Geb Ahmad

giving myself a break from all things virtual

2012-01-09T03:12:00.003+13:00

i'll be on a long hiatus, again.

many things are unsaid. most of which that can't be said.

02.01.2012

2012-01-03T01:58:00.007+13:00

it's been about 3 weeks since i realised that i have a driving-buddy.

yes. it sits on the back seat, rather comfortably behind my green cushion.

accompanying my rather scared-driving-self to work every morning.

waiting for me every evening. and everytime i take my car cruising.

and it's a freaking lizarddddddddd! huwaaarrghhhh!

so finally just now, i've decided to put this trap in my car.

well it says roach, but it can also be used for lizards.

but it is still euwwwww to find the lizard fall for this. let's just wait tomorrow morning.

ok dah stop bout yucky lizards.

* * *

ok so hari ni saya dengan rajinnya telah ke pasar. *cough2x.. clears throat*

so on the way pergi (it's like a 5 mins drive jee pon), i was thinking what to cook. since dah berzaman aku tak makan makanan masakan sendiri (very the poyo).

then i was like "masak asam pedas lah"

i learnt how to make asam pedas from a very dear friend. the lesson siap ada theori, then ada demonstration. then tasting anddddddd ada praktikal plus exam ok! hahhaha.. adalah 4-5 kali buat baru lulus.

so i decided on cooking asam pedas.

then there i was standing in front of the fish monger staring at those fish.

my head said, "Tenggiri".

and so i bought ikan tenggiri.

then my head said i should put in some veggies.

my head said "Bendi".

and so i bought bendi.

then my head said i should buy that leafy thingy that u find in asam pedas.

and my head said "blurrrrrrrrrr"

i could not remember that leafy green thingy that you put in asam pedas.

serious tak ingat langsung!

so i pun terpusing2 dekat kedai sayur tu.. tiba2 i saw it! i think that was it.

but i still couldn't find the words "daun kesum" in my head.

so i pointed to the bunch of leaves and said nak satu.

and off i went home and cooked lunch.

bila dah siap masak and makan kenyang, my sister asked me, kenapa kau tak beli ikan pari?

and i was like, ha'ah ekkkk! tenggiri was the first fish that popped into my head!

then i was thinking to myself, kenapa kau tak beli terung ek?

err.. because bendi was the first thing that i remembered.

but then nasib baik bukan daun pisang ker, daun getah ke yg pop into my head time nak beli daun kesum kan??? if not aku dah beli dah. selamat makan asam pedas daun getah! hahahahaha

well... here is today's lunch.

i know i know, my asam pedas guru is going to say:

kurang warna.. ni terlebih kunyit macam ni sebab warna dia kuning sikit. cili kene lebih. nampak macam cair, u tambah air ke?

ok2, points noted.

2011 - (fill in the blank)

2012-01-01T22:00:00.006+13:00

it's been 5 months since my last post. and it's 2012 today.

i thought i'd recap 2011 events. which seems to be the trend on tv since last night.

first of all i was busy with work.

secondly, i was busy with work and all things which are related to it. responsibilities and all. (ceh poyo je)

thirdly, i was busy with work and all the things that comes with it. the dramas and all.

and errr, i was busy with work and all the people that comes with it. all sorts really.

and i am still busy with work!

which makes year 2011 a year of becoming a workaholic?

is this the confession of a workaholic?

shit.

i am sure i'm not. (like seriously! err.. u kiddin' urself kid?)

just that i need to organise time more efficiently. (like seriously! my dental appointment is soooooo overdue! note to self: need to find time. need to find time. need to find the freaking time!)

more note to self:

1. need to be more efficient. think output. think output.

2. need to be fast. need to think faster.

3. must . . . (ok if i go on then i am officially insane.)

ok, ok bottomline:

2011 was the year of beginnings.

The foundation has been set for the many years to come.

= = = "The loftiest towers rise from the ground." = = = Chinese Proverb = = =

Have a merry new year!

just a thought

2011-07-16T04:04:00.003+12:00

if that's how you react, then maybe you were never cut out for it.

maybe you never will be.

P.A.I.N.

2011-07-03T16:38:00.007+12:00

1. A handbook from a far far land just arrived. Though being very futuristic, planning is still a pain.

2. People are painful. But, I won't be getting anybody's dander up no more, as they're not worth even a plugged nickel.

3. Auditors are even more of a pain. So is paperwork.

4. Two exciting studies are starting up very very soon. Organizing is off course a pain.

5. Trying to get myself organised, financially. Or else, I will be in pain. Ahahahahhahaa!

On a more cheery note, Reza Salleh was awesome!! Some people actually cried listening to him sing "I can't make you love me". Though my knowledge on music is as big as a peanut, I thought the music compositions that night were very cool (ahahaha pandai je kan, but i thought it was). It was def an awesome after-work-Monday night! :)

Adakah Kamu Pengamal Teori Evolusi?

2011-06-28T13:14:00.007+12:00

I had a theoretical epiphany yesterday.

The theory goes like this, “Those who sits on their butts all day while waiting for some marvel to work its way onto their laps, are true believers of the Evolution Theory and are directly applying the theory as part of their daily lives.”

From my standpoint, the Evolution Theory states that everything happens on its own, through time. Meaning that, given enough time, the theory states that something will eventually happen.

The most common example given is of the three blocks of wood on the ground. Through time, the blocks will somehow make its way closer together and sit on top of each other – because it’s more ergonomic etc.

The keyword is “somehow”. Which translates to “on its own” – i.e. without doing anything that will lead to that conclusion, the event simply happened.

Thus, easily enough, those who sits around all day, doing nothing in order to lead to any better situation, are indeed devotees of the Evolution Theory. They’re going through time, waiting and waiting..

Does my theory apply to you?

Me & Shoes

2011-06-26T02:22:00.004+12:00

Happy face =)

I've found a place to shop for shoes for my big foot in Kuala Lumpur!
Apart from Clarks, Hush Puppies and Scholl who carry larger sizes which can accomodate my 8-through-11-sized-foot, I can now shop at.... surprisingly, Cotton On. I have never browsed their shoe collection back in NZ nor in Malaysia. But I did today and discovered that I now have much cheaper options and lots more choices suited to my tastebuds! They carry flip-flops, slippers, flats, heels and wedges.. Hihi.. I'm a shoe lover – by default. And I say so cause it runs in the family.. I've shopped for a number of high-heeled shoes back in NZ and now I've been wearing them to work.. But today, I grabbed some flats to wear at the office because my experimental trial is starting soon and there's going to be lotsa time spent in the lab. Will definately need flats and also slip-on slippers.

Size: 41.

Errores Gramaticales

2011-06-10T02:38:00.005+12:00

The word 'though' can be placed at the end of a sentence to indicate a contradictory view of what has been said prior.

For example, "She looked rather ugly. But I like her bag, though."

Which means, the speaker thinks she's ugly. But even so (Although she is ugly), the speaker still liked her bag.

As opposed to, "She looked rather lovely. I like her bag, though."

The placing of the word 'though' is erroneous, as in the first sentence, a liking has been stated. The second sentence also exhibits a liking, therefore, there is no need for the use of 'but' or 'though' as no contradicting view is being expressed.

Or google, "How to use though at the end of a sentence", for more reference.

I (dot dot dot)

2011-06-03T18:26:00.004+12:00

I would..
(1) .. rather have my bosses around than not. Even if that means going back late. Office tunggang-langgang without them.

I have..
(2) .. learnt a thing or two about people. The dark rather than the bright.

I ought..
(3) .. to be more resilient. Be more persistent.

I need..
(4) .. a lil' bit of getting used to the whole gigantic system.

But for now, I should..
(5) .. chill out! Cause the weekend is here. Yahuuuuuuu!

Lessons learnt (so far)

2011-05-20T18:08:00.004+12:00

1. Everything you do is confidential.

2. Perplexed by the prevalence of the famously dubbed "Malay Promise". And the people behind its execution.

3. If you ask me, organisational hierarchy is taken far too seriously.

4. First impression is crucial.

5. And apparently so is your qualification and age.

random

2011-05-02T21:08:00.002+12:00

Random things in random order:

1. Money don't fall from the sky. Neither do opportunities.

2. Reconnecting with long (or not so long) lost friends are so much fun!

3. Weddings are heartwarming =)

4. The saying "Two minds working together is better than one" may not be true after all.

5. Think ahead, recalculate your values and take action.

My embarkation

2011-03-28T03:13:00.005+12:00

Hi y'all. didn't have much time for blogging lately.. but here are some pics of the scenery along the highway in Kedah.. the leaves of rubber trees turning red and yellow and eventually falls to the ground.. they reminded me of autumn..

The end of March is approaching and I'm about to embark on a new journey. The first stepping stone in my career path. Alhamdullilah I've received an offer for a job. Exactly three months after setting foot in Malaysia on 17th Dec 2010. =)

Wish me luck! Hehe.. But the thing is I wanted to go back to Hammy for my graduation in May.. But I'll be accepting the job by April.. so.. Will I have any leave??????

Huwaaaaaaa !

My trip up north

2011-03-02T14:44:00.010+13:00

Exactly a week ago, Wednesday, I was already up by 5 am. Well, I had to fill up my application to graduate but more importantly I had a plane to catch!

Wani sent me there but I drove (whadda?), and off I went up north to Alor Setar, Kedah. It was my first time. Had never been to Kedah all my life. Ok, all you Kedahans, don't judge me. :p

The flight was suppose to be an hour and 10 minutes but I think it only took around 45 minutes and I arrived early. My personal tour guide was still on her way. Hehe.

Kakyu then arrived and off we went to lunch at Changlun. It was soooo yum and cheap and there was sooo many choices!

Here a picture of my plate. Don't drool on it.

Ikan keli bakar, ikan patin masak tempoyak, nangka masak lemak, begedil, ulam2 & sambal belacan. Washed down with a glass of air sirap limau. All that only costs rm6. Sungguh best bagi orang yang dok KL yang bila nak ambil makanan pun takut2 sebab kang kena charge mahal sampai belas2 ringgit. Hehe.

The main highlight of the holiday was the food and also lepaking at Kakyu's new and newly furnished home. But no pics allowed. Haha.. Macam kawasan larangan pula.

The next day, Thursday, we were off to a must-visit in Alor Setar, which is Pekan Rabu. On the way there, we stopped at Dee Pumpong Nasi Kampung Restaurant and had lunch. This place just had to be a dream come true for food lovers.

There was this long long table of variations of food. Some I've never tasted. I decided to give the Gulai Umbut Pisang with beef a try. It was delicious. I also had limpa air asam, some sort of kerabu, ikan keli bakar (again), jatung pisang celur, sambal belacan and a glass of air limau madu. Just one word, fabulous.

After that fabu-licious lunch, we went to Pekan Rabu for some shopping. I got myself some kaftans, telekung and heaps of pekasam.

Pekan Rabu.. or if translated, it would be Wednesday Market? Or Wednesday Town? Hehe.

Btw, I bought RM30 worth of pekasams. There was pekasam haruan, puyu and sepat. If you've never eaten pekasam before, do do do do do do give it a try. Seriously, they are so yum despite the smell (but I also find the smell yum), that you'll find yourself wanting more rice on your plate but you can't since you're too full! A preview of how to eat pekasam by my sis is here.

Later that day, we were off for more food mission in Kuala Perlis.

Isn't it calming?

The menu that evening was seafooooood.

I basically ate all the food on the table cause Kakyu's not allowed too much seafood. Hehe. You're looking at Ketam celup tepung and Laksa Belut. Both I've never tasted. The crab was yum and I was suppose to eat it with the shell cause the frying made it crispy. But some parts were too hard on my teeth.

Up next was ikan Jenahak bakar, Sambal Udang, Udang Celup Tepung, Sotong Celup Tepung, Terung Hijau Bakar and Ulam2. Burp!

Sedapkan? Jom p Kedah jom. I just love the food. Another post to come about my wonderful trip. =)

i knew it !

2011-03-02T04:12:00.003+13:00

I knewwwww i should've waited until the whole fourth season of gossip girl is aired on tv before watching it!! Now gossip girl season 4 is on a long longgggg longggg hiatus until the 18th of April and there's only 4 episodes left!!! And yes I was a Chair (Chuck&Blair) fan, but Dair (Dan&Blair) works for me too. Hehehehe.. But looking at the 18th episode trailer, Chuck isn't happy. Porrah-lah Chuck!

House season 7 is also getting interesting.. It's been seven seasonssss in waiting for Cuddy and House's relationship to develope. That's seven years!

Hehe.. memang tak ada kerja kan? Actually banyak kerja woo..

Will write about my recent trip to a green green land up north soon =)

Susahlah macam ni.. cont'd..

2011-02-21T17:21:00.004+13:00

I wanted to buy Thirsty Hippo at the local supermarket near home..
I searched the aisles and couldn't find Thirsty Hippo.. And then I looked up to where the stocks are.. And there was about 10 Thirsty Hippo looking a bit lonely at the top. They weren't in a box and I could reach and grabbed a couple. I searched for the price tag and there isn't any.

It is common practice by small scale supermarkets to stick the price tag to the item..

(Source: Google)

So I couldn't find any tag on all the thirsty hippos.. And there was no price sign or space for thirsty hippo on the aisle from which I could have referred to. So I went to look for a salesperson..

Me: Ini berapa harga?

The salesman looked at the thirsty hippo in my hand and went back to the aisle to look for the price sign on the aisle. I just followed.

The salesman couldn't find the price sign as expected so I told him I got the thirsty hippos from the top shelf.

He then said, "Ooo.. ini tak boleh.."

I was like, "Ha? Saya mau beli."

He said, "Ini tak boleh. Tak boleh."

I said, "Saya nak beli ni, tak boleh?"

Salesman: Tak boleh, tak boleh.. (while shaking his head and looking at me blankly).

I said, "Saya mau beli semua, ini semua mau beli 4, 10, semuaaa, pun tak boleh? Saya mau semua ini ini ini"

Salesman was still shaking his head and keeps on repeating "Tak boleh, tak boleh".

I looked at him and dalam hati.. "Dia ni bangang ke bengong?"

In the end I walked away sebab tak larat nak layan orang gila and went to Giant.

Susahlah macam ni..

2011-02-20T21:00:00.004+13:00

Macam kerenah orang-orang di Malaysia ni..

One day at a shopping complex...

I was at a shop and was 95 percent interested in buying this one purse. But then it doesn't come in the colour I wanted. So I asked the salesman if the purse comes in dark brown (I know it does cause I saw it at another mall). He said it does and went to the back of the store to look for it. After about five minutes he comes back with empty hands and the following conversation took place.

Me: Ada tak kaler dark brown?

Salesman: Ada memang ada..

Me: Habis tu?

Salesman: Tapi stock baru sampai, then banyak2 kotak tinggi2, susahlah nak cari. (He said sambil membuat aksi kotak stack bertingkat2).

Me: Habis tu taknak jual la purse tu?

Salesman: Susahla, kotak banyak2, susah nak cari.

Me: Habistu saya nak beli jugak macam mana?

Then luckily another salesgirl was nearby and she said, "Takpa saya pergi cari".

Angin2.. kat Malaya ni memang selaluuuuu jadi macam ni. Salesman malas nak cari stock... eiiiii geram betullahhhhh!

Hari tu my sis tanya baju ada saiz lain tak, salesgirl tu jawab, "Tak ada la kak."

Then bila pergi kat belakang berlambak2 baju tu macam2 saiz.

It's like what the hell? Dah memang kerja jadi salesman/salesgirl, memang laaaaa kena pergi tolong carikan saiz.. Lain la kalau dah letak je semua stock kat depan and boleh ambil sendiri. Tapi nanti kang kalau ambil sendiri, nak marah2 customer pulak kata customer sepahkan..

Helloooo...

Spoilt for choice

2011-02-17T16:43:00.012+13:00

Malaysians living in this beloved country are so spoilt for choice.

Take for example the vast variety of food available to eat. From the customary Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisines to exotic foods and flavours from every part of the world.. Be it at a fancy restaurant, kopitiam, mamak stalls, hawkers or the night market, Malaysians are spoilt for choice.

Nasi Campur (Malaysian-style Buffet)

I remember those dreadful days in NZ, not having the mood to cook and deprived from the luxury of eating out, left me in a depressing mood. The issue isn't on the financial side of things but rather not having any alternative to the accustomed Nando's, Kebabs, Burgers and South Indian food. The choice for halal food stops there. At least that was the scenario in Hamilton.

