling, no photo-taking, etc. Just walked and tuned into the sounds that occured around us. I was a sound walk virgin, and boy, it really was interesting to hear the sounds around you. Selama2 ni asyik kalo berjalan je mesti berborak byk dgn Hubs, or even kalo jalan sorg2, mcm2 berlegar2 dlm kepala, that I ceased to appreciate the sounds of the birds, the passing cars, even the drilling at the road pon kalo dgr betul2 can be rhythmic and music-like. I think everyone should give it a try. Lebih mencabar lg, kata instructor kitaorg, try it with a friend that would guide us and kita plak be blindfolded. Hehe...

We went from Barcelonetta metro station, towards jalan2 masuk alleyway ntah mana2 ntah between shops, then near the beachfront, some squares, etc. The walk lasted an hour an 15 minutes, mmg letih gila la by the end of it sbb aku duk galas bag berisi laptop tu lg, pakai boots yg ada heels lg, pastu had I mentioned that Spain was as hot as Msia?

Bcoz x bole amik pics kan masa Sound Walk tu berjalan, so I didn't get to take many pics, except for before kitaorg officially start tu lah, like so:

Our starting point

Along the way, admiring the buildings

Lawa kan?

Bila dah abis Sound Walk tu, it was already 8 pm, so aku ingat nak balik dah la kan. Tup2 group projek aku (Project: Augmented Soundscape) dgn segala hormatnya memaklumkan bahawasanya diorg nak wat group meeting right after. Ya Allah, aku mmg dah x larat sgt2, dgn panas nya, dgn rimas nya, tp pergi je la meeting. Teka kat mana? Ha.. kat mana lg kalo bukan dkt bar. Ni yg leceh ni, tp terpaksa la buat muka professional kan, despite dah overheated and penat tu.

Discussion

Aku duduk dalam lebih kurg half an hour, and then aku mintak permisi nak balik, sbb x solat lg, and aku alah dgn cigarette smoke (diorg dah start minum arak and chain-smoked dah masa tu, increasing creativity kot?). Tp diorg paham aku nak kejar waktu solat, so diorg ckp x pe, nnt mlm diorg emailkan update (baik diorg ni sebenarnya).

Sampai2 je hotel, aku mandi, solat, and then kuar cari mkn ngan CheFadh. It was past 9 pm dah masa ni, too late for any quick cultural visit. Kesian CheFadh lama tunggu aku. Coz her event was a conference and bukannya summer school, her schedule was a whole lot more flexible than mine, so kesian jgk la kat beliau menunggu. In the end we ate at this Chinese restaurant. Dari luar nmpk posh, so agak hesitant jgk nak order, tp last2 tgh harga dia sgt berpatutan, Seafood Fried Rice bole dpt dgn harga 3 Euro je. We also shared a bowl of shark fin soup :)

Berlatar belakangkan Avinguda Diagonal pada waktu malam

Kat restoran Cina

Nasi Goreng Seafood

Seafood Chow Mein

Wajah kitaorg kira better lah sket pada masa sampai itu hari kan?

Mintak tolong pak guard hotel amikkan gmbr ni

Ok that was how Day 3 went. Day 4 and seterusnya nnt sambung. Nak salinkan Aisyah into her pyjamas now. Night!

**To be continued**

Taking A Break from the Barcelona Trip Entry...

And instead, tulis what's interesting today...

Today aku gi buat sneak preview ke studio yg menempat gamelan ensemble yg tiba smlm drpd Bali. Looks like officially, this coming academic term in September, kelas Gamelan ni akan berjalan, dan aku adalah antara org yg excited dgn prospek ini. Altho aku punya background hanya lah limited kepada Gamelan Malaysia (Terengganu / Pahang), tp mmg teruja nak belajar Gamelan Bali plak. Laju tuh cara diorg main berbanding gamelan tempat kita yg adalah sgt solemn. Oh well, at least buat masa ni lecturer dia adalah sgt teruja dah ada seorg bakal student dia yg komited, dan pada aku plak, walau pon aku adalah x pandai main lg, at least antara ramai2 tu aku tahu la alat apa main dgn apa dan apa itu 'damping', hehe... Jgn risau, only 2 hours a week aje kelas dia. Kalo dah terror nanti team akan main masa konvo, kata lecturer tu, for the 1st time ever kat UoP diiringi lagu gamelan. Bangga ooo... konvo kat UK lagu gamelan jgk yg mengiringi, mcm kat Msia :) Pastu siap order ngan costume lagu, gempaks ooo.. Anyways, jangka masa pendek ni diorg akan plan something for the upcoming music festival in February 2011 kot. How exciting!

Ni gmbr2 aku and lab mate aku Al messing around ala2 buat test drive. Al went a step further pakai headgear.








Okay entry Barcelona akan disambung after this. Sanggup postpone entry BCN tuh hehehe...

