I realized that in the last post, I kinda pictured Aisyah in the wrong light. Maybe sbb dia sakit gigi so dia extra clingy, and maybe jg sebab diri sendiri pon penat and stressed, every little thing ticked me off. But after a few hours of solid rest and a peace of mind, it's amazing how you will begin to see things differently!
All day long yesterday she behaved herself well beyond expectation. Start dari pagi, bgn x de masalah, then masa Hubs tinggalkan dia kat rumah Mal pun x nangis. Aisyah handled it very maturely and professionally. Siap salam and bye bye Ayah dia lg. Impressive, memandangkan this was only her second time under the care of someone other than her parents. In fact, first day hari tu pon dia x nangis. I had really thought that she was going to be crying her lungs out, but again, I was just being super-anxious. And when we picked her up at 1 pm, Mal ckp, Aisyah enjoyed playing 'masak2' dgn Mal all morning and did not kicked up any fuss. That's my girl! Perhaps my little baby is really ready for nursery.
Pastu lom sampai rumah lg dah tertido dlm stroller (like the 1st day). Padahal rumah Mal ngan rumah kitaorg is only a 10 minutes walk. And like last time, she slept through until 3 pm. Oleh itu, x dpt la pergi Rhymetime nyer session smlm like we do every Thursday.
So we decided to go out after Maghrib (Maghrib is at 4.40 pm skang) to walk about in town and then singgah Sainsbury's to get a few items that needed replenishing. My goodness, in those jeans and new pair of shoes (Puma, dah naik jd saiz 5 dah kaki dia!), she looked well over 2 years old!
Cheeky Aisyah was super helpful at the checkout line too. Pastu rajin menegur sapa semua org, everyone had to do a double take and smiled. And then siap bye2 dkt cashier, dkt security semua, saying 'Daiiii...' (Bye).
Moments like these, is totally worth the bad day, the tantrums, the restless nights and all... (Oh, and yes, it totally makes any mother feel guilty too, for having snapped and losing her patience in the first place!!!)
Friday, January 15, 2010
Clearer Mind Equals Happier Being
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Penat
Drained. Tp lega la jgk sbb baru lps jumpa Prof. And Alhamdulillah, sempat la jgk siap report, walau pon for some reasons, citation yg link ke database tu ada technical error, so lps ni kena betul kan lg, but as for content, dah siap to the best that I can produce in that span of time.
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Sebelum lupa, ni hasil meeting:
- reached the stage where I must decide on the pragmatic approach (less theoretical) of the models to choose to follow, i.e. human auditory model, perceptual model, evolutionary model, etc. Use reverse engineering, find the model that fits the existing and working segmentation techniques >:)
- contribution of this thesis will be two part: (1) segmentation approach, (2) concatenation or unit selection approach
- for segmentation: to look at different parameters to add, other than pitch class which has already been implemented. This implies digging into the signal processing side of stuff, such as the spectral features that corresponds to brightness, duration, dynamic, energy, etc.... This relates back to my MSc thesis! Yeay!!!!
- for concatenation: to look at different ways to tabulate the soon-to-expand audio features / parameters into a probabilistic table, which will replace the basic transition matrix that has been designed. If another technique is more interesting and returns better result (i.e. statistical modeling), replace the old technique. Else, stick with the working 1st Markov's chain models, but perhaps extend to 2nd order to see missed out rhythmic patterns.
- Go back to Chapter 8 of the Gimenes' thesis on iMe <---- if I can replicate something like this, pretty much thesis = DONE - AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, Don't spend longer than 2 weeks to solve the 1st bullet point! Next meeting in 2 weeks time. Must have concrete understanding and argument of the model selected!
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Ok asalnya entry ni nak buat sesi meluahkan perasaan. Tuhan saja lah yg tahu betapa penat dan susah nya the past week has been. Kdg2 time kita busy giler2 dgn keja, time tu la plak anak kita sakit gusi nak tumbuh gigi geraham, merengek2 asyik nak nenen, x nak ngan Ayah dia, asyik nak ngan Ibu aje... so x dpt la gi lab, teman anak sakit punya psl, buat la kerja kat rumah. Sampaikan bg nenen pon sambil menaip kat laptop, sebelah tgn menaip, sebelah lg pangku dia. Lps sebelah, nak lg sebelah, pastu ulang balik sampai sekurang2 nya 3 kali.