Apart from food, Malaysians are spoilt for choice for other things too. I have always been a fan of stationaries. It's like I have this urge to buy pens, papers and espeacially cute notebooks or filofax from stationary bookstores. Bookstores such as Popular, Pustaka Rakyat, Minerva are must-visits a couple of times per month when I was in highschool. Fancier options include MPH, Kinokuniya and Borders.

But moving to NZ and living there for four years have put a halt on my addiction. The Warehouse and The Warehouse Stationaries do have stationaries but their options of items are limited in comparison to what you'll find in Malaysia. The choice of pens and papers are limited and pricey. I went to Pustaka Rakyat the other day and took the pictures below. Sooooooo many choices! But my university days are over.. Sob sob..

Since I'm spoilt for choice now, I'll need to choose wisely!

Disclaimer: Top five pictures from Google..

Paths of Life

2011-02-10T14:37:00.005+13:00

Sejak middle & akhir tahun lepas, ramai sungguh kawan2 yang sorta gave a hint nak buat PhD. Kalau ikut education system in NZ and aussie (and other places too i guess?), those who successfully obtained a first class in their honours degree can straight away enter a PhD programme.

Jadi ramai la yang status fb nya berbunyi ala2 teruja sebab supervisor bagi hint yang projek yang tengah buat tu boleh sambung sampai PhD level or supervisor puji sebab kerja bagus boleh sampai standard PhD. Ada yang dapat offer from companies la.. etc etc.

Don't get me wrong, I ain't jealous or what not. Getting an offer isn't what you should be proud of. But what I wonder is, if you guys are really prepared to undergo what it takes to get that prestigious degree?

Cause I was talking to a friend of mine and this friend said to me, "Ala, just tambah tiga tahun je untuk dapat PhD. Then after that boleh dapat job yang secure sikit. Gaji pun okla daripada gaji fresh grad."

Err.. the thing is.. sure ke tiga tahun boleh habis? Off course la ada orang yang habis cepat but it seems like you don't know what you're getting yourself into. It seems like you're taking the load of stress and responsibility that comes with it ermm rather lightly.

You guys should press "PAUSE" on your life buttons and try to think straight for a moment. Cause to me, it seems like you guys are overwhelmed with the joy of getting an offer (just an offer may I remind u), that you guys may have lost sight of the real situation.

Supervisors want students to carry out their projects that's why they look out for potential students. And it so happens that you're wonderful in what you do, hence the offer, no?

Do you really know what you're getting into?
Do you have the right mind set?
Do you have a strong support group?

Don't get discouraged. I'm sure many of you have given your desicions a lot of thoughts. But I just wrote what I thought.

“I can't speak for others whom I don't know. All I know is that we all have our own journey. My journey will be different from yours. We may cross paths in the future; we may not. I am not going to tell anyone what their journey should be.” - Anonymous.

The sky is bluer on the other side ?

2011-02-07T15:09:00.008+13:00

Siapa cakap Malaysia tak ada blue skies?

Khurafat Review

2011-01-29T02:17:00.007+13:00

Went to watch Khurafat today and I'll give it 7 points out of 10.

Two points sebab jalan cerita tidak meleret-leret.
One point sebab dialog/skrip pun tidak meleret dan just like what normal people would say.
Two points sebab ada aura scary merry dalam kebanyakkan scenes.
One point sebab hantu nampak real.
One point sebab watak Fauziah Nawi kurang merapu as always. Hahaha (actually don't really like her.. hahaha).

One point off sebab sound terlalu kuat dan background music tak ikut mood cerita. Part yang sepatutnya lebih scary jadi less scary disebabkan audio terlampau kuat dan music tak sesuai. Kalau scene bilik mayat & dukung mayat tu hening je without any music lagi scary ok!
Another point off sebab watak Syamsul ala2 kaku at some scenes.
Another point off sebab ada scenes ala2 jumping.

Nak kata filem ni beri pengajaran adalah juga. Tapi sikit gila la. About 2 percent only. I mean sampai la message 'what happens to people yang mengamalkan ajaran khurafat'.. tapi mungkin kena banyak lagi sikit explaination? Tapi nanti jadi ceramah agama la pulak? Hehe

Overall a good Malay scary-movie. Tapi belum sampai tahap menjerit la tengok.

Hehehehehe.

Tengok dekat movie ok kut, sebab screen besau. Nampak hantu besau sikit.

Cari apa?

2011-01-26T04:28:00.005+13:00

U guys mesti pernah experience salesgirl/salesman yang suka tanya apa yang dicari if masuk kedai kan? Espeacially in Malaysia tercinta ni, perkara ni memang common.

So kalau mood baik plus salesperson tu pun tanya elok2.. boleh la jawab, "saja tengok2".

Kalau mood tak baik, either terus keluar dari kedai or mengomel "sibuk la dia ni" sambil jalan ke arah lain.

Ada pula yang jenis suka berdiri dekat2 then tanya nak apa.. nak tengok barang ke baju ke, tak selesa kan? Rimas2..

Soooo, one day we all (my crazy sisters) tengah discuss about this and tiba2 ada idea gila untuk balas balik soalan annoying "Ye, cari ape?" withhhh.....

"Cari awak la!"

HAHAHAHA.. so after that, everytime pergi kedai mesti we all alert dengan salesperson, kut kut ada yang nak tanya soalan tu.. tapi tak ada pula yang tanya.. so dah few weeks berlalu without any salesperson bertanyakan soalan itu..

Then today pergi kedai buku baru buka. I was browsing the aisles with my sisters.. then ada one mamat salesman nearby and he saw us macam tengah cari barang.. so he asked the magic question!

"Cari ape?"

Then me without hesitation replied, "Cari awak la!"

"Ape?" Muka confius.

Masa tu dah tak tahan nak gelak tengok muka mamat tu.. So I said,

"Tak ada apa2."

Then pusing belakang and giggled. Kihkihkihkih...

Then mamat tu kata, "Did you say something?"

I replied "Xde pape" then walks away! Then pergi gelak lagi dekat belakang..

HAHAHAHAHA.. lawak2..

then we continued browsing.. Then my other sister was browsing some pen near the cashier counter and she over heard the salesperson's conversation with another salesperson..

"Eh, dia cakap cari barang kot"

"Eh, tak.. dia cakap cari awak"

Then my sis dah tak tahan nak gelak, so she quickly left the spot. HAHAHAHA..

Lawak2..

Lepas ni kalau ada orang tanya lagi memang akan jawab macam tu plus ayat tambahan..

"Cari ape?"

"Cari awak la!"

"Huh?"

"Cari awakla. Dah jumpa pun!"

Muahahaahahah =D

photo credit to google..

Welcome 2011!

2011-01-03T21:30:00.009+13:00

Registered at a gymnasium today. Sempat snap satu gambar je..

Let's be healthy! May 2011 be a healthier year for me and you.

Yes youuuu! Hahaahaha.

Today dah start diet, tomorrow will start going to the gym.

At the moment dah makan ~900 cal since morning.. and it's only 4.35 pm..

Ada rasa lapppaaRRrr larrrrh!

haiyoh.

B.E.
S.T.R.O.N.G.

p/s Happy New Year!

It's lunch time~

2010-12-25T18:54:00.003+13:00

Weekend lunch.. Ikan keli & ikan kembong bakar with air asam.. And kacang botol and buduuuu.. du du du.. sedap gila..

...

du du du...

Big Fat

2010-12-24T02:27:00.009+13:00

Total job application for the position: 999

My chance of getting the interview (just the interview): 0.001 %

Which equals to a big fat chance.

Just one of life's many greetings to me..

Welcome to Reality.

The new routine..

2010-12-23T14:00:00.004+13:00

Some say you can only call it a routine, if you've done it for 30 days.. but here's mine anyways..

Bangun either pukul 3, 4 or 5 pagi sebab jetlag..
Then tgk rancangan pagi on TV1 and TV3..
Then tunggu pukul 8 am..
Ambil kunci rumah, kunci kereta, start kereta, pergi cari nasi lemak.
Hari-hari makan nasi lemak.
Then lepak2. Tengok TV. Tengok Internet.
Cari makan tengahari.
Lepak2.
Cari makanan untuk minum petang.
Keropok lekor atau pisang goreng.
Lepak2.
Tidurrrr... Krohhh... Krohhh...

But this is only until the 31st..
After that, a new mission! =)

is back !

2010-12-19T04:00:00.003+13:00

Me: Saya nak beli Celcom Blue.
Salesgirl: Celcom Blue nombor dah habis. Xpax ada.
Me: Xpax berapa?
Salesgirl: RM30.
Me: Eh, saya tengok kedai lain RM10 je. Pasal mahal sangat?
Salesgirl: You tengok kedai lain RM10, you pergi beli kedai lain la.
Me: Ok (walks out immediately).

Hello ingat aku tak boleh pergi kedai lain ke..

Went to another store..

Salesman: Celcom Blue RM13 dan dapat free RM10 credit.. Xpax RM8.50..

Nasib tak kena tipu..

Wrapping up my life in boxes

2010-10-24T13:23:00.005+13:00

On these last few hurdles, I ought to stay sturdy.
As these last few steps, carry colossal impacts.

Little pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together.
With the brink of a new life, waits in the distance.

Before starting anew, this life has to conclude.
Before starting afresh, this stay has to end.

***
Wrapping up my life in boxes is a Copyright © Norzahirah Ahmad 2010. All Rights Reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced without written consent from the author.

of mountains & snow

2010-10-15T02:12:00.005+12:00

A day trip to Turoa. Wednesday 13/10/10.

M&M: me and movies

2010-10-12T21:51:00.009+12:00

i have been sickeningly busy post-raya, hence the silence.

i am now nervously waiting on feedback on my 1st draft. *bite fingers repeatedly*
2 exams coming up and a presentation.

anyways, today i washed my car with hot water.
no, i'm not crazy. i think.
and this is the 2nd time i washed my moldy car since i bought it early last year.
yeah, don't be surprised. i hope some bird will not leave treasures on it. at least till tomorrow.

i just finished watching gossip girl 3.
oh yeah i still find time to watch dvd. hehe.
i love chuck. when he's all romantic and all. not when he's twisted. heheh. *grin*
anyways, believe it or not, even though this year's my busiest year ever, somehow i watched heaps of movies.
and i've watched a couple of korean drama.
i've finished 4 seasons. mind you, four seasons of house.
and i watched all 3 seasons of gossip girl this year. i know, i know, people are watching the fourth, but i can't be bothered to wait and follow each episodes.
i'd rather buy the dvd. heheh.
but i haven't been to the movies that often this year. i think it's kinda time consuming to go to the movies, hence the late night of dvds.

despite that, a bunch of us are off to see eat.pray.love at a posh cinema sometime very soon. uuhh.. *excited* maybe next week. or end of this week. will update later. =)

Raya oh Raya!

2010-09-07T14:50:00.005+12:00

Mula puasa hari tu semangat nak update makan apa for sahur & berbuka.. tapiii tak sempat lah nak upload.. upload @ facebook je sempat.. But not to worry, bab makan memang cukup.. Hehe..

Now it's almost raya.. NZ tengok anak bulan hari Khamis.. so raya either on Friday or Saturday... and NZ memang totally depend on anak bulan, tak main kira2 ke apa.. soooo, kalau anak bulan tak nampak hari Khamis ni, kami raya hari Sabtu.. macam tahun lepas, raya lewat sehari than the rest of the world.. HUHU.. and tadi baru check weather forecast, MENDUNG! Harap2 ada kawasan kt NZ yang tak mendung on Thurs so that we all can raya on Friday!

Anyway, me and kakyu dah siap plan dah menu rayaaa.. yum yum.. harap2 dua2 tak terlalu penat or sakit kaki or apa2 lah, so that we can cook yummy stuffs aye.. Menu siap tampal kat dinding so that tak bertukar2 fikiran.. tapii, mungkin bertukar jugak last minute.. or bertambah.. untuk menu berkurang sangat tipis possibility.. Hehe

Oh yes, update about the recent Christchurch Quake.. Christchurch is located in the south island. Where I'm at is in the north island. We in Hamilton didn't feel a thing even though it occured around ~ 4.35 am which was sahur time.. Alhamdullilah no casualties were reported. Student Malaysia pun semua selamat.. Looking at the pics, it was a quite a shock they had.. NZ memang kawasan gunung berapi dan kawasan gempa bumi.. Memang dah lama ada kesedaran tapi tak pernah terfikir sangat tentang bencana macam ni.. Now that it's happened, nak kena berhati-hati juga.. SO, ni tengah kumpul resources nak buat emergency back pack.. Dalam bag pack ni kena ada blanket, water, some sort of food (energy bar), lampu suluh etc.. Nanti bila dah siap I'll put up pics..

Back to raya stories.. It's my fourth year raya in NZ. And my sis was overseas for 6 years before I came to NZ.. So it's about 9 - 10 years my family have been celebrating Eid without the complete set of siblings.. But no worries, this year is the last of it! And I'm sure I'll enjoy my raya nevertheless.

Wishing everyone a great happy raya coming ahead! Enjoy, makan, jumpa sanak saudara, friends etc! BE SAFE. AND STAY SAFE.

Look what came knocking..

2010-08-24T12:51:00.005+12:00

Well, the post-lady didn't actually knock. She was rather banging the sliding door furiously as though she knew I was still sleeping. Hehe.

Masa ambil gambar tak sabar nak geledah kotak ni..

Ada bahulu, kerepek ubi purple & pedas & kerepek pisang, karipap kecil, choc chip cookies, ikan bilis & dried food (udang, sotong & ikan kering) daddy bought from sabah.. and off course baju raya!! =)

Baju raya surprise la kan.. Yang warna pink tu muat tapiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii lengan dia sendat dowh.. kena kecilkan lengan.. eh sempat ke? kalau tak, kena pakai sweater la dengan baju pink itu.. supaya menutupi kesendatan itu.. muahaha..

Yang warna biru daddy pilih. Mula2 tengok macam kurang berkenan tapi lama2 tengok macam cantik pulak.. Corak dia klasik sikit.. hehe..

I hope the other box safely arrives tomorrow. Oh yes there are 2 boxes this year.. =)

And special thanks to my sis Nina for choosing, buying, labelling, packing, and sending these parcels! =) And off course also to daddy lah for the money to buy maa.. =)

Even though you are on the right track - you will get run over if you just sit there

2010-08-16T22:40:00.009+12:00

Dissertation Timeline

I have one more freaking set of experiments to do which is supposed to be finished last week but the centrifuge in the lab does not go up to the speed I want. Which is what I found out quite too late.. Hmm... Now I need to use the centrifuge in the biology department which means I have to go chase some people first for permission. But luckily next week is the teaching recess, so the lab won't be busy with students. Hopefully it's a quick experiment. Huhu.. This is messing up my plan a little bit but looking at the positive side, I'm still on track (in accordance to the above timeline). But that timeline doesn't include my other 2 papers.

My last assignment for the protein purification paper is due in this Friday. Yahuuuu! Can't believe it is the last thing I have to submit for ENMP522! As for ENMP527, the food science and tech paper, the second last assignment is due in next Friday. Then there's an individual research project which I haven't even glanced at.*sigh* But I'll deal with that when the time comes. And then there's the full draft submission for my dissertation due on the 13th of September! Raya is probably on the 10t or 11th which means I'm asking for extension of due date. Tak kira! And then there's another presentation & off course 2 final exams.. All these in 2 months time. Fuhh.. But I need to just get up and do it!

And tomorrow evening I'm giving a super-dupper short presentation at the NZIFST local branch meeting. It stands for New Zealand Institute of Food Science & Technology and I have yet to read about what they do. I think it's basically a platform of food science groups from the industry to come together and share ideas? Maybe. I've prepared my slides with very few words in and I haven't decided what is going to come out of my mouth tomorrow. Not in the mood to do any public talking actually. Well first the audience isn't people whom I can fool. They're not some third year biology students who think they're intersted in research and decided to come along. These people are from the industry and their work revolves largely on food science & tech. They know these stuffs and they have expectations. They may want exciting findings from me. Which makes me nervous. Mainly because there isn't a lot of exciting results to put forth.. erkk.. Oh well.. Just do it! I'm hoping for it to go well. And it's kinda like an after-work event, so I hope they will be too tired to question me. Hehe. So that's gonna be my Tuesday.

And starting Wednesday I'll be working my brain off for Friday's submission. That's basically my life-less week. And this weekend will be filled up with cooking iftar dishes. Nonetheless, I think this holy month of Ramadhan has put some perspective in me. Alhamdullilah. I need to keep moving.. keep going =)

Hope your Ramadhan is going well for you. =)

Menu Ramadhan 2010

2010-08-12T20:32:00.025+12:00

New Zealand starts fasting today, 12th August 2010 (Thursday).
I'm keeping a list of my Ramadhan menu to share with you.