Barcelona Trip Part 2 (Day 3)

Okeh sbnarnya for the next 3 days mmg gini lah jadual aku ok. Around 8 am bersiap2. Everyday mesti makan Maggi Mee sbb pemalas nak masak apa2 yg lain dan leceh nak beli susu and cereal sbb nanti nak kena usung kotak cereal besar2 kalo berpindah2 lps ni. Nak buat scrambled eggs plak x konfiden dgn perkakas masakan yg dikongsi dkt dapur tu. Maka makan la Maggi Mee yg dimasak dalam microwave dalam bekas tupperware yg telah dibawak drpd UK siap2 itu. Sungguh x sihat, tp kalo setakat makan roti mmg halfway through the class mmg yakin lah perut akan berkeroncong sbb byk tenaga nak pakai utk berjalan dan turun naik metro.

Keluar hotel, jalan kaki gi Stesen Metro Marina, dalam 10 minit je berjalan kaki, tp I assure you mmg konfem dah akan ada sweat patch dkt blouse dah by the time sampai stesen nya, so punah la harapan nak wangi2 or cantik2 utk 1st impression kan. Oleh sbb aku beli tiket T10 (Euro 7.95), maka aku bole naik sebarang jenis public transportation (bus, Metro, tram, train express RENFE) for ten times. Mcm touch and go la kiranya, setiap kali naik dia deduct berapa kali lg tinggal utk naik. Pastu kan, uniknya kat sini, ada disediakan basikal kat luar stesen Metro tu. Ingatkan aku ngan Che Fadh nak naik la basikal ni, rupanya ni bukan yg jenis Pay As You Go, tp kena byr yuran tahunan 30 Euro, then tiap2 kali nak guna basikal swipe card dkt basikal and guna lah. Pastu bole pulangkan basikal kat mana2 stesen Metro yg ada tempat parking basikal mcm ni. Best ooo... 30 euro setahun, x yah maintain basikal, x yah takut basikal kena curi. Tp tu la, as tourists, x leh nak guna lah plak. Aku x, dpt la jgk aku ngan Che Fadh merendek naik basikal.



Ni University nya. Gah kan bgnan dia? Mmg cantik and modern lah.



Ok cerita Summer School plak. The class itself started at 10 am everyday, consisting of not more 25 students kot, all over the world, but mostly European countries la. From 10 - 11.30 pg, hari2 akan ada kelas oleh Prof. Barry Tru*ax pasal Soundscape Composition. Tiap2 hari berbeza la tajuk dia, but revolving around that. Mmg best giler2. Kelas dia ni byk membuka minda aku. Dia ni pon adalah org yg sgt2 terkenal dlm field ni, pengasas la kiranya pada awal 70-an dulu. Sbb dia org veteran, byk dia tunjuk gmbr2 research dia yg masih dlm keadaan black and white lg gambarnya dgn rambut masing2 masih penuh dan hitam , dgn alat2 recording yg mmg jadi bahan ketawa la dlm kelas sbb bapak besar sampai rebeh bahu geng2 dia hangkut merata2. Mmg mata aku amat2 terbukak psl Soundscape dah skang, which is very, very good sbb aku dulu satu ape pon x tahu menahu psl area ni. Anyway, at 11.30 pg ada coffee break until 12 pm (budak2 dapat coffee / juice and then dpt croissant or bagel sorg satu). On the first day, Prof Tru*ax ni duk sebelah aku lg, so byk la jg aku dpt berbincang and berkongsi idea dgn dia. Orgnya very, very humble, suh panggil Barry aje, oh tidak la! But tidak sekali pon within the three days aku bosan dlm kelas dia, that's how good he was!


After 12 pm, sambung lg kelas, tp utk all three days, adalah kelas Sound & Music Content Processing plak oleh Prof. Fabien Gou*yun. Ini pon org ternama jgk dlm bidang Music Information Retrieval. Oleh sbb kelas aku tu ramai budding 'composer', pada mereka kelas ni adalah agak boring. Tp aku rasa kelas dia ni adalah equally menarik, sbb nya dia mengupas bidang aku masa MSc dulu - Music Genre Classification dgn terperinci. Tiba2 terasa sayang plak x sambung bidang tu, tp no fear, bidang skang pon OK je. Byk dia bg contoh2 dan benda2 yg aku x brp clear semasa dulu, especially the signal processing part yg hard core tu, dah diterangkan oleh beliau. Best! Kelas beliau habis pkl 1.30 ptg, followed by lunch.


Yg lunch ni, x disediakan, so beramai2 la kitaorg kuar cari makan. Masa ni la nak bersosial sebenarnya sbb masa lain mcm x berckp sgt kan. Hari 1st tu gi makan buffet. Pendek kata, utk lunch kat Barcelona ni, spare aje lah 10 Euro minimum per person. Buffet dia punya selection adalah sgt byk, tp cara amik buffet kat sini x mcm yg kita used to kat Msia. Mula2 amik tray pinggan sudu garfu semua, pastu WAJIB amik salad selection yg ada dekat 20 options tu (kat sini semua vegetable aje, no meat), then order air dkt kaunter then byr kat cashier (all in one assembly line, x yah gi jauh2). Then duduk and makan sayur yg hang dah amik tu. Pastu baru bole gi kaunter sebelah, yg rupa2nya ada berbagai jenis menu lain termasuklah seafood carbonara, pizza, garlic bread, bolognaise, paella, chicken wing blah blah blah (pandai2 la pilih yg mana Halal tu). Wah tactic betul dia punya buffet ye, nak suh ko mkn sayur kenyang2 dulu, pastu baru amik lauk pauk yg mahal2. Chett!