Tu x pe lg, tp imagine la mcm mana la kerja tu nak siap bila dia dah start crying fit dia tuh... bersambung2 dan meleret2, sampai kdg biar aje la buat x dgr... kalo x nangis plak, pjg aje akal dia nak buat mcm2, pantang lepa. Tarik kabel laptop, conteng dinding rumah, tarik wayar mouse, tarik kertas2 jurnal semua, campak mouse ke lantai dgn sengaja, baling kamera sampai rosak dah kamera tu (x tau bila nak bole beli kamera baru ni), tunjuk perasaan la agaknya Ibu dia x layan dia. Pastu bila marah, nangis lg.. Ya Allah... Adui... ikutkan hati mmg rasa bersalah sgt, tp kerja pon nak kena jalan gak.. mcm mano? Nasib baik la dah azam baru x mahu tengking2 lg, tp mmg dlm hati Tuhan aje la tahu... Tp x pe la, ni la nama nya dugaan dan ujian kan... Ah... kemanisan berumah tangga dan asam garam parenting ...
Penat la rasanya nak tulis pjg2. Nak rehat la. Ikut hati mcm2 lg nak coret kan kat sini, tp x tertulis la. Nak bgtau je, bapakkkkk susah buat PhD ni, especially bila ada added responsibility as a mother kat bahu. Jauhhhhhhh lg senang time buat MSc dulu. Baru la sedar sbnarnya byk je masa lapang yg digunakan secara x berapa bernas masa buat MSc. Nasib baik la grad jgk.
Coretan utk diri sendiri ni. Supaya esok bila dah berjaya and ada student PhD sendiri yg kita supervise, especially those yg ada large family ke, I will remember what it's like and maybe kasi more empathy sket. Dan jg utk memotivasikan diri sbb ramai je mereka yg dpt Doctorate dan jadi Ibu dan suri rumahtangga yg berjaya, and I want to be one of them. Semua2 ni, character building nih utk menjadi Oyis yg terbaik, Insya Allah
Lab mate aku, Al, is a Godsend plak sbb of all the days kan, hari ni dia picked utk tanya how I am doing (after my SV meeting). Aku pon blurted out la, could have been better. If only I had more time to wrap everything up nicely. If only I had more time to do background reading on the existing perceptual models, baru la ada concrete evidence sket nak present kat Prof. Setakat ckp atas angin aku rasa nanti membuang masa Prof je jumpa aku. Pastu dia pon tanya aku managed ke siap report tu on time. Aku ckp la ye. Dia pon ckp la impressive, mengenangkan aku kena urus family lagi, bkn native english speaker lg... Dia kata dia yg single pon selalu extend deadline.
Pastu dia ckp jg, aku kena belajar give myself a break. Dia tahu aku slalu stay kat lab sampai pkl 9 mlm mcm tu wat kerja (tp aku masuk pon dah pkl 3 pm). Dia tahu aku bgn pg2 study. Dia kata aku patut mintak a few days off, apatah lg baru siap report ni kan. This is the perfect time! Dia kata aku patut learn to give myself some credit, dan jgn push myself too hard sampai nak muntah darah dah. In fact, dia kata, aku patut gi cari buku kat library psl managing PhD, and read it over the weekend. Jgn baca benda2 ilmiah lain. Light2 reading ajo.
Oleh sbb itu, aku pon nak challo awal lah hari ni ok. Am actually craving Mee Maggi yum yum. The only thing yg lebih best drpd itu ialah jika Mr Hubs tolong masakkan to perfection, not too kembang sampai lembik2 x de kuah, and not too mentah sampai bunyi krup krap. Pastu letak asam limau sket, teluar sket, udang sket. Wah kecur!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Piled Higher and Deeper (PhD)

Busy, stressed out, tired, flat, lethargic, blah blah blah... the usual. Everyone is bound to feel this way, and it's normal- except that it's only Monday! Haha. Ada bbrp hari lg la nak tunggu weekend kembali, so how to survive, peeps?
Not that I'm bored, far from it. Masa yg ada ni kalo bole nak dilanjut2 kan lg. I call it the '2nd year syndrom'. Sekeras mana pon anda bekerja, masih akan ada piles of work to be settled. And the chaos is exponentially increasing as well, as time goes by. So bole la imagine camno esok masa dah naik tahun 3, yike-a-dee-yikes!!! Skang dah x mcm 1st year itu hari dah. Even rasanya masa 1st year idak la teman main2 pon, but still... the speed of EVERYTHING is escalating at a faster rate than I can ever move. Rasa suffocating sket2 pon ada. We are feeling the heat, people, even in sub-zero temperature!
Ok apa aku merepek ni. Perjumpaan ngan Prof this Wednesday, tu yg agak mengong nih. Masih byk lg correction nak dibuat. I don't think I'm taking my own sweet time buat benda ni, everyday pon mengadap tau, but it really is hard, and I really have put my heart and soul into this report. It might just be that I am slow. But then again, you only have as much time as you allow yourself to have, so mungkin kalo aku ada lesser time aku jadi lebih Speedy Gonzales, who knows kan? But surely, kalo tulis terlalu laju pastinya akan jeopardize the quality? Who knows.