1 Ramadhan (Sahur)
# Two bananas
# 1 glass of milk
# 1 half-cooked egg

1 Ramadhan (Berbuka)
- 3 rolls of Resolles (Click here for recipe)
- 1 bowl of bubur lambuk (Given by Kak Shira, thnx!)
- 2 glasses of fruity smoothie.. (Mix these ingredients in a blender --> Banana, Peach, Green Apple, Gold Kiwi, Celery Stalk, Apple Cider Vinegar, Lemon Ginger Honey, Milk, Vanilla flavour)

2 Ramadhan (Sahur)
# 1 bowl of bubur lambuk
# 1 banana
# 1 mug of tea with 3 cream crackers
# 1 glass of honey + apple cider vinegar

2 Ramadhan (Berbuka)
- Celery seed tea
- Dates
- Mixed Fruits
- Banana Pancake
- Cold Spaghetti Salad
- Potato & Fish Patties

3 Ramadhan (Sahur)
# 1 bowl of cold spaghetti salad
# 1 piece of boneless cajun chicken
# 1 Banana Pancake
# Kurma
# Plain water

3 Ramadhan (Berbuka)
We had Potluck =)
- Set Nasi Ambeng
- Sambal Tauhu & Fish Ball
- Kerabu Suhun & Pickle Mango
- Fried Vietnamese Rolls
- Quiche
- Resolles
- Kuih Kaswi
- Kurma

4 Ramadhan (Sahur)
# Laksa Penang (Thanks again Kak Shira)
# Kurma & Plain Water

4 Ramadhan (Berbuka)
- Telur & Nenas masak lemak cili padi
- Kerabu Suhun
- Sambal tauhu & fish ball
- Ulam Kobis
- Tepung Pelita
- Buah-buahan & Kurma

5 Ramadhan (Sahur)
# Nasi + Kicap + Lamb goreng + Kuah lemak

5 Ramadhan (Berbuka)
- Nasi + Kicap + Lamb Goreng + Pisang + Kurma (Mine)
- Speghetti Kuah Lodeh & Sambal Tumis (Kakyu's)

Akaroa & The Southern Alps

2010-08-10T16:06:00.006+12:00

Just some pics from my recent trip down south to Akaroa & Arthur's Pass. =) Btw, New Zealand is expected to start fasting on Thursday. As usual always one day later than the rest of the world. Happy Ramadhan everyone =)

To go or not to go.. That is the question

2010-08-04T10:21:00.003+12:00

I'm supposed to be in the lab right now. It's raining and it's prefect to be stuck in the lab. But I'm still home. Why? Well first, I'm too lazy to go figure out how to use the viscometer. I've kindly asked the technician to teach me but he said just read the manual. Great.

And second, I'm getting into holiday mood too soon. Not that it's the holiday season but I'm going down south to Christchurch on Friday and spend the weekend at Arthur's pass. Yeay! But......... I'm supposed to get a set of experiment done this week. Which I haven't even started.

Monday, I went to do a few errands.
Tuesday I did my data entry and a wee bit of analysis.
And today, here I am, contemplating to go or not to go.
Tomorrow is packing day so I won't be going to uni.
And Friday I'm off.

I've been watching too much DVD lately. House and Gossip Girl mainly. Which is what I'll be doing if I stay home today. So I shouldn't.

Or should I get started on my readings? Nah.. I'll forget all about it if I didn't write straight away. Espeacially since it's not due anytime soon.

Hmmm.. decided to stay home today. And lab tomorrow morning.. I forgot I have notetaking at noon so I've reasons to go to uni.. And doing labwork isn't a good enough reason? Hehe.. apparently not. Packing is after 1 then.

Money Crap

2010-08-02T12:14:00.007+12:00

"All the money in the world can't buy happiness"

People who say that often already have enough money but are not content with their lives. But money-wise, they're happy. That's why they can come up with such statement. But are you or me rich enough to say such a statement?

And there's another phrase commonly uttered by ungrateful folks.. "You can never have enough money". It sounds so wrong if an already rich person say such thing, which is often the case. Ever heard the saying, "The rich gets away with murder" You can interpret it differently, but simply it means the rich has enough money to plan a hell of a cover up.

So, what does money means to you?

Will you say cliche statements such as 'Money can't buy happinees'?
I say it can.

Money pays my rent. Without which I'd be homeless, cold and miserable.
Money buys me food. Without which I'd be groggy and grumpy.
Money puts petrol in my car, pays my WOF and pays my vehicle licence. Without which I can't get to places and might land an infringement notice or two.
Money buys me clothes and sheets. For which I'd be looked at in respect and sleeps in comfort.
Money lets me have my own phone and topups so I can call family and friends.
Money allows me to travel to far-away places so I can widen my views and broaden my perspectives and appreciate the wonders that He created.
Money allows me access to books and the internet, from which I seek knowledge and wisdom.

No money equals stress.
No money, no talk.
No money, no shop.
No money equals unhappy.

Because life still happens.
Bills still comes.
Commitments awaits.
And lusts still lingers.

If you have all the money in the world, you can say to me that money can't buy happiness. But if you're just like me, who doesn't have an 8-figure balance in the bank, you're not entitled to say that money can't buy happiness. Because it can.

Oh, the joy~

2010-08-02T00:57:00.003+12:00

..self taken. pathetic, I know :p

..the prep..

..the set up.. the timing..

..the repeats..

...and hundreds and hundreds of tubes..

...a couple more weeks then i'm done

..wait, the data analysis? Owh crap.

jaded me

2010-07-29T19:42:00.018+12:00

i have my 10th assignment to finish

Industrial Refrigeration..

because of you, i'm able to eat durian in NZ

I guess I owe you a proper write up

Cities are overcrowded and so is my desk...

What does the future hold?

2010-07-28T16:44:00.007+12:00

Believe it or not, the time has now come for me to think about my future. Bukan selama ni tak pernah fikir, tapi selama ni punya plan senang. InsyaAllah dengan izin-Nya. Amin.

Dapat result elok --> Dapat sambung belajar --> Habiskan belajar --> Grad.

Tapi sekarang ni, I'm approaching the end of the above plan. I'm about to enter the world. I mean the real world. Student life no more, but the actual living life.

I need to be prepared. I need to have a new plan. But there are so many different options to be part of. And I have too many things going on right now that I can't evaluate my options thoroughly.

For now, I am seventy percent sure that I want to carry out my future in the land where I was born.

Been away too long. Been missing too much.

Daging Goreng

2010-07-15T23:17:00.006+12:00

*Do not read if you're a health freak. This thread contains excessive fats. LOL"

Tiba-tiba terfikir nak makan daging goreng dgn minyak2, makan dgn kicap & budu. Tapi, dalam peti tak ada stok daging.. huhu..

Search-search kt internet, gambar ni yang represent daging goreng yang macam mana saya nak makan sekarang. Simple. Tak ada complex nak letak kacang ke capsicum ke halia ke. Just as below.

Daging gaul garam & kunyit. Letak dalam kuali pasang api. Biar air daging kering. Letak minyak, goreng sampai garing. Then masukkan bawang yang dihiris. Goreng lagi sikit and then dah siap dah!

Time nak makan, cuah minyak daging tu atas nasi (yeah I know this is soooo unhealthy, but hey this is how I've been eating it for years, tapi dah lama gila tak makan daging goreng banyak minyak!!), then letak kicap manis cap kipas udang, gaul2 makan bersama budu. Kalau budu tu letak durian & cili lagi sedap gilaaaaaa!!!

Makan macam ini pun boleh habis 3 pinggan.

Daging goreng is an essential menu for my family. Makan dengan minyak. Yummy! Kalau ada bahagian lemak yang melekat dekat daging, it becomes even better!

My mom have always said that daging goreng is a Kelantanese dish. Most people from other states don't eat them. I don't know for sure but my housemate have never eaten them until 3 years ago. That was history, dio budu pong make loni. Hahaha :p

Well if you have never tasted daging goreng, you should!!

Ok, gambar atas tu ambil dari website ini dan ini.

I'll post up my own pic when I get the chance to go get some meat, aight.

p/s Please excuse my mixture of the english and malay language plus the kelantanese dialect.. :D

Mat Salleh Part 1

2010-07-11T19:35:00.003+12:00

Anda pernah berurusan dengan Westerners? Atau lebih senang digelar Mat Salleh oleh orang Malaysia?

Saya sudah berada di New Zealand selama 3 tahun setengah, tetapi cuma akhir-akhir ini saya terperasan sesuatu apabila berurusan dengan Mat Salleh. Mungkin anda juga pernah ke luar negara. Perhaps for bussiness, atau makan angin utk occassions seperti bulan madu atau percutian keluarga.

Kemungkinan untuk anda berurusan dengan Mat Salleh adalah apabila deal hal-hal berkaitan bilik hotel, sewa holiday home, sewa kereta, tour, shopping dan sebagainya. Selalunya anda akan deal dengan receptionist, cashier, waiter/waitress dan salesgirls. Apakah yang selalu terlintas di fikiran anda apabila berurusan dengan kumpulan orang seperti yang saya sebutkan?

Pada kebiasaannya, orang akan berkata Mat Salleh dari golongan ini friendly, nice and chatty kalau nak dibandingkan dengan salesgirls di Malaysia yang sombong dan tak layan customer yang dianggap tidak mampu untuk membeli pakaian atau barangan yang dijual. Contoh mudah, kalau di Malaysia masuk kedai Marc Jacob, salesgirl samada jeling sahaja atau akan tengok dari atas ke bawah as if deciding if we have enough money to even buy the least expensive item in the shop. Tapi kalau masuk kedai jenama yang sama di negara luar, salesgirl akan menyapa dengan ramah dan melayan pelanggan dengan baik. Betul?

Secara generalnya, orang yang selalu ke luar negara atas urusan seperti melancong, akan berhadapan dengan Mat Salleh yang boleh dikatakan dalam kategori bawahan. i.e. bukan golongan professional. Apabila pelancong Malaysia ini pulang, mereka menyampaikan berita bahawa Mat Salleh ini polite, friendly dan sebagainya. Tetapi kita perlu ingat, Mat Salleh yang diceritakan oleh pelancong-pelancong ini hanyalah segelintir dari semua spesis Mat Salleh yang wujud. Mat Salleh yang dikatakan polite & friendly ini hanyalah mereka yang berkhidmat dibidang customer service, where customer comes first. It is required by their job for them to be polite & friendly etc.

Fenomena yang mengatakan Mat Salleh adalah orang yang polite & friendly ini juga saya observe dari rakan-rakan saya pernah melanjutkan pelajaran ke luar negara dan telah pulang ke Malaysia. Kebanyakkan mereka merasai customer service di Malaysia tidak memuaskan. Lantas mereka terus menyalahkan mentaliti rakyat Malaysia, yang kononnya tidak terdedah dengan dunia luar seperti mereka.

Saya secara personal mengakui customer service di luar negara adalah lebih baik berbanding Malaysia.

Tetapi kenyataan "Mat Salleh adalah polite & friendly" adalah tidak benar.

Sekali lagi saya nyatakan, Mat Salleh yang selalu dikatakan polite & friendly ini adalah dari golongan yang berkhidmat untuk pelanggan. Contohnya, penyambut tetamu, salesgirl, waiter dan driver. Their jobs requires them to be polite & friendly.

Thus, let me re phrase my first question in this entry.

Have you ever dealt with a Westerner, with a profession other than customer-related?

My answer is yes.

And perhaps to your suprise, they are far from polite. They may be friendly (most are) but certainly not polite.

.... to be continued

I almost died...

2010-07-04T15:08:00.006+12:00

No, I didn't meet with any incident. Just that, I almost died out of boredom.
Friday, 2nd July was one of those Fridays, yet again. *sigh*

Next week is the last week of the uni winter break. Which I'm not a part of anyways. But the break ending meaning I'll be busier with all my assignments, dissertation, labwork plus my duties as a notetaker. And off course in between all that still TRY to have a life which may be almost impossible for the next 3 months. Damn.

And I have an inteview next week which I didn't have in my planning for this year. The infamous SPA interview which I'm not keen on going.

And since I was so bored, not that I'm so free with nothing to do.. But I'm just plain bored.. I edited my grad photo.

Strawberry-flavoured Oreo Vanilla Cheesecake

2010-06-28T20:23:00.005+12:00

I've just put in the fridge a strawberry-flavoured oreo vanilla cheesecake. Yum! I don't know how it'll taste like cause I'll have to wait till tomorrow to eat it. It's a no-bake cheesecake, you see.

It's very easy to make. I'll take you about 20 minutes prep time. 30 max. But the chilling is like 6 hours or more. I actually just made up these figures but you get what I mean. And the cheesecake I made was based on this recipe, with added or left-out ingredients here and there. The amount used is also different. And I forgot to buy some citrus fruit, i.e. lemon or orange so I just excluded that from the recipe.

So here is what I used and did. For the base..

1) 1 and 1/2 packets of strawberry-flavoured oreo. You know those ordinary packs of oreo.

2) 50 g of butter. Melted.

--> Grind up all the oreos whole (including the cream) in a food processor. Pour it into the cake container and add melted butter. Mix the ground oreos well with the melted butter. Evenly spread out the mixture and press down with your fingers or spoon. Cling wrap the container and place it in the fridge. If you don't have a food processor just use anything hard to break up the oreos. Some people like the base to be coarse. But I like the oreo to be almost powder like.

For the cheese filling...

1) About 700 g of softened cream cheese. I bought 3 of those 250 g cream cheese but ate roughly 50 g with bread. Hehe.

2) 125 g of ordinary sugar. Didn't have caster sugar and was too lazy to grind them.

3) About 1 tablespoon of vanila extract.

4) I sachet of halal gelatine. Probab1y about 15 g.

5) 1/2 packet of strawberry-flavoured oreo. Left over from the base.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Or not, if you're lazy. Because it's not gonna matter that much in the end (trust me!). Add vanila extract.

Meanwhile, mix the sachet of gelatine with a cup of warm water. Mix the gelatine until dissolved completely. If it dosen't dissolve, heat it up a little bit (15 seconds) in the microwave.

Mix the dissolved gelatine with the cream cheese mixture. Mix very well. If you've put too much water while dissolving the gelatine, or you've decided to add some lemon or orange juice, the mixture will be a little bit watery. But fret not, because the gelatine will save us. You can also add what ever you wish at this point. I once made a dilute strawberry jam and just chucked it in. It was yummy. So anything will do.

Then once you're happy with what you've got, take out that cake container you made earlier in the fridge and pour the cheese mixture over it. Break up the remaining oreos into whatever size you wish and just drop it into the cheese mixture. If it dosen't sink (which it should not, or else your cream mixture is really really watery, which is NOT good), push the oreos in with a spoon. If the situation in the bracket occurs, you can add more gelatine, or just leave it as it is. It'll still taste nice but the resulting cheesecake will be on the soft side. Been there, done that. Hehe.

Cling wrap the whole thing if you don't want your cheesecake to smell like your fridge. And pop it in to chill for 6 hours or more. If it's really cold outside, putting it by the window will do. Haha.

That's it! Here's a picture of a slice.

There's a picture of the cheesecake I made before on the left side of this blog. That picture showed a non-proportional amount of cheese to base. I think I was a bit stingy with the oreo. And I used four 250 g packets of cream cheese. Hehe.

Yummy!

The Cost of Electricity in New Zealand?

2010-06-27T21:56:00.007+12:00

Electricity equals money problem when you're a student living under limited budget. This is espeacially a hassle during the cooler months --> starting May until September.. Plus you tend to eat more when it's cold, hence the inadequate funds. lol.

In general, for a one bedroom flat, the cost for a month of electricity is approximately $60 - $80. For a three-bedroom flat, the cost would be approximately $130 - $180. (These figures are based on personal experience). In winter, the cost is slightly higher depending on the electricity usage. i.e. How long the heater is turned on. How many heaters are operating. How much hot water is used. etc.

So as students, the options are:

1. Wrap yourself up with as much clothes as you can (until it feels like you're 20 kg heavier), wear double socks plus a house slipper with fur and throw on a couple of fleece on your back.

--> I did this during my second winter in Hammy. It was a nuisance. I couldn't move very well and I couldn't type or write easily because of the restrictions on my arm due to the thick clothings.

2. Turn the heater on about 30 minutes before sleeping (because it gets colder in the early mornings ~2 am) and turn it off and go to sleep.