Alamak, only halfway through first day, tp aku dah nak kena stop. Will continue later. Sket2 entry aku nih, tp istiqomah, itu yg penting :P

Barcelona Trip Part 1 (Day 1-2)

Alhamdulillah dah selamat sampai kembali ke pangkuan Hubs and Aisyah pada lewat mlm Khamis lepas, tp mmg x sempat2 nak menulis. A lot to ctach up with my own family first, especially menghandle kemanjaan berganda si Aisyah yg mungkin sbb kena tinggal berhari2 itu dan jg nak menyesuaikan diri balik dgn Aisyah yg dah fully weaned from the breasts skang, hakibat berjauhan 7 hari. Syukur lah Allah permudahkan isu ini, and it worked out just nice for all involved.

So inilah sket sebyk cerita dari negara Sepanyol, spjg almost a week there, aku potong2kan cerita into smaller chunks ikut kesempatan menulis. Kalo nak tggu karang abis kang, mmg x akan post2 la jawabnya entry Spain ni.

Day 1 - Plymouth --> Bristol
On Friday, 16 July, bertolak drpd Plymouth utk manaiki tren ke Bristol. I nearly choked holding back my tears jgk la sbb inilah julung2 kalinya berjauhan dgn Aisyah EVER. Masa bertolak naik teksi tu, Aisyah was crying, tp Hubs ckp lps tu dia OK. Bermalam smlman di rumah Che Fadh. Actually, aku gi Barcelona dgn beliau, but she went for the World Congress on Computational Intelligence conference there, whereas aku gi Sound & Music Computing Summer School. Walau pon venue nya berbeza, but both were held in the city of Barcelona and as we would have it, pada tarikh yg sama plak tu, so kitaorg gi la together2 :)

Ni kat Bristol Temple Meads, train station kat Bristol tgh tggu Che Fadh and family dtg jemput. Masa ni masih ada kudrat lg nak senyum2 kambing dkt kamera



Day 2 - Bristol --> Barcelona
Next morning kitaorg bertolak ke Barcelona. Disebabkan masalah2 yg x dpt dielakkan dan jg flight yg x abis2 delay (kitaorg naik RyanAir *cursing*), dah lps midnight baru sampai Barcelona. By the time jumpa hotel tu, mmg dah berpeluh2 (we didn't think there was another place as humid as Malaysia, tp ada u ols). Dari awal lg we knew it was gonna be a massive challenge di bumi Espana ni, antara halangan terbesar ialah bahasa perantaraan and also navigational matters. Even ada Google map print out di tgn pon x membantu sbb the streets were just so confusing, udah lah nama susah nak pronounce, jalan raya nya berselirat plak tu. Kitaorg siap berentikan kereta polis peronda nak tanya jalan, pastu ikut belakang sekumpulan pompuan nak gi clubbing. Nasib la ada sorg dlm group tu bole berckp English sket2, kalo x, camping tgh jalan dah aku dan Che Fadh. Ni kitaorg muka penat sgt x de mood nak bergedik2an di dpn kamera.


Macam kat Malaysia rasanya, complete dgn humidity yg tingginya, Carrefour nya, budi bahasa yg 'sopan' nya (mmg 2x5 lah Spain ni dgn negara terchenta ku, x payah beratur di mana2, main tolak aje, haa.. ni lah masanya nak tunjuk skill Malaysia kita tuh dan driver diorg jg x mempdeulikan zebra crossings utk pedestrian, ada berani kalu silalah cross, x mcm kat UK <--- ini bkn kutukan, just facts obtained from private observation). Tinggal org nya dan bahasa nya je lain mcm....


Alhamdulillah, finally at around 1 am baru la check in kat Residencia Melon District. Ini sbnarnya student accommodation, but for the summer diorg cuti, so byk bilik kosong. For 60 Euro a night dpt lah bilik with double bed, a desk, internet, ensuit toilet, aircond, TV, and the use of shared kitchen and common room. Sgt2 not bad, tp mmg kecik tekkk la kalo nak dicompare dgn mana2 hotel di Msia. Untungnya dkt dgn tram station and Metro. Ada jg roof top swimming pool, tp kenapa ye kita ngak cekidaut Che Fadh? Tu la alamatnya dah berumur, x de masa nak melagha.


Masuk2 bilik cari kettle x ada. Rupanya mmg kat Spain diorg x sediakan kettle eh. Kat kitchen pon x de. We later found out that they expected all guests to rebus air pakai microwave. Tu yg everyday mesti spend at least 2-3 Euros beli air mineral botol besar (sbb mcm x konfiden je nak minum air microwaved). On the first night tu, nasib baik la ada snack and drink machine kat bawah, bole la minum sebotol seorg air, tu pon terkial2 x tau air apa yg dibeli sbb x reti Spanish. A lot of good taking French GCSE paper and scoring all A's in my 4 semesters of language option at Uni did to me then huh?

Ok lah, time's up. Gotta go. Nanti sambung cerita ok... The best is yet to come, tunggu! ;P

Holiday? Think Again

Sebenarnya byk nak cerita, tp sudahnya jd x tahu nak cerita apa. Sbnarnya x suka hapdet kalo x de entry bergambar, tp nak wat camne kabel x de / hilang, x dpt lah nak dipastikan. Ni pon dah pkl 12 lebih dah ni, tp gigih gak la nak update. Bkn apa, just to let family and friends tahu update sket sbyk. Nak call selalu or lama2, mahal, so tulis aje la time2 sempat.

