Bergayut

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 :)