--> Chances are you'll be awake halfway through the night. Unless you've got tonnes of duvets or blankets or minks on you. Plus you still need to do item no.1 before bedtime.

I've tried both and they work to some extent. But at one point, I couldn't stand wearing thick clothes and double socks and whatnot. I needed to study peacefully without having 20 kg load of clothings on me. Any person with brains would feel sorry if they see a student dressed to the size of a hulk while still trying to study, no?

So last year, me and my housemate decided to use the heater full time. And our electric bill sky-rocketed to approximately $350 - $400 a month! That is for a 3-bedroom house. But we only used 2 rooms and we were rarely in the halls or kitchen because it was usually freezing cold.

Well, that was where all the money gone for last year.

And this year I'm living in a studio type accomodation for two. The insulation works wonders. I don't need a jacket or anything while inside. Summer clothes are absolutely fine! But the oil heater is turned on low most of the time. And it can get pretty hot to the point of sweating. Because the electricity is included in the rent, I have nothing to worry about. The rent per person is $105 per week. So $420 per month inclusive of electricity which is an ok deal for a student.

During my first year, I stayed in the self-catered halls where everything is inclusive as well. Paid about $120 per week.

I am glad I don't live where it snows. Down south people say student flats are colder than the fridge. It's true, even up north in gloomy Hamilton, sometimes the fridge is warmer.

***

How to do your assignments on time - Not!

2010-06-25T17:09:00.005+12:00

I undergo two vicious Fridays every month. On those two Fridays, I would fret and stay glued on my chair in front of my red tiny netbook typing away my assignments. The day would normally start very early, around 5.30 am. I would have a huge breakfast to feed my sleepy brain at 5.30 in the morning and I’ll get started on my assignment.

It’s not that I’ve only started doing my assignment on that Friday (that would be suicidal, though what I’ve been doing is just next to suicidal). I would normally start the readings on the Monday prior to the Friday of the submission. And I would normally finish reading on Wednesday night or Thursday afternoon. During this reading process, I would normally synthesise my points roughly. Then on Thursday night I would organise my points and do a detailed synthesising. I would also by the end of the night have decided on how my essay is to be written. But the writing has yet to start.

So the next day is the crucial day!! I usually start writing early in the morning through to about 3 pm. That is to give me some time to do my in-text citation if I didn’t do it while writing. But if I’ve got my in-text referencing along the way, I would expect to finish by 4 pm. Then I re-checked my work and by 4.30 pm, it is usually ready for submission. During this writing process only quick toilet breaks, superfast lunch break and several facebook breaks are taken.

After clicking send, I would yell out and it would feel like a huge elephant is off my back!

But this isn’t a good cycle. I think it would be better if I had more time to do the writing part, which means I have to start reading before Monday. But me being me, no work gets done when there is no driving force! And the driving force is that rapidly approaching Friday!

I have to do something. I can’t keep having this anxiety attacks every two Fridays a month. It’s wearing me out. Help…………

I want to go home.. Let me go home..

2010-06-22T18:12:00.005+12:00

My body's reaction to this year's winter is an indication that it is time to reside in a more temperate climate.

I've had enough of NZ. The weather, the people, the places, the system. Everything.

I want to go back to Malaysia, seriously.

Tak nak dok NZ dahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Cepatlah habis Honours nih!!!

Tolonglah, saya mahu pulang.

1st year: excited.
2nd year: happy.
3rd year: ada rasa kurang gembira sikit tp ok lagi lah. ada happy moments.
4th year: stress gila wey. Tolonglah aku nak balik.

Nak balikkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.........................................

Bukan balik bercuti tp balik for good.

Siapa2 yang ingat belajar/duduk oversea ni best sangat, meh aku nak bagi tahu..
"Tak payahlah wey. Duduk je kat Malaysia diam2."

something is making me feverish

2010-06-09T21:30:00.003+12:00

Two days in a row, I have developed feverish symptoms at night. These include muscle ache, shivering, high temperature and a slight dizziness.

But after drinking about 4 litres of water (yes four) and about an equal amount of visits to the toilet, plus taking 2 panadol tablets, the shivering stopped and I started sweating. The high temperature also subsided. But the slight dizziness remained.

Yesterday, these feverish symptoms started at around 8 pm. And by 12 am I was ok.

And today it started at about 4.30 pm. And just now, around 9 pm, I feel fine.

I have been working in the lab both days for approximately 6 hours each day.

I wonder if it could be something that I'm working with that is giving me this fever. I'm sure there isn't any critical hazardous label on the chemicals I'm using..

And I am 100% positive I didn't taste any of my samples, though the WPI sample smelled like delicious chocolate milk..

Or could it be something in the air?

Well, I'll see how tomorrow goes.

Another busy day at the lab.

pic source: www.cartoonstock.com

Nasi Lemak Bungkus Daun Pisang & Ayam Goreng Berempah Bersalut Nestum

2010-06-06T11:40:00.022+12:00

Hi peeps! Actually dah lama gila tak makan nasi lemak daun pisang masak sendiri. Probably 6 months or more. And it's been on my wishlist for ages! So since last Tuesday, kami dah berangan2 nak buat nasi lemak. Mula-mula nak makan nasi lemak dengan rendang keranglah. Nasi lemak sambal sotonglah. Nasi lemak dengan bihun gorenglah. Then nak buat jemput-jemput manis makan dengan kuah pecal.. Then switch menu lain, tapi balik2 tetap nak nasi lemak. Hehe. So we decided on Nasi Lemak Bungkus Daun Pisang Ayam Goreng Berempah Bersalut Nestum. Wah wah wah.

Jadi Sabtu morning, pergi beli daun pisang @ garden fresh and ayam.. Kat Clarkin terjumpa pula freshly baked Baklava & Moroccan Makmur Tamar, so melantak manisan dalam kereta & terus cancel nak buat jemput-jemput manis.. Balik-balik je, Kakyu bergegas ke dapur dan masak all the nessecities; Nasi, Sambal Udang, Telur Rebus, Ikan bilis goreng, Kacang Tanah & Timun.. and I made ayam goreng berempah..

Dah siap tu, kami salai daun pisang atas stove, supaya keluar bau & minyak2 dari daun pisang, put all the telur, sambal with 2 ekor udang only, kacang, ikan bilis & timun together, kemudian bungkus! Bungkus punya bungkus dapatlah dalam 12 bungkusan.. Ingatkan bolehlah simpan bawa bekal pergi uni.. Tapi at this rate of gobbling, rasanya hanya bertahan sampai Ahad malam sahaja.. Haha.. Time tgh bungkus, sangat tak sabar nak makan.. :)

Tara.. Inilah dia rupa nasi lemak yang sungguh menyelerakan.. Serious rasa macam berada di Malaysia.. Pagi tadi bangun, senyum lebar sebab tahu Nasi Lemak menanti dalam fridge~ hehe =P

Seronok betul kalau dapat beli nasi lemak dekat gerai. Tu yang dok main jual beli dengan kakyu semalam.. Hahaha.. Ni kalau nak jual ni kena charge 10 dollar.. dengan ayam, udang, ikan bilis import yang rangup, beras basmati panjang, timun pula mahal winter-winter ni.. kira murah la tu taw.. Teringat dulu mummy jual nasi lemak bagi pihak perwakilan harga 25 HK dollar sebungkus.. Huahuahua.. Tu pun kira murah sebab harga standard sepinggan nasi kt HK is about 60 HKD.. boleh pengsan.. Hehe

Anyways, I have this thing about eating Nasi Lemak. I usually don't mix all the sambal with the rice but I take a bit of everything sikit2 then makan. Tak suka gaul2 semua sekali gus macam makan nasi kerabu. Sejak dulu memang makan macam ni. Bila dah besar, tengok kawan2 ada yang makan gaul sambal, ikan bilis etc semua sekali.. Ada yang makan ambil sikit2 like me. So I was curious, sedap ke makan gaul2 semua sekali? Then I tried. Eh sedap juga. Hehe.. Di sebabkan dua2 cara makan sedap, sekarang ni everytime nak makan nasi lemak, I often contemplate, either to gaul or not to gaul. That is the question. Hahahaha.

You guys makan nasi lemak macam mana?

~Happy Weekend~

Wild Mushrooms in NZ Forest

2010-05-30T18:11:00.010+12:00

Stumbled across wild mushrooms today while taking a walk at Taitua Arboretum. Some did look edible, so I googled them up but only identified 3 of them.. All 3 were non-edible and I bet the others aren't too..

This one is called Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric).. poisonous which is quite obvious from the colour.. it is said to give a hallucinating effect.. hehe

This one is called Gallerina Mycenopsis.. This website says not to eat it..

This one is called Psilocybe subaeruginosa.. It is illegal to own/consume it in NZ because it has a drug-like effect.. Takut orang edar mushroom ni untuk drug addict ke? Haha.. Source: ehow.com

These next 4 species could not be identified by me. If you're interested you can tell me what they are. Or even better, tell me if I can eat'em or not. Hehe.

This one looks edible, no?

Err.. I wouldn't eat this yellow fungi.. :p

These next three looks very familiar. They look like mushrooms back home, don't they?

Anyways, most websites I googled are against eating unknown source of mushroom. Go buy them from your supermarket. Better safe than sorry. =)

Sources for poisons prevention in NZ:
Poisons Prevention & Education
Poisonous Plants & Fungi

Siapa suka baju kurung cotton?

2010-05-27T22:02:00.007+12:00

Suka tak baju kurung cotton macam Amani pakai dalam cerita Sepet? Cute kan? Tapi dia memang cute pakai baju apa pun. Anyways, saya rasa sejak dari cerita tu ditayangkan, ramai orang suka nak pakai baju kurung cotton.

Saya pun sama. Nak tahu kenapa baju kurung kain cotton sangat best? Sebab...

Kain cotton tak panas. Sejuk dan sedap dipakai di negara beriklim panas.

Pelbagai corak, ada yang bunga kecil2, ada yang bunga besar. Ada yang ada manik. Sesuai untuk semua bentuk badan.

Tona warna menjurus kepada pastel. --> Cute. Tapi sekarang macam2 warna ada. Yang terang, yang pudar, yang ala2 lusuh, yang colourful. Semua cantik, pilih saja yang berkenan.

Boleh dipakai untuk pelbagai occasion. Yang formal, yang tak formal, raya, birthday, buat baju kerja, pakai jalan2 kt shopping mall pun boleh.

Boleh buat jadi hantaran, hadiah birthday, hadiah untuk mak, nenek, tunang, bini, adik, mak mertua, anak.

Nak tahu kenapa saya membebel pasal baju kurung cotton?

Sebab kakak saya buka butik kain cotton.. Hehe.. Sila layari http://butikzarazulaikha.blogspot.com/

Ni koleksi baju kurung cotton saya.. Ada lagi yang tak pernah pakai sebab beli2 pastu tak muat sebab dah gemok. Sekian.

Need to get cranking~

2010-05-26T16:30:00.008+12:00

Saya perlu masuk lab dengan segera. SV sudah sound.

Katanya, "Banyak sangat masa kamu dihabiskan untuk assignment. Lab/Projek tak buat2 lagi. Saya risau, progress kamu amat lambat"

Erkkk..

Kami meeting tiap-tiap hari Rabu. Jadi progress macam lembab. Sebab..

Isnin: Monday Blues, melalut tak buat kerja
Selasa: Buat kerja yang sepatutnya buat semalam
Wednesday: Baru konon2 nak masuk lab tapi terbantut sebab ada meeting.. pergi meeting dulu.. Jadi, meeting --> tak ada progress
Thursday: Baru terhegeh2, sengih2 masuk lab..
Friday: Sengih2 lagi..

"Ahh, itu semua alasanlah cik geb. Sila jadi lebih produktif!!" kata Dexter.

Yelah, yelah.. I need to get cranking!

Bye.

Image source: Google

Have a say!

2010-05-24T21:18:00.004+12:00

Please have a say.
Just because you've been asked to do something, don't just do it.
Have a say.
What do you think?

Do you think you should do it?
If not then why not?
Let the reason be heard. At least to yourself.
Have an opinion. At least in your head.

Just because someone of somewhat higher authority has asked you to do something, you think you should just do it?

Owh, because they know better than you do?
Owh, because they've been through it before?

Ok, fine that may be true.
But does that mean you don't have a right to your own opinion?

What say you?

Please, have a say.

Don't do the norm just because everyone's doing it.

Don't streotype, just because every single person that's done what they've been told to do is happy.

Che Yah G Niu Zileng!

2010-05-20T19:57:00.011+12:00

Assalamualaikum,

Today is exactly a month from my previous post and macam2 happened since!

Well first & foremost, I managed to finish only one of my two assignments before the the second of May arrived.. muahaha.. the main reason being having too many side-tracks in the excitement of taking a 10 day holiday with my family in the central north island.. hehe..

yup, my whole family (well, almost) took an 11-hour flight down to NZ! The main reason they endured that long and boring journey was for attending my convocation for my BSc, which was on the 3rd of May.. It was memorable and I think a little more than 1000 photos were taken on that day alone! Ok I just checked, 1363 photos to be exact!!

Our agenda for the next 9 days was to travel to Rotorua, Te Puke, Taupo and back up to Auckland which went smoothly, Alhamdullilah.. My sister is writing a day to day account of the vacation which you can read from here..

I had a great time showing them the places, the sceneries, the people, the culture and the food. They experienced the kiwis norm and had a shocking transition to the New Zealand weather. On the first night in Hamilton, it was the week of the cold snap. Colder than usual but no doubt freezing for them. It was frosting in Rotorua and zero degrees in Taupo at 6 in the morning.. but it wasn't so bad in Auckland..

We stayed at one motel and three different holiday houses which were all beautiful and spacious for the six of us. It was pretty much a relaxing journey without too much rushing from places to places.

And we cooked heaps! Just for the record, we ate 10 kgs of rice (ye, mula2 I bought a 5 kg punya kampit beras, then hari keempat, daddy kata, "tak cukup ni beras kita ni, kena beli lagi".. That was the fourth day! So we bought a second 5 kg kampit beras.. at the end of the tenth day.. tinggal dalam 3 cups je lagi beras tu.. hahahha.. gila banyak ok makan 10 kg nasi!)

ok sambung.. we ate five size 20 chickens, lamb rack from at least 3 lambs (banyak memang banyak), 4 bottles of chocolate milk, 20 eggs, and many more! Sardins, junk food, luncheons, burgers, ikan masin, jams, sausages, maggi, brunch bars, soft drinks espeacially tak payah kiralah, ada dalam 10 botol yang 3 litre tu kut.. and belum campur makan luar lagi and makan fruits etc.. hehe

And as a result, wani gained 6 kgs, nina 5 kgs, aliaa and mummy 3 kgs each!!! And that's for a period of just 10 days! Memang keturunan piranha.. hehe.. (btw, I didn't gain any weight.. I wonder why.. :p)

Yelah, menu setiap hari tak nak kalah, walaupun on the move, makan tetap sedap.. kambing goreng berladalah, ayam goreng berladalah, sup ayam lah, ayam gorenglah, daging gorenglah, burgerlah, nanchoslah, spiral gorenglah, sandwichlah, scramble egglah, pizzalah, cekodoklah, rotilah, siap boleh buat nasi ayam lagi pukul 6 pagi.. pastu ada pulak bekal sambal totok kakyu buat, plus ada ikan masin, budu + cili + limau nipis.. fuhh.. makan pun laju je semua.. hahaha.. nasib tak buat kek dekat Taupo, reason being sejuk je.. Kalau tak aku rasa ada dah kek coklat sebiji hari tu.. hahahahaha.. abah kata kalau ada jilong, confirm dah buat muffins & cheesecake.. hehehe..

Tu bab makan, bab gambar pula.. fuhh.. A total of 9115 pics were taken for the whole 10 days! Memang tak larat nak tengok and sort gambar2 tu semua!

Tapi memang those 10 days were fun! Tengok gambar gelak sampai sakit2 perut. A very well deserved family vacation. Lepas ni kita plan cuti2 Malaysia pulak lah! Best wooo makan confirm gila sedap! Cuti 'Jalan-jalan cari makan'.. Hahaha.. sah naik 10 kg seorang~ lalalala.. Kalau nak tak naik badan, kita g Europe nak? Tapi boleh percaya ke family piranha ni??? Di mana ada piranha, disitu ada makanan... Kui kui kui.. :p

Anyways, now I'm settling back into my normal routine. I'll ramble more about the vacation at random times when I feel like it ok?