Hari ni pindah ke hostel lain. Kalo ikutkan mmg downgrade sket la drpd yg itu hari, tp Alhamdulillah, mcm selesa. Agak jauh drpd school, x mcm hotel dulu, tp dkt kawasan tourists, so rasanya OK lah. Nak cuba jgk squeeze sket masa utk berjalan2 sekitar Barcelona ni, lusa dah nak balik :)

Mmg sejak dtg hari tu, I can honestly admit x sempat berjalan2 lg. Masa belum dtg tu, duk imagine Summer School ni mcm konferens la, agak layback, relax, and a place to meet contact and networks and discuss ideas. Tetapi tidak! Ianya adalah sesungguh2nya hardwork okeh?

Tp sgt2 suka sbb mmg worth it la University of Plymouth byr 170 Euro utk register sekolah ni. A lot of the aspect yg berkenaan dgn research masa PhD dan jg masa MSc dulu dibincangkan dan dikupas. Bkn sahaja itu, malah area2 yg aku x familiar spt Soundscape (tp pada org lain familiar la kot), jg dibincangkan dgn terperinci sekali. Siap example bagai. Ni kelas diberi oleh otai2 dlm bidang ni, yg selama ni duk main petik main quote je kerja diorg, tp x kenal personally. Now I can finally put a face to a name, and it feels great and rejuvenating slps berbual2 dgn tokoh2 soundscape and music information retrieval ini. I feel very inspired, in fact rasa nak balik cpt2 sbb baru la sedar betapa I have missed and mis-spent the last few months wasting my time duk layan perasaan x syok nak wat kerja. Kalo inilah what it takes to get me back on my feet, syukur!

Tpkan, mmg letih, aku ckp ko. Start from 10 pg - 7.30 ptg okeh. Sehari ada 3 lectures, satu lectures sejam setengah pjg nya. Then disambung dgn buat project berkumpulan plak. Tu pon dah terbabas2 sampai pkl 8 pm 8.30 pm mcm tu. Pastu mmg x pelik bila stay back utk siapkan projek sampai pkl 12 mlm, 2 pg mcm tu. Aku je chalo awal (around 8.30 sokmonya), sbb x kuasa dah. Mmg workaholic budak2 yg attend summer school ni semuanya. And jelas terpampang passion diorg terhadap kerja masing2. Tp biasa la, lps 8.30 mlm tu, semua kerja ada beer di meja la ye. Itu hari wat discussion dlm bar ok, panas bontot aku dibuatnya. Heran aku mcm mana x mabuk diorg ni, pastu bole wat kerja lg tu. Bole berfungsi dgn waras ke otaknya? hmmm...

Tp hati diorg sgt baik. After 4-5 hari bersama ni, mmg rasa mcm rapat dan x segan2 sgt dah, walaupon aku sorg je bertudung dan Islam. Ramai yg take care la jgk psl aku mungkin sbb saiz pendek and kecik automatik diorg rasa perlu penjagaan yg lebih (perasan), dan diorg tahu aku x streetwise mana, so selalu kalo jalan mesti temankan and td pon balik dah lewat sgt diorg tolong tahankan teksi sampai berlari2an nak suh teksi berhenti sbb pemandunya x perasan. Hehe.. untung gak jadi ala2 org fragile ni...

Fragile2 pon, aku sorg je yg dah went through labour okeh? Aku antara yg paling tua la attending this event, budak2 lain byk yg buat PhD direct after BSc or MSc dan x pernah kerja, let alone be married and have a family, so diorg duk mmg ternganga awestruck la dgr hikayat aku sbg postgrad mommy ni kan. Umur diorg rata2 dlm 3-4 tahun lebih muda drpd aku, tp itu pon still ada gak time2 rasa inferior ngn diorg sbb aku sampai skang x rasa mcm aku ni composer. Mmg bkn bidang research composition pon, so I am very glad half of the class load is on signal processing, altho much to the annoyance of hardcore musician lain la sbb diorg x rasa belajar sound engineering and this and that algorithm and test will help them in composition. Kat situ nmpk la sket ada perbezaan ideas, and it will be interesting to relay this onto my SV and the rest of the group in Plymouth, bcoz whereas these guys are concerned about the output, we computer scientists yg deal with music care about the producing the music more 'intelligently', as opposed to hasilnya.