Anyway, I sure hope that it ranks far better than what I have produced before. Allah permitting, the meeting goes well and after that I can reclaim my lost weekend minggu ni. Aci x kalo my weekend starts from Thursday minggu ni? Please oh please biar x de correction dah!!! Kalo x, still weekend buat correction lg la nmpk gayanya...
Aku nak add lagi satu la azam tahun baru, harapnya masih x terlambat. Aku nak cuba anger and voice projection control. X pasti la sama ada aku stressed out ke, pressured by deadline ke, tired from work and study ke (and blimming cooking everyday - same old, same old), not getting enough sleep ke (bgn pkl 5.30 - 6 pg utk buat kerja tu syukur Alhamdulillah telah di implemen dgn jayanya ye), or psl my sleep gets interrupted every few hours ke (nenen punya psl), or even if I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or better known as Winter Blues. Wallahu a'lam. Mmg tgh short fuse. Sket2 melenting. Sket2 marah. Pastu dgn weather pon pon bising. Dan x puas hati. Sampai Hubs labeled me as, in his exact word, 'Whiny'. Hehe...
But ada jg unsur2 SAD tu, aku rasa. Bcoz as nice and beautiful as the snow is, the entire season is actually pretty dull and grey. X dpt cukup matahari, dah la mlm cpt, siang lambat. And the temperature itself pon mmg a put off utk keluar ke mana. Pastu jalan2 cari pasal (holidaying) is out of the question, bcoz cuaca buruk and also waktu solat yg pendek2, so x seswai kalo nak gi tempat2 yg x entitled jamak qasar lg tu. Surau mmg x ade la ye, masjid pon payah nak jumpa kat Plymouth ni, x mcm tempat2 lain. Makanya duduk la memerap di boring ol' Plymouth. I do think we all as a family needed a break. Sbb nya, last jalan2 pon was in September to Stonehenge. Even then it was a day-trip, so x bermalam mana2 pon. Pada logik akal nya mcm x patut ada beza summer ke winter, but it does affect a lot of things. Aku ingat lg, entry2 aku sekitar a year ago prior to spring pon ada bunyi2 ala depressed gini jgk. So mari la kita blame the weather hehe.
But seriously, lately aku ni byk meninggikan suara, even Aisyah yg baby pon x terkecuali, apatah Hubs. Mmg teruk alias derhaka pon dah aku ni, sampai Hubs terpaksa tegur. Perangai meninggi suara aku ni dah lama, dari zaman kanak2 lg, ye la, anak sulung mmg rasa ada authority over adik2 kan. Kdg2 terbawa2 plak sampai alam remaja and berumah tangga. I really do feel awful. Dah la kat sini I have no close friends, susah senang ngan Hubs je, so sometimes, it seems like the borderline between a good friend and a husband tu kabur, and I forget, and then terjadi la things that I regret later. Tu la dia, it's always the people that you only care about who gets hurt the most. I feel so terrible... :(
Please, please doa kan agar aku diberi kekuatan dalaman, kelembutan hati, kehemahan berkata2, kesabaran yg tinggi dan semua sifat2 mahmudah yg lain (whilst keeping my sanity in getting this PhD). Oh, and please let me keep those dear to me close to me as well, kerana tiada makna nya dpt PhD kalo segala yg lain yg should have mattered more hilang atau lari entah ke mana....
Friday, January 8, 2010
The UK Is The New South Pole
That was the news. Click sini utk berita penuh.
Then I got this email in my Inbox:
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Notice to all students
Please do not reply to this email. If you have a query please use the email address below.
Advice from the Met Office shows heavy snow is forecast for Friday 8th and Sunday 10th January. Spring term starts on Monday 11th January with a planned timetable of teaching sessions. There may be disruption to the sessions with very short notice due to staff experiencing travel difficulties to campus. We will endeavour to deliver all sessions; however, students should be prepared for disappointment on some sessions.
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Wah... perlu suka ke perlu duka cita nih Uni ada possibility tutup?
Ye, satu UK mmg mcm dah jadi freezer. Ada yg label it as South Pole dah pon, with -22C di kawasan2 utara Scotland. Sekolah2 dan Universiti semua tutup, makanan2 kat kedai semua habis org borong buat stok takut darurat, bus services yg ada pon jd limited bcoz of the icy roads and heavy snow.
Even Plymouth tempat terhangat UK pon terasa kesannya. Electricity kitaorg pakai cap pre-paid, so baru masuk seminggu into the new year we have almost used up the whole quota utk sebulan selalunya. Mana x nya, electric heater lg, lampu lg (night time is longer, jd lampu pon psg lebih lama drpd waktu summer), electric cooker kat dapur lg (dah la musim winter la selalu lapar and rajin masak sbb xde aktiviti lain), TV lg (bcoz asyik memerap indoor aje), hot shower lg... pergh... berganda2 kegunaannya. Tu x termasuk gas bills, ye la bukak central heating lg, air panas utk masak, basuh pinggan, basuh kain (baju dah sah more than normal la kan, berlapis2, berstokin2), mandi, amik wudhu'.... huhu...Lumrah musim sejuk...