Last week kepala memang weng. I got back to Hammy on Tuesday.. Then on Wednesday gila penat, meeting pun tak pergi.. hehe.. Then on Thurday dah tak penat sangat tapi duduk kalut buat assignment yang dah overdue one week! Late extension form pun tak isi.. selamba rock je tanya lecturer nak hantar hari jumaat and nasib lecturer tu baik hati, dia cakap ok je. Hehe..

But then I was struggling to write my assignment! I've read all the necessary readings beforehand, I've got all the points, but I've forgotten all of them after 10 days holidaying! I had to scan through all the articles and books again before the memory slowly came back to me.. The worst part is that the assignment sheet said a maximum of 18 pages for the assignment.. huhu.. By friday at 3 pm, I only had 9 pages.. I had to stop because I didn't do my referencing while writing, so I was end-noting and citing from 3 till 4.30 pm.. At 4.30 pm, I converted my 9-paged file to pdf and sent it through.. I managed to finish it, but it wasn't 18 pages long and I wasn't very satisfied with it myself..

But believe it or not, I got back the assignment yesterday and did quite well.. Alhamdullilah sangat because I clearly wasn't expecting what I got.. Smiles all day =) Actually yesterday was a good day. Our experiment went smoothly and it looked like its going to be successful. But we'll know surely by Monday.. Well that's another story =)

Finally, my 'unfinished bussiness list' is down to almost zero (I've got a couple more things left but it's all good) but my new 'list of things to do' is steadily growing!

The after effect of a good holiday is sinking in.. The mind was well rested, the body well fed and soul rejuvenated.. Now back to bussiness!

The north-end of Rotorua Lake. The view was resemblance of those seen in paintings and fairy tales. Yet it was real.

Stop. Close Browser. Back to Real Work.

2010-04-20T16:07:00.002+12:00

Entri ditulis supaya setiap kali buka blog nak berfoya-foya, tak jadi sebab assignment berderet!

Setelah beberapa hari berehat-rehat, lepak-lepak, enjoy dan tak buat apa-apa langsung yang berkaitan dengan belajar, tiba-tiba syndrome cuak datang balik.

Padan muka.

Assignment ada 2 nak hantar by 30th.
Lab belum mula.
Esok meeting dengan Mark.
Banyak lagi kerja lain yang kau ada.
Sedar ke tak makcik?

Wait, 30th? That's like 10 days.

Argghhhh!

Bye.

Samedi Escapada (Saturday Escapade)

2010-04-18T11:59:00.043+12:00

It was indeed a very fun Saturday I've had since starting uni this year.
Had breakfast at the french market, walking by the pineharbour marina, the art exhibition, the not so pretty grape leaves, the impressive botany town shopping centre, mouth-watering lunch at Sanook, hillarious date night movie and last but not least dinner @ Indian aroma. =))

(Picture above showing the Argentinian stall. Picture on the right shows a couple of stalls at the fresh market)

The fresh market at Pine Harbour was fabulous! Great atmosphere, friendly people. The setting was picture perfect with the marina as the background. The food were freshly made and delicious. The stalls were selling fresh veggies, pies, flowers, fish, scallops, french bread and pastries, Argentinian delicacies, Italian pasta, assorments of cheese and pickles.

We had french apricot and blueberry danish, spanish doughnut called Charros, an Argentican cookies which I forgot the name, and some divine fudge. I can still taste the fugde melting in my mouth. It was unforgettable. We also bought some lemon and spinach fettucini from a funny Italian guy. I'm going to cook them today but I'm not sure how yet. Have to google up some Italian pasta recipes I guess.

The cheeses & the veggies...

The view of the marina was totally awesome! Had a stroll in between the boats and enjoyed the view.

Next destination was The Botany Town Shopping Centre, which is claimed to be the biggest shopping centre in New Zealand. I was very sceptical of this claim. Having lived here for the past three years now made me say no shopping centres in New Zealand will ever beat any shopping centres in Kuala Lumpur. Hahaha. Anyways, after visiting the Botany Town Shopping Centre, I will admit that the claim is true, size-wise. It is almost 4 times the shopping centre at The Base Te Rapa. I was pretty impressed though it is only 2-storey high. It almost felt like going shopping in KL. All shops are centralised and there were grocerries shopping stores as well.

And the fun part is that there was a halal Thai restaurant!! Thai fried rice and Tom Yam Kung was on the menu! That was the true highlight of the day. Big smiling faces and happy stomach for the rest of the day!! We love you Sanook! You should really open a branch in Hamilton but we want the same chef, ok?

Had a good laugh watching the movie Date Night and lastly had Chicken Saag and Fish Dehra Dun @ Indian Aroma. Hot and yummy.

Without doubt, the best Saturday ever.
p/s Apologies for the small picture size. Click on the pics to have a closer look.

Tak usah jadi pengikut, jadilah pencetus..

2010-04-14T06:18:00.008+12:00

Di alam tadika...

A kid had a colouring book,
And she coloured the apple blue,
not accidentally but purposely,
And her friends said, "Eh, kenapa warna biru? Bodoh lah kau ni. Epal pun tak tahu warna apa ke? Hahaha. Nama kau Dollah. Tet*k kau sebelah."

Apa masalah kalau epal warna biru? Bukan untuk buat makan pun. Hati kanak-kanak itu mengomel.
*****

Di sebuah sekolah rendah...

A 10 year old was drawing a picture.
She used a pen.
Everybody else used pencils.
And her friends said, "Eh, kenapa buat guna pen? Guna pensil lah. Tak kemas awak punya lukisan. Tak cantik langsung. Comot. Comot. Comot. Hahahaha."

Suka hatilah aku nak guna apa pun, yang kau sibuk kenapa? Pen ni mak aku yang beli. Bangang betul. Cetus hati budak itu.
*****

Di kantin sekolah...

A teenager was reading the National Geographic magazine.
Her friends don't read.
They said, "Eh, kenapa kau baca majalah orang besar? Best ke?" sambil membuat muka pelik campur bodoh.

Remaja itu buat tak tahu sahaja. Tak guna layan budak-budak sengal. Kata hatinya.
*****

Di sebuah institusi...

A student submitted her assignment.
She wrote a different answer and her layout was different.
Her friends said, "Eh, apa pasal kau buat lain. Apa pasal kau punya bentuk nampak macam tu? Salah la wei. Puan S**** kata kena buat macam ni lah, kau tak dengar ke?"

The student thought, kenapa kau rigid sangat? Aku punya assignment, suka hati akulah. Aku punya kreativiti. Kau nak ikut macam yang kau dah buat tu, suka hati kaulah. Ada aku kisah?
*****

Di dalam dewan kuliah...

A young adult did her presentation slide.
She only had a picture on each slide.
Her friends said, "Eh, letak satu gambar je? Kelakarnya."

Apa yang kelakar? Tak tahu ke kalau nak present ada banyak technique? Kesiannya. Kata budak muda itu.
*****

Mulanya, hanya terdiam bila orang berkata.
Kerana masih muda, belum punya pendapat.
Tengahnya, marah bila orang berkata.
Kerana jiwa memberontak itu ada dalam hati remaja.
Akhirnya, mengerti apabila orang berkata.
Rupanya, mereka tidak biasa dengan perbezaan. Pembaharuan.
Semuanya mesti sama dengan sebelumnya.
Semuanya kalau memang warna merah, kena, mesti, wajib warna merah.
Tapi siapa kata? Kalau nak warnakan epal itu warna ungu pun, apa salahnya? Dimana silapnya?
Bukan semua orang melukis guna pencil. Mungkin mereka tidak pernah melihat orang melukis guna pen.
Aik, membaca benda yang mungkin asing bagimu juga pelik ya?
Patutnya kau bertanya, "Apa yang awak baca?". Bukan menganjing.
Kenapa begitu rigid apabila membuat assignment? Aku rasa aku nak present result aku guna pie chart instead of table, apa masalahnya? Apa kau kira kalau semua orang submit benda yang serupa itu bagus?

Fikirkan kembali.
Bukalah minda.
Tak perlu jadi pengikut.
Jadilah pencetus.
Dare to be different.

*****
Tak usah jadi pengikut, jadilah pencetus is a Copyright © Norzahirah Ahmad 2010. All Rights Reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced without written consent from the author.

Roasted rack of lamb anyone?

2010-04-09T16:03:00.009+12:00

I was starting to read this report by MAF for my assignment and look what they put at the end of some pages!

Terus terbantut nak baca dan minda mula berimaginasi tentang makanan yang sedap2. dammit. minus the fact that the meat's still red. but still!

ok hari ni sambung baca report ini dan cuba sedaya upaya untuk tidak melihat ke arah gambar2 yang menyelerakan.. tapi, yg bawah ni memang tak boleh resist. **terus sambar kunci kereta dan drive menuju ke Clarkin Prime Halal Meat untuk membeli daging.**

acah je.. assignment belum siap.. doink.. (@_@)

*****

At least I'm not whining, I'm just annoyed..

2010-04-08T15:18:00.007+12:00

Last Tuesday I participated in a survey about the effectiveness of the International Waikato website for students. They were assessing the assessibility of the International Waikato website to students and how easy or hard it is to navigate through.

So what I had to do was sit in front of the computer and use the website. They had 9 senarios for me to go through. For example, how would you go about finding accomodation from the website? So I just clicked through until I find the information I'm looking for. Along the way they asked me questions and there were a couple of students taking note of my answers.

Some of the items they had asked me to find was easy enough, some were sort of hidden and quite hard to get to. There were a few general questions too, like what I want to see more on the website and what I'd like to be improved etc.

I was satisfied with the researchers, they were nice and patient listening to me blab about how there wasn't much info when I got here 3 years ago and so on. Well they asked for my opinion so I did give them a piece of my thoughts. :p

Anyways, these few weeks like I said, has been crazy but I seem to be managing, Alhamdullilah. But there are other things that I need to take care of before the 2nd of May arrives. So I was looking for information on the net about this specific thing I needed to do. And guess what, I couldn't find any. I was and am really annoyed when I tried searching using key words, there isn't any links to the page I wanted to go to. Until today, I found the website I wanted. If you ask me I think it was just created within 1 or 2 weeks.

I think every organisation should have a website. But it's not enough to just have a website for the sake of having them. It should be well managed. It should convey information readily. By readily I mean information should jump out at me. So that I don't have to go looking at every single drop down menu you have to find what I wanted. It should not be complicated. And most importantly, they should show up on the search engine when I try searching for them, no? Because if it doesn't than you're just wasting time sitting there waiting for people to visit you, mr webby.

Basically, it should have what I wanted to find. No, I'm not being selfish complaining because I couldn't find an information I was looking for, because guess what? I am a freaking customer. Yeah, you're there to provide service. That's why you exist in the first place. Arghh, geram betul lah!

I am a big complainer when it comes to services. I like things to go fast and efficiently. I'm not a fan of waiting because time is my enemy and I like to beat it as much as I can. I get annoyed with poor services and I get even more annoyed when I asked and get told to go look for it. I'm asking you because I already tried looking, and I couldn't find it that's why I'm asking. Don't give me shit about you having lots of things to do. Who doesn't? But what you're forgetting is that you're there to give me services. Yes, me, the customer.

Today I went to the bank to get some things sorted as well. I was very much satisfied with the service. It was quick, hassle-free and the guy was pleasant.

Yesterday I asked the librarian about finding patents, it turned out that she already typed it out in the handouts and I didn't realise it. But she was nice explaining to me that it's already in the sheet and I can go have a look. If I still couldn't understand, just come back. Isn't that nice? She didn't told me off did she?

Yes, the time will come when I will be the person giving services to the public. I vow to make it a pleasant experience for each and everyone of you. I don't want to hear about how impossible that's going to be, because you've been told that by people before you and the people before you were even born. But i'm not buying it. I've been told it's the system and one person being nice isn't going to change anything. I'm not buying it. Because it does make a difference. And I leave you with this quote originally by Maya Angelou..

"People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said but they will
always remember how you made them feel."

Kisah Lama....

2010-04-07T22:03:00.002+12:00

Lokasi: Pasar pagi di sebuah negara 2 musim..

Penjual Ikan: Harloe, harloe (sambil melambai-lambai tangan kirinya kepada daddy & mommy, sambil tangan kanannya memegang kapak berlumuran darah).

Mommy & Daddy pun berhenti sambil melihat ke arah penjual ikan tersebut.

Penjual ikan itu tidak pandai berbahasa Inggeris. Namun dia membuat bahasa isyarat menggunakan tangan. Penjual ikan itu mengajak mommy & daddy mengikutnya. Si penjual ikan meletakkan kapak yang dipegang ke arah lehernya sambil membuat aksi seperti ingin memotong kepalanya. Kemudian penjual ikan itu mengangguk-anggukkan kepalanya dan membuat lagi isyarat supaya mommy & daddy mengikutnya.

Mommy yang dah cuak: Eyyhhh! Dia nak bunuh kita ke? Tunjuk kapak macam nak potong kepala tuh?

Daddy: No. No. (sambil membuat isyarat tangan tidak mahu kepada si penjual ikan)

Penjual ikan tu buat lagi aksi memotong kepala dengan kapaknya.

Daddy: I don't want. No. No. (sambil mengelengkan kepala dan membuat isyarat menggunakan kedua-dua belah tangan).

Mommy: Jomlah kita balik (sambil mengheret Daddy)

Yang peliknya, penjual ikan tu bersungguh-sungguh mengajak Mommy & Daddy mengikutnya. Sambil senyum-senyum pulak tu.

Daddy pun kata kt Mommy: Jomla kita tengok apa dia nak. Tak kan nak bunuh kita kut.

Depa pun pergilah ikut si penjual ikan berkapak itu. Rupa-rupanya penjual ikan tu nak bagi kepala ikan tenggiri free. Hihihi. Orang cina di HK tak makan kepala ikan. Jadi kalau beli ikan dipasar, biasanya daddy akan minta kepala ikan tidak dibuang. So penjual dipasar itu tahu yang kami suka kepala ikan dan dia ada kepala ikan lebih nak kasi.

Memang susah nak communicate dengan orang disana sebab rata-rata tak pandai cakap english. Dan kami pun tak berapa nak pandai cakap english jugak time tu.

Pergi beli barang kat pasar memang paling kelakar. Tunjuk-tunjuk je. Time nak bayar, penjual akan tekan total amount dekat kalkulator pastu tunjuk. Kalau setuju dengan harga bagi duit untuk bayar, kalau tak, kita pulak yang dok tekan kalkulator tu tunjuk dekat si penjual harga bargain. Pastu tunjuk 'thumbs up'. Hehehe...

my time management skill put on test..

2010-04-02T14:23:00.006+12:00

I am severely busy.
Too many deadlines to adhere to.
One after another.
If not on top of each other.
Plus the lab work. Which I haven't started.
The 3-day course.
Notetaking.
Planning.
Graduation coming up.
And all the nitty gritty that comes along.
Plus unexpected encounters.

i need a personal assistant.

and a cook.

and a maid.

please?

of apples, tomatoes and pizza...

2010-03-27T15:20:00.026+13:00

This morning I had another addition to my 'pick your own' trips. We went to Fruitdale Orchard @ 78 Osbourne Road in Horsham Downs around 15 minutes from home. There were apples, pears, berries, beans and tomatoes to be picked. We decided to pick royal gala apples, pears and beefsteak tomatoes. We only picked three pears because there wasn't many left, about 10 tomatoes and a dozen of apples, but it took us an hour and a half! That's because there was pluck, pluck then click, click, click, and more clicks! We went home after that and kakyu made apple pie & baked tomatoes and I made pizza!

Well, I kinda cheated on the pizza coz the base was bought at Pak n Save and the all the other toppings were just tomato puree, luncheon, capsicum, onions and lots of cheese.. So I didn't actually cook anything but just had them chopped up! And for the base, it's just 3 tablespoons of tomato puree along with some salt, pepper and basil.. So just layer your favourite toppings and lastly add tonnes of cheese and chuck it in the oven for about 30 minutes.. I'm not sure at what temperature though cause I used a mini oven which dosen't have the temperature knob..