Satu lg yg buat aku rasa agak terpisah ialah as a composer, 90% kelas bawak MacBook ok. Aku ngan sorg lg je Windows. Well actually aku pro-Linux, tp sbb aku ada dua2 platform, penganjur suh stick to windows je la, jgn tambah2 lg platform lain2. Kekok sket la, sbb byk example yg diberikan utk Mac. Windows masih byk kena kejar and be developed, so byk kali gak la keja aku hang (x support tu, x support ni) and tutor dia kena dtg fix it. Apa pon, yg nyata, aku bila bab hands on ni sucked big time, spt programming in Supercollider, and mixing audio, tp again, this falls back on me being inexperienced. Whatever lah. Dtg sini niat belajar :)

Esok pg ada masa free sket, ingat nak go on tours and shopping sket. Finally after 4 days, baru ada waktu lapang, tu pon sbb aku x amik sesi tutorial Supercollider. Tp ptg nya ada tutorial dgn mahaguru concatenative sound synthesis, so debar la jg nih. Mlm kena perform projek yg kitaorg bertungkus lumus buat tu kat concerto dlm hall(amateur). Lps interval, musician pro yg lain plak perform. Menarik gak nih. Then lusa bole balik, ha.. yg ni paling menarik of all, can´t wait! :)

Tu saja from now. Kalo rindu kat aku, leh la tgk gmbr2 sekitar Sound & Music Computing kat sini. Tp gmbr aku semua sipi2, hampes. Yg nmpk muka plak tgh garu kepala. Redha je lah.

Lama giler tau nulis entry nih, sbb nya aku terkial2 pakai keyboard Spanish ni (kat hostel, best jgk, internet free and x de org guna, dlm aircon plak tu). Jgn x tahu mcm2 aksara pelik2 atas keyboard dan susunan lain drpd keyboard biasa. Tertekan guek! Nasib esok workload dah x de sgt hehe...

Espana

Hari bertolak ke Spain penuh adegan x berapa best yg x perlu diceritakan di sini, tp antaranya termasuk lah flight ditangguh berjam2 and stranded di airport. Haih! Anyway, by midnight sampai jg lah di hotel kitaorg.

Sedikit fakta Spain:

1) Spain, so far feels like a million miles away from home. Segala2nya lain dan pelik. Kalo sblm ni rasa dah konon2 perantau la sgt duk UK, by far lebih jd survivor kalo duk Europe kot. Payah nau nak cari hok reti speaking English ni, adeh.

2) Spain is blimming hot like Malaysia all over. Baju mmg melekat basah dgn peluh. X tahan <--- keji manusia ini lupa daratan mcm la lahir2 dkt UK

3) Spain has quite a variety of food. So far dah mkn Indian, Chinese, and Catalan. Tp baru 1 hari stgh je sampai sini, mcm mana bole mkn mcm2 dah? Nmpk sgt byk mkn

4) Spain shuts all shops in its entirety pada hari Ahad, even Supermarket mcm Carrefour pon tutup u ols. Pelik sungguh tgk gedung membeli belah kat sini gelap apatah lg lps baca wallpost member2 UK dah cerita psl sale Next dsb nya.

5) Spain has a two-pin socket. Maka kena pakai adapter kalo alat letrik mcm komputer, seterika drpd UK or Msia even. I had mine, tp ntah, beli yg faulty kot, so kena la beli baru. Malangnya, kedai tutup hari Ahad. Sigh

6) Spain does not have Aisyah nor Hubs. Agak boring. BUT the Summer School is going excellently, so altho it doesn't make up for not having both of them here, it's at least a good sign that it is worth the hassle. Will blog about that Summer School later

7) Spain is 1 hour ahead of UK. Maka now it's already 1 am, whereas kat UK baru pkl 12 am. meaning rugi satu jam wooo. On that note, ok la nite2 nak tido dah. Salam

No pics sbb bole plak teringgal cable. ISh

Aisyah Hospitalized

Where do I start my story? The last 24 hours felt like mcm2 sgt berlaku, from naik ambulans, camping out at A&E (Accidents & Emergency), warded at the Children Assesment Unit, allergies, then viral fever, then suspected urine infection, but I'll start mengikut kronologi lah. This is to document what we went thro utk future reference diri sendiri, and also for families and friends utk baca dgn lebih lanjut what happened on the evening of July 13th at our household.

4.15 pm: Hubs and Aisyah came to get me from the lab and we walked to the Hoe to see the Plymouth Royal Air Force Show, only to get there and discovered that it was canceled at the last minute bcoz of the bad weather. But the carnival was still on, so we spent some time there, and me & Aisyah got on the carousel. Everyone was fine and happy.



6.05 pm: Ingat nak balik and resume work at lab, but Hubs suggested that I better go home and pack in advance for my trip to Barcelona on Friday. Plus I was fasting, so he said I shoud cook early, and try to relax a bit in the evening. Ok lah, termakan pujuk and went home with them.

7.15 pm: Aisyah fell asleep, maka kerja2 packing adalah berjalan dgn lancar. Sedih plak tgk all the items on the bed itu nak dibawa bersama ke Barcelona, kecuali Aisyah. Tp kuatkan smgt and teruskan packing kerana any time si comel itu bole bgn, takutnya terpaksa la postpone packing itu lg, which will beat the purpose of balik awal.

8.30 pm: Started memasak. Still an hour to go before masuk Maghrib, and all I had in mind was Mee Goreng Mamak. Dah siap goreng ayam celup tepung Kentucky dah pon yum yum.

9.15 pm: Hubs was hungry barangkali, makan roasted cashew nuts whilst waiting for me to finish up cooking. Aisyah woke up. Against my advice Hubs kasi Aisyah mkn cashew nuts, tp dlm quantity yg sgt kecil (sebesar kuku Aisyah aje). I was worried psl isu choking, and nothing else. Aisyah has eaten plenty of nuts before, peanut butter, nuts dlm chocolate, nuts on top of ice creams, hazelnut spread, even cashew nuts dlm my Kuzi pon pernah, so it would never occur to us that what was to happen in the next few minutes, could happened....