Apa pon syukur la Plymouth x seteruk mana. Habis kuat pon -5C kot. Altho sini dah x snow lg, tp lebih membahayakan adalah ice! Snow2 yg mencair di siang harinya, tp x sempat kering lalu menjadi ais sebelah mlm nya, dan, siap la esok. Alhamdulillah so far x pernah jatuh lg, tp dah berjoget2 jg la time2 slippery betul tu nak cari balance, ala2 Dancing On Ice gitu. I have to walk super gingerly, almost tip toeing. Lebih dahsyat lg, if it's a hilly or slopey road. Mmg akan avoid la jalan2 tersebut. I feel like a hundred year old lady berjalan, slow giler and terbongkok2 almost, dgn tgn mendepang, utk merendahkan central of gravity supaya x tumbang. Fizik maaa... hehe
Ok ni la gmbr2 nya. The first few tu nak demonstrate jalan berais. It looks likes snow, but it's harder, and much much more slippery okeh. The one that follows tu nak tunjuk how gorgeous the weather is today, with the sun coming up, tp heran x cair2 gak ais tu. The last one tu gmbr Hubs and Aisyah, lps solat Jumaat td. So rest assured, masih bole solat Jumaat lg, so belom la tahap darurat kat Plymouth terchenta nih (masa2 ni baru la chenta kan Plymouth - tempat lain kat UK adalah lebih parah lg kesejukan nya).
PS: Sebenarnya kat Europe ke, USA ke, Japan ke, lebih teruk sejuk dia, tp sbb ni adalah cuaca tersejuk utk UK sejak 30 tahun lalu, mmg gabra sket la. Plus negara2 lain yg dah biasa sejuk beku tu, dah prepare awal2, snow 4 kaki pon bole bawak kereta lg sbb ada jentolak snow yg ketepikan snow everyday. Sini, garam pon x cukup utk tabur kat jln raya, siap kena catu lg. Tu la alkisahnya panic.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Random
Hari ni entry random sket la ye, sbb nya kepala otak pon random mendom gak nih.
Item #1 Patutnya esok jumpa SV, but he walked into the lab today, so we had a very quick discussion and I briefed him on the past workshop in London. We agreed that we shall have the meeting next Wednesday. Phew.. lega. Dia telah memberi sedikit masa lg utk terus menulis, bless him.
Item #2 Td sempat la bawak Aisyah gi Nursery Rhymetime, slps lebih sebulan bercuti sbb aku sibuk a few weeks before Xmas tu. Spt biasa, dia enjoy sgt. Tp nmpk la skrg she is at ease with the group and kalo bab nyanyi ke jerit2 kesukaan, suara dia paling kuat. Opsss! hehe...
Dan suara lemak merdu itu jg dia telah skali lg pamerkan kpd umum semasa nak bawak dia balik. X cukup ngan kitaorg paling last keluar (sbb kasi chance la dia nak main kan, seminggu sekali je aktiviti), pastu siap meraung2 x nak balik, x nak duduk dlm stroller etc. Hubs yg bawak dia balik, aku terus ke Uni seberang jalan drpd library je. Terdgr2 suara dia mengamuk.
And then Hubs bgtau, sampai la ke pekan Mutley tu Aisyah meraung. Pastu dia senyap. Penat agaknya. Pastu bila sampai dpn rumah Hubs tanya kat dia, "Aisyah nak makan x?". Dia x jawab. Pastu dia pejam mata buat dunno x nak layan Hubs. Sampai naik atas rumah pon buat2 tutup mata, pastu mulut muncung x puas hati. Rupa2 nya cik adik tu merajuk! Sungguh la x sangka umur x sampai 2 tahun dah pandai mengekspresi kan ketidakpuasan hati. Sudahnya dia tertido sendiri, huhu...
Item #3 I am pumping at the mo, tp Tuhan saja tahu betapa malas nya skrg. Udah le 'pendapatan' x seberapa, (~ 3 oz per session), sabar je la ... Come on, Oyis, 6 more months to go... Go! Oyis, Go!
That being said, Aisyah lately mcm dah x lalu sgt EBM dalam botol dah, tp direct feeding dia masih berminat sgt. Skang dah pandai cakap and cari, cpt mulut nya menyebut, "Nak, Nak, Nak". Even tgh tido pon kdg dgr dia sebut "nak, nak" sambil mencari. X sure dia ngigau ke hapa hehe...
Ok la tu saja. Ni gmbr Aisyah yg pandai merajuk dgn Ayah, hehe... Bkn main susah nak tangkap gmbr dia, nak buat ponytails tu lagi la....