And the result was delicious! Almost as if eating super supreme pizza.. (yelah2 outdated sungguh tastebud aku.. orang malaysia dah tak makan pizza hut, semua dok melahap yellow cab pizza lah, san francisco pizza lah.. kan? kan? huhu.. sob2)...
Yang bawah ni hasil masakan Chef Ayu.. hehe.. sedap oo.. senang je.. Potong tomato supaya jadi ada topi, then korek keluar sikit isi tomato tu, tapi jangan sampai habis, just untuk bagi ruang nak letak cheese. Kemudian masukkan cheese, pepper & apa2 sahaja yang dirasakan sedap, contohnya smoked salmon or luncheon or nak buat inti ala2 quiche pun ok. Then tutup balik tomato guna topi tadi dan bakar dalam oven selama 15 minit.. Siap! And lastly, inilah apple pie yg sungguh sedap mengalahkan apple pie McD walaupun bentuknya agak kelakar.. :p Resepinya you guys google jelah sebab aku memang tak ada bakat memasak pastry.. Tapi kulit apple pie tu kakyu guna roti pratha.. Roti canai segera tu.. Sedap-licous! Lepas main masak2 tadi, sekarang dah penat. Malam ni ada lagi Balloon Over Waikato Festival dekat padang uni.. Tonight's event is called Night Glow.. Tapi tak tahu lagi nak pergi ke tak.. sebab kerja menimbun-nimbun-nimbun.. erk..

Balloons Over Waikato 2010

2010-03-25T14:19:00.005+13:00

The view was worth going there at 6.30 am. Well, I woke up at 3.30 am.. No, not purposely for the balloons! But for my beloved 2500 words essay due tomorrow! At about 5.45 am, I was still in front of my laptop contemplating to go or not to go.. To keep on squeezing my brain or to go see the wonderful balloons.. Then I thought to myself, "You're gonna regret not going plus your essay writing is not going to get any further!" So I got Kakyu out of bed and into the car. Off we go!

Burning The Candle At Both Ends

2010-03-21T08:53:00.012+13:00

what have i been up to?
reading. *yawn* i have another 96 pages to go..

what i really want to do?
shopping. tapi macam tak sempat nak keluar pergi town. WOF kereta pun dah mati. nak naik bus ke? erkk..

what i really should be doing?
my assignment. arrghhh!

Btw, the phrase means to live life at a hectic pace. Suits mine at the moment.

Activities around Hamilton: Horse Trekking

2010-03-15T10:36:00.012+13:00

Went horse trekking up the hills on Sunday @ Karamu Trail Track just about 20 minutes from Hamilton. Us, first time riders had lots of fun on the horses! Stayed overnight in a farm environment and did lots of other activities as well (canoeing, watched cow milking, corn picking & swimming in the streams). Will update later when I have time. For now the pics will have to do.. :p

Here are the horse trekking pictures!

Results Are Out!

2010-03-09T12:03:00.005+13:00

(Picture from cartoonstock.com)

SPM Result for 2009 school leavers is going to be announced this Thursday, 11 March 2010!! I'm sure the 465,853 candidates are very anxious at this very moment. One person I know have been having sleepless nights and headache. Hahaha.

I remember back in 2005, which is like 5 years ago (wait, I've left school for 5 years??? Really?) Anyways, I went to Muar with my mom & dad by car to collect my SPM result. When I arrived, some of my friends have already taken their results. I lingered around for more than a little while (feeling scared actually) until my dad came and said,

"Eh, ni kenapa tak ambik2 lagi result nih? Abah dah nak balik dah ni"

So with a heavy heart, I went to my class' teacher's desk and sat. Ustaz Mujibuddin was searching for my result and I waited patiently. A'ha.. here it is, he said. And he pulled out a slip and I quickly glanced at it.

Shit, there was one B3. That must be Physics, I thought. Then he gave me my slip and the B3, to my surprise wasn't Physics, but it was English for Science and Tech. Nearly all the people in my school that took that paper didn't get an A. Nonetheless, I was grateful. Alhamdullilah.

The feeling I get when looking at or getting my result is complex. I sorta want to know how I did, but at the same time, I'm so scared of not meeting expectation (my own expectation to the very least).

I had the same feeling but with a greater magnitude when checking my SSABSA or SACE examination result. SACE which stands for South Australian Certificate of Education was my only ticket to come study overseas with a scholarship. All AUSMAT (Australian Matriculation) students know the feeling. The horrid churn in the stomach. The cold sweat. The trembling hand. The anxiousness of waiting in front of the computer for the Australian time to be precisely 9 am, because that was when the results were released online. Which means, it is 6 am in the morning for Malaysian time. (Or was it 8 am there and 5 am here? Anyways..)

Some of my friends didn't sleep the night before, but I did. But at 6 am, I was wide awake. But I was laying down in front of the TV instead of the computer. I didn't want to go near any computer. Hahaha.

My dad was getting ready for work, and he said,

"Eyh, bila nak check result nih?"

Hehe.. so I went online. But the server was damn busy and I couldn't even enter the website. By this time I was getting YM messages from my friends about their results, so I started getting worried about my result and I just had to know!!! Tu la padan muka tak nak check awal2.

So I YM-ed my friend who was in Phuket at the time and asked her to log in to check my result. And she managed to enter the site.

There were a few numbers to read from and my friend didn't know which to read. I was telling her to read the TER (Tertiary Entrance Rank). Which btw needs to be above 85 to pass the scholarship minimal requirement.

And she YM-ed, 52.5.

I was like, what???

I was down. Lots of things going through my head. But I asked her, what other numbers were on the screen. (I didn't even know how the screen display looked like.)

And she said, 93.8. My heart beats faster, does it say TER on that one?

And she said, it was TER!

I was sooo relieved. It turned out the 52.5 was for another thingy which I can't remember now and it was over 60.

Alhamdullilah. Those were very sweet memories. =)

Checking results is never easy but it is one of life experience that everyone must go through at some stage and it teaches a great deal of things. All efforts, prayers and time is summarised in just one piece of paper. Though it is unfair to make sole judgement based on exam results alone, it is a great contributing factor.

In my opinion, at the SPM and post-SPM (Matriculation etc.) stage, results are crucial. Because places at universities in certain programmes and scholarships are very limited. And result is considered as a big part in the decision making process apart from those extra-curricular activities and leadership roles etc. Unless you're not interested in scholarships then it's cool. But once you're in, once you've got into the programme or the study path you've always wanted, result alone won't suffice. The result needs to be value added. The degree needs to be value added. And most importantly, the person, the self, the doer, needs to be value added.

With that, I'd like to wish all SPM 2009 school leavers, espeacially to my little sister (who is probably having diarrhea by now), GOOD LUCK this coming Thursday!! May all your efforts and hardwork be rewarded, Insya-Allah.

Honours? What is that?

2010-03-02T15:58:00.009+13:00

Ok, I'm lost. Second day into Honours and I'm already lost?? Hahahaha. Anyways, the Graduate Seminar for School of Engineering is tomorrow, so I guess that's when this year is really starting. And I'm not really that lost. Ok, I'm talking in circle but bear with me. I still have one report to write and a project proposal to read through by Thursday.

By the way, I have a big day on Thurs. I'm going to help a kid get through his first lab at uni without him or me getting scared. And it's on something I've never done. Is that cool or what?

Anyways, here's my planner for the year. Pretty empty huh? How I wish... It just looks empty but there are invisible inks, which will reveal its darkest secret in due course... how dramatic..

And really, the questions I have to ask myself are, "How am I going to discipline myself and get all my readings and essays done in time, as well as get started on my research project, without any class to force me out of bed every day? And in between all that, still have a life?"

I guess I'll find out soon enough.

And while we're at this, I get asked the following question soooooooooo many times. I once asked the exact same question too.

"So you're doing Honours, huh? What the hell is that?"

To those who are not familiar with the education system outside of Malaysia, particularly in New Zealand, believe it or not, degrees dosen't come with honours. There isn't a university in NZ, which offers BSc with Honours for the period of three years. For three years, you gain BSc only. BSc with Honours is regarded as a completely different degree which is completed within 12 months. Therefore, by New Zealand's standard, I am a graduate. It was surprising at first to discover that this is practised in almost every part of the world except Malaysia. I'm not venturing into how that puts Malaysia in the whole universal system, because I can't be bothered boring you people with my opinions.

But because Malaysia's Universities award students with BSc with Honours where the duration of study is only three years, I need to have BSc with Honours (which requires me to add another year) to be at the same "level" (if I may say so) with students from local univesities in Malaysia.

In brief;

Malaysia

- Qualification: Bachelor of Science with Honours aka Sarjana Muda Sains dengan Kepujian.
- Duration of study: 3 years

New Zealand

- Qualification: Bachelor of Science
- Duration of study: 3 years

- Qualification: Bachelor of Science with Honours
- Duration of study: 1 year

So at the end of the day, I'll have 2 graduations, 2 qualifications, 2 scrolls and 2 transcripts. For a degree that is regarded as just one back home. And this applies to other courses as well. For example, Bachelor of Engineering. In Malaysia, a student will be awarded, Bachelor of Engineering with Honours within four years.

But in New Zealand, Bachelor of Engineering is awarded as Bachelor of Enginnering OR Bachelor of Engineering with Honours. Invitations into Bachelor of Engineering with Honours is based on 3rd year grades of B or better. If a student failed to obtain an average grade of B or better, they will continue to the fourth year, but will be awarded the degree without the Hons.

For Bachelor of Science, the passing grade to get invited into BSc(Hons) is A- across 300 level papers. In other words, it was a crazy rule. However, the award of First Class, Second Class Upper or Second Class Lower still applies to degrees with Hons.

So that was just an overview of the degrees in general. What actually goes in the degree like the assessments, projects etc. is a different story. Which means degrees are only comparable if we consider all the detailed stuffs. So, one can't really say his or her degree is better just based on the title of the degree, you know what I mean? Though first impression is always important.

Does that make any sense to you?

No? Go sit in the naughty corner!!!

My first day of school 2010

2010-03-01T23:37:00.022+13:00

1 March 2010

Lecture hall at 7.55 am sharp (mind you).
Friendly women.
Nervous people.
One handsome guy (whoa?).
Electrical wires.
First year pretenders.
Candy floss.
Lipton iced tea.
A planner & the trees.
Two toilet seats.
Forest conservation.
The big green head-lights.
A weird phone conversation.
And five huge deliciously-baked potatoes.

Well, that was my return to uni after 3 months of the sun.

Te Whare Wananga O Waikato, The University of Waikato, Hamilton NZ.

Have been my home for the last 3 years and I'm embarking on my last.

May Allah's blessings be at every single one of my steps to success. InsyaAllah.

no pics from today but here's what we did last week! =)

***********************************************************************
********The helpers @ the International Student Orientation Week************

Science is all about labelling

2010-02-25T18:07:00.013+13:00

All you need to do to be successful in doing experimental works is to be real good in labelling. That's it. You don't really need to be smart. You don't need to be punctual to your lab or classes or work place. You don't need to be good in maths. And you don't even need to be nice.

All you need is the skill of labelling to survive in the world of test tubes, funny machines and people in white lab coats.

Because no matter how neat, clever, organised, intelligent, lovely, pretty, handsome, brainy, or however gifted you are, or how detail you plan your experimental methods or how cool your research is, if you don't label your experimental stuffs, you're doomed.

First of all, if you haven't got every single thing labelled, you don't know which test tube you're putting your test stuffs in and which test tube you're putting your control stuffs in. And especially when you've got dozens and dozens of test tubes or universals. And you got 4 or 5 replicates of each. And you've got 10 different treatments for what seems like a hundred different samples. It's like breeding bunnies.

And then you accidentally mixed them up halfway through your experiment because you're too lazy to label them all or you think you can remember them all OR the labels washed off because your hands were too sweaty and when the machine spits out your results (or even before that), you feel like burning the lab along with your labmates.

And if you don't label your stuffs sufficiently enough, those sneaky labmates tend to steal them. Or what is commonly referred to as 'sharing'. Bah!

Especially when that precious bottle of yellow liquid is tricky to make. Like that bottle of buffer which took you the whole three days to figure out the amount of stuffs you need to stir in it and you spent the whole morning sweating or drenched in sweat rather, in the prep room, in those horrible looking and smelly lab coats, in front of the pH meter, trying to accurately add one drop of acid in your buffer to make it precisely pH 7.4. And you turn up the next morning, you smell something fishy going on at your work space.

"Owh, I'll just use some of Irah's buffer a little bit. She won't notice." (or so they thought). I ain't blind people. My nose can smell and my eyes have got super powers which can detect fingerprints. ;p

And, if you don't label your stuffs, it just gets thrown out. Simply because there isn't enough space in the fridge.

When I label my stuffs, there's always the date it was made up, my name, the name of the stuff in the bottle as well as a warning of some sort. e.g. "Do not touch!" or "Irah's Only!". Hahahahaha.

So rule of thumb, people, always, always label your stuffs. This is one very very good piece of advice guys. Not kidding. Hehe.

And aren't these holders cute? If I were a technician, I'll buy them just to put a smile on my own face, whenever I had to clean up people's mess. Hahahaha. =))

Are McDonald's in New Zealand Halal?

2010-02-23T14:35:00.014+13:00

*** Please refer to UPDATED section below and read the article as well as the comments. TQ. ***

I was thinking what to have for dinner today and I thought of McD. I can count how many times I've eaten McD in NZ. I've eaten the fries 3 times and the Fillet-O-Fish once. I had the Apple-pie once. And the chocolate sunday ice-cream a couple of times. That was it. And considering I've been here for 3 years, it is making it sound as if McD is super expensive. Which is off course not the case. Kakyu and I have always been suspicious about eating McD. Most of the time we are quite reluctant to do so. But there are times when we were too hungry to bother, thus the above statistic. Hmmm..

So I did what I do best. I googled. I was searching if there is any inkling to the 'halal-ness' of McD in NZ. Off course I am aware that the beef and chicken are not halal. But how about the Fillet-O-Fish and the fries? And I couldn't really find a solid answer. Then I stumbled across this 62-paged paper written by S. Mackay from the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand's Food and Nutrition Working Group about the different types of techniques and fats/oil used to fry stuffs at chain restaurants such as McD, KFC, Burger King etc and other small takeaway outlets in New Zealand.

This paper was written to provide a sort of guideline for fast food outlets on how they can minimise the fat content in deep-fried fries. The rationale was it is immpossible to ask the public to stop consuming fries as it the most famous takeaway menu in NZ, thus promoting fries with a healthier option and a lower fat content is more reasonable. Anyways, if you're keen, you can read the paper from the link above.

I scanned through the 62-paged paper and guess what I found out?

All McDonald's outlets in New Zealand use beef tallow as the fat or oil for deep-frying their fries. McDonald's in other countries may adopt different options.

Beef tallow is beef fat obtained from beef cattle. It is the cheapest option of fat/oil and is readily available in NZ in large quantities because of the dairy and meat nature of NZ agricultural industires. Beef tallow is the flavors in McDonald's fries which is often sought after by customers. Quoting the paper, Burger King in New Zealand changed it's frying oil from 100% vegetable oil to a blend of vegetable oil and beef tallow because their consumers demand fries which tasted more like the McDonald's fries. The paper also stated that KFC fries are not halal even though some outlets are able to cater Halal chickens.

Now the real question is "Are the fries at McDonald's Halal?" (Let alone the other menus).

Do use your own rationale in answering this question.
But my answer is "No, it is not halal for consumption because of the use of beef tallow." ***Please refer to updated section below. TQ***

My rationale are:

1) To obtain the beef tallow the beef must first be slaughtered in the name of Allah. (Halal slaughtering)

2) Yes, there are halal slaughter house in NZ, but to my rationale it is not cost effective to separate halal fats and non-halal fats. But it is logical to have separated halal meats and non-halal meats even though they were slaughtered in the same slaughter house. But the fats too? C'mon.

3) Quoting the paper, these beef tallows are largely manufatured by Meadow Lea and is only available to chain restaurants and individual takeaways (meaning they are not available at Pak n Save etc.). My rationale says, it is not possible to have a separated production plant for halal fats and non-halal fats to make halal or non-halal beef tallows (also called frying shortening). The fats are at some point mixed together if they were from different sources or they were non-halal from the start. Though I can't really say this as a fact because I didn't ring up the company asking about their production line facillities, now did I?

Hmm.. Well, that was just me and my head thinking, but what do you think?

***
My conclusion is McD's fries are NOT halal. But then the article was written some time ago. Maybe some McD's have changed their practices. So best if we ask at the counter what type of oil do they use. But I'm only talking about NZ McD's.

But then again, like I said, we must decide for ourselves. If we think it is halal then by all means go ahead. I've stated my stand. Decide for yourselves.
***

***UPDATED 24 FEB 2010***

Regarding the above issue, I've contacted McDonald's and their response is below:

Hi Irah

In November 2003, McDonald's restaurants across New Zealand changed from using beef tallow to using a vegetable cooking oil blend made up of high oleic sunflower and canola oils.