9.25 pm: Giat menumis. Tinggal nak masukkan mee kuning aje and I'll be done. Tiba2 Hubs walked into the kitchen carrying a crying and fussing Aisyah. Muka Aisyah dah naik bintik merah around the eyes and nose and mata dah start bengkak. Kitaorg suspected allergies to nuts dah, x de lain. Bagi se-dose of antihistamine. Masa ni cool lg.




9.26 pm: Called NHS Direct. Sini x de klinik bukak ye after 5 pm, so apa2 nak rujuk Dr kena call NHS dulu. Usually kalo demam2 biasa, kita call, an operator picks it up, then within 2-3 hours a nurse will us back (sbb x urgent kan). But this time, straight from operator, transfer direct ke nurse.

9.30 pm: Nurse dari NHS assessed Aisyah over the phone. Aisyah was hysterical in the background, and dah start garu2 non-stop.Aisyah muntah, habis satu bdn kena vomit. Hubs terus bwk Aisyah mandi. Masuknya waktu berbuka tp x sempat pon nak minum seteguk air.

9.35 pm: Nurse decided to tranfer my call to an Ambulance Officer immediately bcoz of the seriousness.

9.37 pm: Ambulance Officer bgtau over the phone that a team of paramedics in ambulance will be at our house soon. Was adviced to unlock all doors, and keep pets away.

9.40 pm: Baru je sambar tudung awning, then bukak lampu porch and unlock pintu, ambulance dah sampai. Aisyah dah siap mandi n berpakaian.

9.45 pm: Ambulance team assessed Aisyah and decided Aisyah dah ok kot sbb x garu2 lg. They also suspected allergic reaction. No anaphylectic shots were given, but bcoz Aisyah dah termuntah, dibagi Aisyah antihistamine again. But they still checked with the out-of-hours Dr over the phone to see whether or not to bring Aisyah in.

9.50 pm: Dr suh dtg jgk bhg A&E utk observation, sbb sometimes ada delayed allergic reactions, so maybe ada second attack after this. Cpt2 solat Maghrib, changed into my jeans and the three of us plus the 2 ambulance team members climbed on the ambulance to Derriford Hospital. Aisyam muntah lg dua kali dlm perjalanan.




10.15 pm: Aisyah dimasukkan ke Observation Room 9. Syukur lah, dpt bypass ramai org and dpt bilik, ingatkan kena berlama2an menunggu dkt Waiting Area / Reception A&E. Tp bintat2 or sembur bota, kata org Jawa, dah merebak ke neck, cheeks, and back.

10.30 pm: Nurse amik vitals Aisyah. Aisyah still menggaru2 dgn lebih hebatnya, menangis, and the rashes has now spread to her thighs and legs. Kitaorg giat la mendukung, then tuam badan dia dgn air sejuk, just to minimize the itchiness. Piriton was given, tp still muntah after everytime mkn ubat.

11.30 pm: Finally Aisyah tertido. Dpt la gi berbuka puasa, 2 hours later after sepatutnya. Bcoz x de kedai masih buka, berbuka dgn crisps and Snickers Bar from the snack machine dkt ruang awam A&E will have to do. Kat sini la dpt people watching sket, kes pelik2 like patah kaki, bertumbuk, luka menjejeh dsbnya. Siap ada yg kena escort polis lg, ada la tu, buat salah dgn law, tp needed to be treated first. Mcm2...

11.45 pm: Balik2 je ke katil Aisyah tgk Dr tgh consult dgn Hubs. Ah typical. Selama aku menunggu lama2 td, x de dtg, skali org gi beli snack kjp, masa tu la dia dtg plak, ish. Anyways, Dr suh Aisyah stay for a couple of hours utk observation. Nothing more can be done, just to keep the Piriton and water down. Tp sbb Aisyah dah muntah 6 kali, ada possibility kena injek piriton kat peha, tp Dr kata akan sakit sgt, sbb bukan injek mcm vaccination biasa kat kulit, tp kena masuk sampai muscle. Kesian nya dgr. Calamine lotion pon x de kat A&E, so kena la pandai2 sendiri pujuk Aisyah agar jgn garu2, kata dia, huhu. By this time badan Aisyah dah calar balar dan luka sbb dia scratch.

2.15 am: Dr dah dtg tgk Aisyah berkali2 la jgk, masa aku tgh ter-nodded off tido sekatil ngan dia. Dr bgtau Aisyah dah bole balik kot, sbb Aisyah pon dah bole tido dgn aman tu. Tp sbb aku terasa badan Aisyah hangat, dia amik temperature Aisyah, and it read 38C. Officially Aisyah demam. But x de kena mengena dgn allergic attack tu, but as the Dr has put it, 'It is very, very un fortunate that she has to suffer from both things at the same time'. Poor Aisyah! So kena tunggu Paedietrican plak dtg tgk Aisyah, sbb bila dah demam tu bkn respobility Dr A&E lg.

2.30 am: Paed dtg. Check temperature Aisyah dan suh bg Calpol. Seperti biasa, muntah lg after se-dose ubat. Sbb masuk kali ni dah 7 kali Aisyah muntah, Paed kata, nak mudah masuk je ubat ikut rectum. Tp mengenangkan mcm2 dah budak tu suffer, aku declined dulu. Ckp suh bg last chance, bg Calpol orally dulu, kalo muntah jgk, then baru masuk ubat ikut bontot. Alhamdulillah x muntah dah.

2.45 am: Dr A&E dtg lg. Ckp dah bole packing and go home. Suker! Mula la terbyg, alangkah bestnya kalo kat Msia, mesti dah bole berenti beli kat kedai mamak makanan on the way balik, sbb byk je kedai mkn yg open 24/7. Sini mana ada. Nak x nak, kena la sambung masak mee tu huhu.

2.48 am: Dr A&E tu dtg balik, and ckp, dia nak buat one last test - urine infection. Dia kata dia nak rule out Aisyah bkn kena urine infection, sbb symptoms urine infection ni demam, and ruam2. So she wants to be 100% sure. Kitaorg pon ok kan je la, kang kalo sakit lg x baik2 susah plak nak dtg A&E lg skali. Aisyah diberi pakai pad mcm sanitary towel on top of her diaper, utk collect urine.

2.50 am: Kitaorg dibawa transfer ke Children's Assesment Unit di Wad Kanak2 Tingkat 12. Nurse amik vitals Aisyah lg skali, and menunggu Dr yg on-call. Sempat solat Subuh lg nunggu Dr nih.

3.30 am: Baru Dr dtg. Aisyah dah tertido pon. He still did the assesment anyways. Dr nya baik sgt, siap offer nak amikkan air minum utk kitaorg, and offer suh tido aje di mana2 katil yg open kat ward tu (ward tu kosong, kecuali kitaorg je). During consultation, dia pon very sure it was an allergic reaction, altho to what specifically, he couldn't say, sbb mcm2 factor bole contribute. Aisyah needs to be seen by an allergy Dr in the future, to do a patch test to determine condition dia ni alah dgn all nuts, or just cashew nuts. Allergies ni ada link dgn asthma, eczema, hayfever, dan mcm2 lg. It might not even be that Aisyah is allergic to cashew nuts, maybe the chemicals or 'rencah' around the nuts (it was roasted cahsew nuts yg ada rasa masin2 itu). Plus we were told he needs the urine. Selagi Aisyah x kencing, x leh balik.

4.15 am: Aisyah dah nyenyak tido. Hubs pon sama dkt katil sebelah. Aku je tercangak2 kat kerusi, x leh tido sakit badan. Kesian tgk Aisyah punya badan yg calar balar kesan garu. Perut lapar pon ye jg. Remember, aku posa sehari sblm tu, yg mana aku last mkn nasi at 2.30 am mcm tu (Subuh 2.52 pg). Dah lebih 24 hours ni x mkn or minum apa2, selain the Snickers Bar, Walker's Crisp and a glass of water td tuh. Checked diapers dia, x kencing2 jgk. Tp mcm mana nak expect dia kencing, sedangkan dia dah muntah 7 kali sblm tu. Mesti dah dehydrated tuh.




5.55 am: Checked diapers, still kering kontang. Akhirnya aku give up and join tido sekatil ngan Aisyah. X tersangka plak a few hours of observation di A&E pada asalnya dah jd overnight stay dkt hospital.




8.15 am: Terjaga sbb dgr nurses dah mula masuk cuci2 and kemas2 katil dsb nya utk memulakan a new day. Aisyah pon terbgn, so nurse bg dia makan cereal. Diapers dia masih kering, so aku terus force-fed her air setengah gelas, dgn harapan kencing cpt2. Aku turun bawah gi cari roti wat breakfast utk aku n Hubs. Kesian dia, altho x posa, tp x mkn apa2 since lunch yesterday jgk (we all x sempat mkn mee goreng mamak aku tu kan?)

8.45 am: Finally Aisyah dah ada wet nappy. Cpt2 suh nurse collect sample tu. Kang dia dah berak plak kang, x psl kena buat test lg sekali.

9.15 am: Dr yg smlm tu dah test urine Aisyah, and it was negative for infection, so Alhamdulillah dah bole balik. He gave us leaflets on allergies in children, a bottle of Piriton utk Aisyah, and he wrote us a referral letter kpd Dr Cade yg akan amik case Aisyah nanti. So Aisyah will have to go back to the hospital soon utk buat further tests, but until then, no nuts.

10.00 am: Sampai umah. Ada dua option, sambung masak mee smlm tu, atau tido. Tido menang. Semua org pon tido, termasuk Aisyah

12.45 tgh: Bgn sambung masak mee. In the end makan la jgk mee goreng ala mamak tu. Tp hampa, sbb terlebih masin plak. Rasa nak nangis pon ada, mungkin sbb duk imagine dah lama.

Tp mee masin tu masalah kecil je, compared tu lps ni kena jaga2 psl makanan Aisyah. Skang bukan setakat kena read the labels psl food yg suitable for vegetarian, yg x de wine or rum, skang ditambah plak kena cari yg x contain nuts or manufactured in a place that may come in contact with nuts. Kalo di UK ok la lg, balik Msia where the labeling is caca marba mcm mana? Dah la makanan Msia byk gak campur kacang. Will she ever get to eat Sate ngan Kuah Kacang? Mee Bandung? Rojak Mee? Apam Balik?