Similarly, McDonald's announced further oil changes in December 2006 relating to the par-frying process (partial cooking before freezing). All suppliers producing products which are par-fried e.g. chicken, hashbrowns and fries, now use non-hydrogenated canola oil.

McDonald's New Zealand uses fries supplied by McCain's. They are par-fried using a non-hydrogenated canola oil, and snap frozen. Fries are cooked in McDonald's vegetable oil blend, and we do not add any beef or pork flavouring at any stage in the processing or cooking process.

McDonald's takes an open and transparent approach to its business, and voluntarily provides nutrition information on most of its packaging and on the back of the 15 million tray mats we print each year. Full nutrition information, including food sensitivity information is available online on our nutrition calculator: www.mcdonalds.co.nz

Thank you again for your email.

Yours sincerely
Cathy Sutton
Customer Services

There you go people! McDonald's are no longer using beef tallow. Yay!

The facts are starring you in the face. But still do decide for yourselves. There are other issues involved eg. preparation procedures, utensils used etc.

Thanks for all the comments received through all means. =)

Aktiviti Menarik Hujung Minggu

2010-02-22T17:45:00.011+13:00

Hari minggu nak buat apa ye? Selalunya weekend sepanjang cuti summer ni dimanfaatkan untuk buat aktiviti riadah, memasak atau berjalan2. Uni officially start minggu depan, 1 March 2010. Lepas ni rasanya weekend akan di utillise untuk menyiapkan assignments. Akan bermula kembali kehidupan yang sibuk dan mungkin blog ini tak akan diupdate sekerap sekarang. Eh, yeke? Hidup mana boleh tengok buku atau artikel sahaja kan? kan? Mesti nak pergi jalan-jalan jugak kan? (Tapi ingat cik gebong, kau tu bukan undergrad lagi ok? paper level 500 ok??). But we will see. I hope my journey this year will be as smooth as it can be and all obstacles can be overcome with ease. Insya Allah.

Jadi antara aktiviti saya weekend kebelakangan ni...

The weekend before the last (on 14th Feb) we went to the biannual Tainui Waka Kapa Haka Festival. This is where all Roopu (Kapa Haka groups) from the Tainui region compete to represent the region in the National Championship next year in Gisbourne. The event was for the whole day starting at 8 am till 8 pm. We arrived at 9.30 am and missed the first Roopu. For those of you who likes seeing the Haka the All Blacks does at the start of any rugby game, you are sure to enjoy these Roopu performances. We did, up until the 7th Roopu where we got really tired and sleepy. But it was really good because we got to see and hear different genres of Kapa Haka.

Then this last weekend (Hari Sabtu) I volunteered for the Perry Foundation Rev Cycling Festival 2010 held at Uni. It was a cycling race and there was quite a few categories for kids and adults. Seronok juga tengok orang2 yang cycling ni. Ada category Intro untuk orang-orang yang baru nak mencuba tapi mostly yang enter category ni adalah kanak-kanak dan orang-orang tua. Hmm.. mungkin tahun depan nak enter as a participant not as a volunteer? We'll see.

Anyways, my post was as the Registration Manager. At first I thought I had to sit at the registration table and do the registration stuffs. But what I had to do was stand in the middle of the walking track and greet people asking them what they want to do. What a great new experience for me! My supervisor told me you have to go up to people, don't let them come to you. You have to be outward. She asked me, "Are you comfortable with this role? I'm sure you can do it". At first I was like "U'oh, **panic attack**" But then I thought, what the hell, just do it.

So I put on a huge smile and waited for people to come walking down the track.

"Hello, are you going to pick up your race number? This way please, it's in the white marquee".

After greeting a couple of people, I was comfortable standing alone in the middle of the track with my big smile. But after 3-4 times saying the same thing, I was like, "I should change my sentence. I can't keep saying the same thing all morning!" So, I said "Good Morning", "How are you" etc. I was pleased with myself. =)

And I also got a lot of questions from the public. The most popular one is "Is there a toilet nearby?"

"Where can I buy the cycling t-shirt?"

"Where can I fill up my water bottle?"

"Do you have a scissors?" (Err.. I'll go find out. Penat lah aku pergi korek toolbox, tapi tak jumpa scissors)

"Where is the wheel chair access?

"What time is the prize giving?"

"When will the showers be open?" (I didn't know the answer to this question)

"Have you seen any television crew?" (Err.. no?)

Then at about 9 am, the first race started, and there was not many people coming for registration so I went to help out with the Recovery Zone people. We had to prepare some food and drinks for the athletes. It was fun too. Met a few new friends. Overall, it was a new and good experience for me. Tapi balik penat, tidur tak ingat dunia sampai pukul 5. Hehe.

Then hari ni Monday and surprisingly aku tak kena Monday Blues and aku boleh duduk depan laptop dan buat kerja. Analysing data aku yang hiruk pikuk. Disamping membuat kerja-kerja housekeeping. Dan ada secebis mood happy hari ni, sebab banyak benda dapat buat walaupun aku memang banyakkkk betul unfinished bussiness! Satu persatu. Jangan panik. Ni asyik nak panik jer. Hehe. Dan tadi sempat jugak pergi Mobil beli ice sepaket. Dah beberapa hari teringin nak minum air teh 0 ais! Hah! Ambik! Makan ice tu. Minum air tu sampai pengsan!

Bukan tidak boleh menjadi pelawak, tapi jangan sampai dianggap benak.

2010-02-19T14:15:00.012+13:00

Maaf, entri ini banyak mengunakan perkataan bodoh.

Aku cukup tak suka cerita bodoh, lawak bodoh atau percakapan bodoh. Kumpulan pelawak yang cukup popular suatu ketika dahulu (tahu kan siapa?) memang sekarang aku tidak suka. Masa mula2 kemunculan mereka, lawak mereka ada juga betulnya. Pernah juga dulu aku membeli CD berwarna kuning mereka yang ada lagu berunsur nasihat. Tapi lama kelamaan, lawak berfaedah bertukar menjadi lawak bodoh.

Sejak muncul dikaca televisyen, aku pernah menonton 1-2 kali persembahan mereka yang diiringi gelak ketawa remaja muda yang kelihatan tiada wawasan. Terus aku tutup televisyen dan terus terbit perasaan jelak. Kenapa perlu ketawa terbahak2 mendengar lawak tidak sopan? Lawak yang tidak bernas?

Sekarang ini pula wujud trend cakap-cakap bodoh di radio online yang aku selalu dengar. Menyanyi merapu mengunakan bahasa inggeris. Juga aku tidak suka. Tapi lawaknya tidaklah sebodoh mana. Masih boleh diterima. Namun terbit juga rasa tidak suka. Yang pelik bagi diriku, tapi mungkin biasa bagi orang lain. Ada juga orang yang ingin mendengar cakap-cakap bodoh seperti ini ya? Mungkin aku yang pelik.

Iyalah, mungkin mereka mahu release stress. Mahu seronok-seronok dengar radio. Buat apa dengar benda-benda serius yang boleh menambahkan stress kan? Tapi tak perlu jadi bodoh untuk hilangkan stress. Tapi iyalah, kalau nak dengar tentang isu-isu semasa, kadang-kadang kena guna kepala otak berfikir, mana masa nak release stress kan?

Paradigma itu perlukan anjakan.
Pembangunan modal insan Malaysia masih jauh perjalanannya.
Anak-anak muda masih suka melepak. Bercakap hal bodoh tiada makna.
Nampak wanita muda berjalan, disiul ditertawa.

Radio dan televisyen masih menyiarkan program tiada manfaat.
Laman sesawang tiada batasan lagi.
Iklan berunsur seks terselit di mana-mana.
Akhbar pula makin pudar kredibilitinya.

Oh, saya bukannya alim. Saya juga bukan mahu kebebasan disekat atau apa.
Cuma tidak suka akan cerita, lawak atau percakapan bodoh.
Lawak yang tidak kelakar lagi baik dari lawak bodoh tiada bermesej.
Bukan tidak boleh menjadi pelawak, tapi jangan sampai dianggap benak.

Reading Stimulates The Mind

2010-02-16T17:09:00.005+13:00

There is so much one can gain from reading. Any form of reading in fact. It takes you on a journey. Have you ever read something so worth reading that you can't stop turning the pages? Or sometimes, the reading is too good, that you get emotional? But be careful of hidden agendas. Some readings are written to guide you. But there are readings that will point you in a wrong direction.

I started reading at the age of 5 when I first entered Kindy. I went to kindy for 2 years; 5 and 6 years old. I learnt how to read (besides my parents or sisters teachings) by reading commercials in TVs like "Sila hubungi nombor telefon berikut" or "Sambungan..." or "Kembali selepas ini"

I like reading Malay story books which belonged to my sisters. I don't remember the titles but they were about a group of students at a boarding school. And another serial book called "Siri 5 Penyiasat". It was adapted from the English version. I don't recall the title but it was by Enid Blyton. And the malay version of Nancy Drew! Erm.. I can't seem to recall the title either but I remember I loved them! I remember having lots of the Malay Nancy Drew series. I think I gave them away to my cousins.

My parents encouraged me to read story books and they let me buy anything related to reading. So I get to buy magazines which contains comics and cartoons. Like the infamous Malaysian-born cartoon A.L.O.N.G! And I get to buy BiP and all those type of children's magazines.

But all my readings were in Malay. I don't understand english until I'm about 11.

When we moved to HK, a friend introduced me to Goosebumps. And I started saving my money to buy all the Goosebumps Book collection. All I ever read is Goosebumps. I have tons and tons of Goosebumps books. They were my addictions. And since then, I start reading more. I also started reading grown up novels introduced by my eldest sister. By then, I had switched my preference to reading only english books.

Daddy later introduced me to inspirational books. He bought me "Chicken Soup for the Teenagers". I loved it. It was a collection of inspiring stories written by other teenagers. I later found out that there are titles like "Chicken Soup for Bestfriends" etc. So the Chicken Soup books became my addictions. I think I have more than 10 titles in my collection. I could read it cover to cover in one day. I even wrote a few stories to be submitted to the book. But of course I didn't send them. Now I like novels such as The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter series etc. And guess what, I've been reading Malay/Indonesian novels as well. Novels like Ayat-ayat Cinta and Ketika Cinta Bertasbih gave a different perspective of life than all those western books I've read. I've also been reading Saiful Islam's blog and again it has opened up my mind to things I'm not accustomed to reading.

Apart from storybooks and novels, I used to read the Times for a more wider view of complex things. But my dad said, be careful when forming my opinions after reading those sort of magazines because they have an American influence. When my dad said that, I didn't really understand what he meant. How could someone influence another through writing? But I'm slowly getting it when I started reading different kinds of newspapers. Same issue but different perspective, under different influence, meant for different target audience and a different message trying to get through.

And since last year (third year at uni), I've been trained to read journal articles. Again, interesting knowledge hidden in thousands of written articles. But off course the integrity of each piece of writing is interpreted by the readers' eyes and mind.

I thank my parents for encouraging my reading habits. But now, in between living life, it gets hard to keep up with all the readings. I seldom read storybooks anymore. I've been trying to finish reading Jane Eyre since last year, but it kept getting on hold. I only open online newspapers once every other day. And I've been trying to read ESQ by Ary Ginanjar since forever! And I only keep up with a few blogs.

That's just me making up excuses, but really, as I'm getting older, and as other responsibility starts creeping in, I need to find a solution to keep my reading habits steady. But everytime I see a new novel or a new book, I still get excited and wants to but them all. Well, I guess the reading spirit is still inside me. =)

My Name Is Khan Review

2010-02-12T12:28:00.018+13:00

My Name Is Khan is a new released movie starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. (i love you both! hugs. haha.) and it's directed by Karan Johar and is filmed in San Francisco, United States. I think it's the first Bollywood film filmed in the US. Not so sure though.

We went to watch it twice at Centre Place Village Cinema. There's a huge possibility of a third time. HAHA.

Just briefly about the synopsis, Shah Rukh Khan takes on a role of Rizvan Khan, who has a form of autistic disorder called Asperger's Syndrome. He is intelligent but has problems dealing with people. He has a hard time understanding hidden meanings or implicit meanings in conversations. One of the scene showed Rizvan's brother, Zakir, showing Rizvan his new office. Zakir said "This is my office, have a good look (pointing at the wall)." And Rizvan takes this seriously and looks at the wall literally. Rizvan marries Mandira (Kajol) and they live happily along with Sameer (Mandira's son from her previous marriage) until September 11 2001. A tragedy happened in retaliation and Rizvan is now on a mission to meet the President of the United States. He needs to tell the President, "My name is Rizvan Khan and I am not a terrorist."

But why does he need to do so? What happens when he does meet the President? Is he really a terrorist?

I can't spoil the whole story line here, so you guys have to go and watch it! Go book your tickets people!

Anyways, here's my review. (Disclaimer: This is based on my observation of the movie and what I've learnt from it. If your opinion differ, I do acknowledge that different minds speak different tones. Thank you.)

Let's go to the characters first shall we?

Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol were really superb. No other pair would have pulled it better than they did. Their characters were flawless. I repeat, flawless. Flawless not in the sense that they were the perfect human being for each other. This movie is a far cry from a fantasy love story. But it's how they managed to potray the imperfections of their characters that made them superb. Kajol's eyes did most of the talking. Her happiness and sadness was shared with the audience through her eyes. Shah Rukh Khan was just spendid. How he carried himself as an autistic person is convincing and touching. I couldn't stop crying from the first 2 minutes until the end!

I also liked how different types of characters in the movie was potrayed.

This movie acknowledges the fact that a person can look arabic or indian but they may be neither. Not all people with beard and coloured skin are muslims. Not all hijabies are wives of terrorists. And not all muslims mens are terrorists. This movie acknoledges the ignorance of the general world public about these differences.

One scene showed a person who is a Sikh but does not wear the turban post September 11. He had to abandon his turban and cut his hair because the general public mistakes him for a muslim. How ignorant don't you think? Another scene showed an indian motel owner getting harrassed because he is indian. The general public again mistakes him for being a muslim. But he is a hindu. Of course if you ask me, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference but I am cautious. I acknowledge these regional differences. The sad fact is that most people didn't even realise there is such fact. There are indians who are hindus. And there are indians who are muslims.

Another likeable character is Zakir's wife, Hasina. She is an American Muslim. She looks very much like an American but she wears a hijab. She's a lecturer at the University. Her character is not only potrayed to be a good muslim but she was potrayed as an educated, smart and well dressed American muslim woman. Her character is really what the general world public should associate when mentioning muslim woman. She was not a terrorist (obviously), but was quite the opposite, she was an educator to the American public. Another character which may be an eye-opener to ignorants out there who thinks muslim woman are uneducated and stupid. (sigh).

However, the movie also acknowledges the hard truth for us muslims. That there are extremist out there who calls for Jihad for the wrong reasons.

One scene showed Rizvan in a mosque where he over heard a muslim, Dr. Feisal Rehman gathering a group of brothers for Jihad. Here a muslim is again potrayed as an educated person, a doctor infact, but he was calling his brothers for Jihad in the name of Allah because he said Allah has ordered such thing. i.e Killing of anyone who despises Islam. And he was trying to convince the crowd by saying..

Dr Feisal Rehman: "When Allah commanded Ibrahim a.s to kill his son, he did so without any question."

The scene showed the exact reason why muslims are being labelled as terrorists. The scene also showed Rizvan taking a stand by recollecting Nabi Ibrahim and Nabi Ismail's story.

Ibrahim a.s 's story is an example of love and compassion. Not hate. When Allah commanded Ibrahim a.s. to kill Ismail a.s., he obeyed because he was sure that Allah's love is great. He obeyed because he had trust and faith in Allah. And Allah repay his obidience by substituiting Ismail a.s.

So the scene showed the dark side of being muslim who misunderstands the teaching of Islam. Yes, there are such people. The message conveyed was that there are extremist. But what these people do does not reflect the true teachings of Islam and does not represent the whole religion and the people who hold this faith.

Despite all the scenes of muslims being ill-treated, Khan's American neighbour (Sarah, her husband and Reese) and Mama Jenny along with the people in Wilhelmina Town in Georgia showed the opposite. They showed kindness towards Rizvan and his family. This balanced out the movie.

I actually think all the characters in the movie were flawless. (I'm not exagerating, seriously). I really have to applaud the research they did for each and every character. And the line of actors and actresses they had played their part wonderfully.

The plot

This movie is about the truth of what people faced after September 11. The nice thing about it is that this truth is potrayed from the Muslim's point of view. Muslims who were not involved in any sort of terrorist actions, muslims who were good citizens and how their lives changed after September 11. This movie showed how people's perspective change for the better and for the worse towards Muslims.