Even worst, ptg td duk mintak2 roti sapu choc spread yg ada hazelnut tu (ala2 Nutella). And we had to hide it from her, sedangkan kitaorg tahu that's her favourite food. Pastu dia mintak aiskrim, x leh kasi cornetto yg dia biasa mkn yg ada choc & nut dah, but I gave her my ones, mint & choc, hmmm... amik rasa sket terus reject (x sedap la tu pada lidah dia). And from now on dah x leh mkn Honey & Nut cornflakes dah la (another fav). Ptg td siap mengamuk lg sbb dia lapar, pastu nak roti & choc x bole, nak aiskrim, dpt yg mint x sedap, pastu dia nak tgk Mickey Mouse kat channel Disney, tp yg tgh tayang ialah Handy Manny. Kesian sgt, sampai rolling2 on the floor, ke-frust-an. Of course, there are more to come still, but it already breaks my heart to see her being denied the food she normally enjoys without a problem before.

Hopefully the patch test will take place soon and reveals that it's not the nuts that Aisyah is allergi to, but the chemicals yg menyaluti kacang tersebut. It's hard enough going separating with her to go to Spain ni, tp dgn keadaan dia baru keluar hospital ni, bertambah2 la berat hati. Dah la Ibu x de, comfort food kesukaan hati plak dah kena banned. Please, readers budiman sekalian, doakan lah kesihatan dan kesejahteraan Aisyah, keselamatan aku sekeluarga and moga next week berlalu dgn cptnya, so that before I know it, I'll be back with the people I love. Amin...

Cerita Ceriti Dari Plymouth

Cerita dari Plymouth 1

Ramai readers blog ni yg kenal Shue, my good fren kat Plymouth ni. For those who are not in the know, Shue balik kjp ke Msia ni, to get married. Majlisnya udah pon selesai dan selamat, so now dia dah selamat bergelar Cik Puan hhehe. This is a pic I nicked from her FB. I hope she doesn't mind. She looks so lovely here, doesn't she? And I totally lover her wedding dress nyer kaler.

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Cerita dari Plymouth 2

Masih ingatkah anda pada Aqil, bestfren Aisyah, yg parents nya bernama Eton & Mael yg dah balik Msia Januari tempohari? Well Eton was five months pregnant when they went back, and on May, 18th, she had delivered a beautiful baby girl. She had always been fond Aisyah, and selalu duk ulang2 kalo dpt baby girl (she had wanted a girl!), nak nama kan Aisyah la, sbb Aqil pon suka sebut nama tu. And as she had said so many times, baby ini dinamakan Aisyah Haziqah. Yg bestnya anak Mal (babysitter Aisyah) pon nama nya Haziq, so jelas terpancar kerinduan Eton & Mael pada org2 Plymouth ye hehe... Jgn marah ek korg... We love and miss you guys too!

Eton, Aqil, Aisyah Nurzahirah & Aisyah Haziqah (dlm perut)

Aisyah Haziqah

Aisyah & Haziq

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Cerita dari Plymouth 3

Mmg Plymouth tgh babyboom skang. So the next in line yg amik nombor utk bersalin adalah Umei & Zali sekeluarga. And on June, 17, they were blessed with the arrival of baby Umar Yusuf. Sungguh molek lg barakah skali tarikh tu, apa x nya, sama ngan tarikh bday Aisyah (17 June) hehe. Tgk, tgk, komuniti Melayu Plymouth mmg kecik, tp bersatu hati ok, nama sama, tarikh sama, mana bole lawan...?

Umar Yusur

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Cerita Plymouth 4

Smlm kan World Cup 2010 final, so geng2 Plymouth ni berkumpul la kat umah Zali, tgk bola kat TV flat screen besau beliau, sesambil mkn dinner secara potluck. Yours truly bawak sayur goreng dgn fishball and suhun aje, sbb bila riki2 ramai nau bawak lauk, x de sapa buat sayur pon, so belasah la, asal bole conplement masakan org lain.

Mmg suasana agak tegang dan seriau dlm rumah tu, sbb half the crowd duk menggigit jari menengok bola yg x gol2 walau berapa kali dah ada chance, dan separuh lg crown duk gigit2 jari dgr cerita birthing Umei yg 100% natural tanpa drug itu. Sini mmg, selagi x 3 minit sekali contrction, midwives x bg pergi hospital, so by the time diorg bergerak Umei dah ready nak bersalin dlm kereta, and by the time buat VE aje, udah complete (10 cm!). X sampai sejam sudah beranak ye tuan puan. Hebat skali!

Aku spt biasa, amik feel dgn baby baru. Bila pegang newborn baru le rasa betapa cpt nya si Aisyah ni dah membesar.

As usual, Aisyah takut2 dgn baby. Sian ek, dia buat muka org terpinggir

But she quickly warmed up to the baby.

Sungguh suka hati x terperi bila dpt usik baby tido ish ish! Sentapz baby Yusuf nak tido tau hehe...

That's all for today. Cerita mmg lama dah pendam, tp x sempat2 mengarang... huhu..