Muslims have to adapt to the environment of post September 11. And non-muslims who look like muslims in the eyes of the ignorant public, had to adapt themselves as well. The struggles these people faced, where the "traumatised post-September 11-world" failed to see, is brought across in this movie.

This movie illustrates another side of the post 9/11 story. However, Rizvan's life story and his mission to meet the President of the United States is still the main plot.

The story line works fine for me but I had a minor problem with one plot in particular. One scene showed a group of reporters and later a group of volunteers in a chest-high flood water waddling through to get to a stranded church in a village in Georgia where the village had been hit by hurricanes. Come on, you can't possible walk in the flood water. Take a rescuing boat for Heaven's sake.

The rest of the plot were good in my opinion. The narrating was not redundant and though the storyline is not simple (but not really complicated), it was easy to follow. Even though the setting is in the US, the hindustani element are still there like speaking urdu to people who obviously don't understand urdu. The love scene between Rizvan and Mandira at the saloon is a classic hindustani storyline. Because when you think about it, in real life, that doesn't happen. But it happens all the time in hindustani films! Maybe people who are not accustomed to hindustani films may find some scene awkward.

Also, some people may not like how Rizvan who is a muslim marries Mandira who is a hindu but they kept their religions anyways. There were scenes where Mandira was praying like the hindu does while in the background, Rizvan was praying like the muslims does. But despite this conflict, I still find the movie great. Plus, the cinematography was splendid. The camera was at the right angle everytime.

I am trully awed by the movie. I recommend it to everyone and anyone. I think everyone should watch it. The least you can get out of the movie is awareness if not addictions! I would bet that whoever watches My Name Is Khan will cry. There were two elderly gentlemen sitting next to us when we watched it the second time around, and they cried too! A couple who was sitting in front of us also shed tears. And I could literally hear people sobbing (beside my own. haha!) through out the entire movie. This movie is definately going to be the best movie of the year. I wonder if they can get nominated for Oscar? Yes, it was that brilliant.

I also loved the song Tere Naina.. Very soothing.. lalala~

Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Singer: Shafqat Amanat Ali
Lyrics: Niranjan Iyengar

Tere naina, tere naina, tere naina re (4x)
Your eyes…..

Nainon ki chaal hai, makhmali haal hai
your eyes have tricks

Neechi palkon se badle samaa
From beneath lashes they can change the world

Naina sharamaye jo, ya ke bhar aaye jo
When eyes are shy or fill with tears

Tham ke ruk jaaye dono jahaan
The worlds come to a standstill

Rab ki nemat hai teri nigaahein
Eyes are God’s gift to you

Jisme basti hai uski duayein
Wherein reside His blessings

Aise naino ki baaton mein koi kyun na aaye
Who can resist the power of eyes such as yours

Ho Tere naina, tere naina, tere naina re (2x)
Your eyes….

Ho Aise naino ki baaton mein koi kyun na aaye
Who can resist the power of eyes such as yours

Ho Tere naina, tere naina, tere naina re – 2 times
Your eyes……

Aahat khwabon ki, chahat dhadkan ki
the sound of dreams, desires of the heart

Unke kadmon ke hai ye nishaan
These are what eyes hold in their depths

Chahe kuch na boloon, chahe raaz na kholoon
I don’t have to speak nor reveal any secret

Ye samajte hai meri zubaan
They understand every unspoken word

Mujhpe barsi jo teri nigaahein
When your eyes rained down on me

Meri saanson ne badli adaayein
My breath changed its beat

Hoo Aise naino ki baaton mein koi kyun na aaye
Who can resist the power of eyes such as yours

Ho Tere naina, tere naina, tere naina re (2x)
Your eyes….

Aise naino ki baaton mein koi kyun na aaye
Who can resist the power of eyes such as yours

Ho Tere naina, tere naina, tere naina re (2x)
Your eyes…..

Tere naina, raahein saja de
Your eyes light up my paths

Tere naina, doori mita de
Your eyes draw me closer to you

Tere naina, dhadkan ko badha de
Your eyes make my heart beat faster

Tere naina, palkon mein samaa le
Your eyes hold me in them

Wallah
Oh Lord

Zakham pe marham, tere naina
Your eyes are like balm on a wound

Phool pe shabman, tere naina
Your eyes are like dew on a flower

Jag bhoole bhoole, tere naina
Your eyes make me forget the world

Dil choo le choo le, tere naina
Your eyes touch my heart

Tere nainon ke aage toh taaren bhi sharamaye ..
even the stars are shy in front of ur eyes

Pa ni sa re sa ni dha pa
Ni dha pa ma ga re sa

Tere naina, tere naina
Your eyes…..

Nainon ki chaal hai, makhmali haal hai
your eyes have tricks

Neechi palkon se badle samaa
From beneath lashes they can change the world

Rab ki nemat hai teri nigaahein
Eyes are God’s gift to you

Jisme basti hai uski duayein
Wherein reside His blessings

Aise naino ki baaton mein koi kyun na aaye
Who can resist the power of eyes such as yours

Ho Tere naina, tere naina, tere naina re (4x)
Your eyes….

p/s This entry contains grammatical error which i can't be bothered with. =)

Bukan mek, tapi miss.

2010-02-11T12:55:00.006+13:00

Aku ni suka cakap kelantan. Kami adik beradik kalau bercakap, tak ada lenggok kelantan pekat, cuma istilah yang digunakan memang pure kelantan. Pendek kata bahasa kelantan memang bahasa rasmi rumah kami. Tapi kalau cakap dengan orang luar, semua dah pandai cakap melayu standard. Kalau bercakap dengan orang kelantan, memang makin menjadi-jadilah kami. Hehe.

Kadang-kadang kelakar jugak bila semua orang dalam rumah cakap kelantan pekat cuma abang ipar aku tak paham. Dia sengih-sengih jelah. Haha. Nak-nak lagi time satu family tengok TV. Memang riuh espeacially kalau tengok drama. Mulut masing-masing laju mengomen dalam bahasa kelantan. Lepas tu gelak guling-guling sebab guna istilah kelantan yang berbunyi kelakar.

Tapi selalunya aku hanya akan substitute satu atau dua perkataan kepada bahasa kelantan. dan yang lain menggunakan bahasa standard. Contoh.

"Saya nak pergi gateh basikal." Cuma perkataan kayuh digantikan dengan gateh.

"Jange rghukah kerusi tu." Dua perkataan di-kelantan-kan. Rghukah = panjat.

"Jange hungga toktukalu. Reboh lamo ke." Haa.. ayat ni dalam slang kelantan sepenuhnya. Maksudnya, Jangan berlari-lari. Nanti jatuh.

dulu masa kecik2, belum sekolah, aku selalu kena sakat sebab cakap melayu ada slang kelantan. masa tu belum pandai cakap bahasa melayu standard.

makcik jual nasi lemak: nak apa dik?
aku: nak nasik lemak lauk sutong satu. (ingat dh betul dh ayat aku, takkan lah nak cakap, "mokcik, ambo nok nasik lemok lauk sutong sebukuh". kan kan kan?)
makcik jual nasi lemak: haa.. bang, bungkus satu nasi lemak sUUtong kat adik ni.
aku: ceit. perli pulak makcik ni.

Adik aku Aliaa lagi best. Dia dulu tak pandai cakap melayu standard. Tapi pandai cakap kelantan dan english. Hasil didikan sekolah antarabangsa.

Cerita ni masa Aliaa umur 7 ke 8 tahun. Masa tu balik holiday kt M'sia pergilah membeli-belah di Parkson. Masa tu beli barang tapi tak cukup plastik. Abah pun suruh Aliaa pergi minta kat kaunter. Aliaa pun pergi. Lama betul dia dekat kaunter tu. Last2 dia pun datang membawa plastik ditangan. Dia pun mengomel.

Aliaa: Eii, orang tu tak paham aku cakap apa.
Aku atau siapa tak ingat: Kau cakap apa dekat dia?
Aliaa: Aku minta supik la satu. Dia tak faham.
Aku: Kau cakap supik ke?
Aliaa: Ha'ah la. Pastu dia buat muka blur.
Aku: HAHAHHA. Habis tu macam mana kau dapat plastik ni?
Aliaa: Dia pengang supik, lepas tu dia tanya, nak ni ke? Aku pun ambil jelah supik tu.
Aku: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

Kadang-kadang rindu juga nak berborak dalam bahasa kelantan. Tapi housemate orang KL. pure KL ok. Haha. (jangan marah :p). Kadang-kadang geram, cakap jelah kelantan walaupun dia tak faham. Kadang-kadang panggil dia mek, tapi dia kata, "bukan mek ok, tapi miss." poyo jer.. hehe

Ok, tiba-tiba rasa nak balik Malaysia. nak pergi jenguk website mas. bye.

***tambahan**

tiba-tiba teringat pula satu lagi kisah.

kawan kakak aku buat practical dekat hospital di kelantan. kawan kakak aku ni tagging dengan doctor lain. dia pun observe conversation doctor ngan makcik yang datang tu.

doctor: mokcik serro ranno? (makcik rasa sakit macam mana?)
makcik: mokcik serro srupo tokleh nyawo.
kawan kakak aku: (alamak, makcik ni nk mati ke xleh bernyawa?) **panic**

HAHA.

sebenarnya makcik tu nak cakap dia tak boleh bernafas aka sesak nafas.

lagi satu scene.

patient: anok mokcik brehi bbuak. nok buak lagu mano dih?
doctor: errrrrrrrr...

translation: "anak makcik selalu sawan. nak buat macam mana ye?"

hehehe =)

Muat tebu di haluan, muat halia di buritan.

2010-02-09T22:37:00.008+13:00

aku ini pemerhati.
bukan sengaja memerhati. tapi memang orangnya pemerhati.
sekilas terpandang kata, aku boleh terjemahkan.

aku maklum ada yang tidak kena.
aku sedar ada yang berubah.
aku tahu siapa atau apa yang diperkatakan.

tapi kan elok kata didepan. bukan distatus.
tapi aku tiada hak berkata lebih. cuma terpanggil mencoret disini sahaja.
aku tidak layak berbicara, cuma terbaca sahaja.

Muat tebu di haluan, muat halia di buritan is a Copyright © Norzahirah Ahmad 2010. All Rights Reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced without written consent from the author.

Tak pernah serik

2010-02-07T21:06:00.004+13:00

Aku ini memang tak pernah serik.
Pernah merasa sulit yang amat, tapi masih lagi mahukan yang rumit itu.
Yang orang katakan payah itulah yang aku cari.
Yang orang tidak akan buat itulah yang aku akan buat.

Dari tiada kerja, mencari kerja.
Dari tiada susah, mencari susah.
Dari tidak tahu, aku tahukan.
Dari orang tidak pernah dengar, aku dengarkan.

Ada yang kata aku ni memang sengaja mencari fasal.
Kadang memang tahu keputusannya akan jadi bagaimana, tapi tetap mahu lakukan.
Demi mutu dan nilai tambah diri.
Demi masa mendatang yang masih samar.

Tidak pernah gentar untuk keluar dari zon selesa.
Tidak pernah gerun pergi keseorangan.
Tidak pernah kesal kerana mencuba.
Tidak pernah jelak bertanya kalau mahu.

Inginkan yang tersendiri, lain dari yang biasa.
Inginkan yang berkualiti untuk diri.
Inginkan keunikan yang boleh kukatakan memang aku.
Itu yang aku cari.

Keputusanku memang dari diriku sendiri.
Atas pertimbangan otak dan hatiku.
Atas pemerhatian orang dan keadaan sekelilingku.
Atas garis haluan yang Maha Esa.
Memang begitu sejak dulu.

Sekali lagi aku tidak jera.
Sekali lagi aku sedang membuat penelitian.

Jika benar ini yang aku mahukan.
Sekali lagi aku akan keluar dari zon selesaku.
Sekali lagi aku akan menduga kebolehanku.
Ya Allah, Kau permudahkanlah.

Hello, assalamualaikum..

2010-02-06T21:36:00.006+13:00

Ok hari ini saya nak buat review tentang handphone yang saya pernah gunakan. Tak kiralah guna lama atau sekejap. Selalunya, phone2 yg saya guna ialah phone yang diturunkan kepada saya, selalunya dari abah ke mama ke kakak2 atau adik2. Ada juga phone yang memang saya beli khas untuk saya.

Ini rasanya phone pertama saya. Sebenarnya mama punya tapi saya yang pakai. Hehe. Nokia 8210. Waktu tu Form 3, masa ni dah kira phone set2 kecil dah ni. Masa tu belum masuk asrama lagi. Pakai pun time pergi tuisyen atau jalan2 kt KL je.

Ini pula phone on and off saya. Nokia 3310. Rasanya ni phone gilong. Pakai phone ni time balik dari asrama.

Motorola yang ala2 canggih diwaktu kegemilangannya ini pula saya sempat pakai sekejap sahaja. Pastu kakak pulak pakai. Time ni pun masa duduk asrama. Time balik rumah jelah berhandphone kan zaman tu? Saya budak baik tau, tak bawak hp pergi sekolah. Eh ye ke? haha. Disebabkan reka bentuk dia macam tu, time nak jawab call macam susah jugak la. Sebab bila pusing, bahagian yang ada speaker tu tak statik.

Kemudian lepas SPM masuk matrik saya pakai phone samsung ni pula. Samsung C510.

Lama jugak pakai phone ni adalah nak dekat 2 tahun. Phone ni diturunkan oleh abah. Saya memang selesa pakai phone ni. Keypad mudah ditekan. Hantar message pun laju. Nak jawab call pun senang, just flip it open. Then ade camera boleh la ambil gambar diri sendiri time bosan. Hehe. Pastu tak bercalar balar sebab masa tu guna protector yang lutsinar tu. Tapi phone jenis flip macam ni boleh cepat rosak screen dia sebab selalu sangat flip. Masa saya guna hp ni dulu pernahlah repair screen dia sekali sbb rosak.

Pastu lepas bosan guna Samsung flip ni, saya pakai Sony Ericsson V800.

Tapi pakai pun sekejap sangat sebab bagi hp ni dekat wani. Dan saya pula pakai Nokia N90.

Hp ni sangat cool. First, sebab dia boleh flip macam dalam gambar dekat atas ni. Kualiti camera dia memang sangat best. Saya pakai N90 lama dalam 2 tahun. Masa datang NZ pakai phone ni. Masa tu belum ada camera, jadi time pergi jalan2 saya ambil gambar guna N90. Sangat berjasa. Tapi sayang, phone ni rosak. Sebab banyak kali jatuh dan masuk air. Sekarang still boleh on tapi tak boleh receive call. Masa guna N90, N90 ibarat jadi notepad untuk saya. Kalau ada nk tulis reminder, notes, appointment, semua letak dalam N90. Memang macam organizer lah N90 ni. Selain samsung flip C510 tu, N90 is still my favourite phone.

Jadi lepas N90 saya rosak, saya beli Nokia 3216. Masa beli Nokia 3216, saya dah tak nak phone yang canggih. Saya cuma nak yang basic. Yang boleh call dengan text. Itu sahaja yang dicari. Jadi Nokia 3216 menepati ciri2 itu. Nokia 3216 is a newer version of my first phone, Nokia 8210. Slim and simple. Tapi jodoh dengan phone ni tak lama. Dia hilang sewaktu saya pergi blueberry picking. Hilang tak jumpa sampai sekarang.

Masa phone Nokia 3216 hilang, saya dah menyampah dah nak pakai hp. Ingat nk tunggu beli dekat Malaysia tapi sebab keperluan jadi terpaksa beli phone kt NZ. Saya pilih yang paling murah sekali. Harganya waktu beli dulu dalam $NZD 120. Okla tu tutup mata je. Jadi wujudlah Samsung B520. Dan ini kali pertama pakai hp colour pink. Memang pink betul. Hp ni pun sangat basic. Call & Text shj. Phone paling tak best saya guna. Tapi bertahan setahun lebih juga.

Kemudian bateri hp pinky saya buat hal pula. Air bateri keluar dan hp xleh on. Malas nak repair saya pun "pau" abah punya communicator. E90.

Memang gabak betul hp ni. Function ala2 N90 tapi E90 boleh surf internet. Macam laptop yg teramat kecil. Kalau bukak website, layout website tak berubah, jadi bila tengok sama macam dalam laptop cuma 50 kali lagi kecik lah. Buka FB or e-mail memang practical. Dan boleh connect to the web using wireless internet. So kalau time saya malas bukak laptop, guna E90 pun ok untuk check news, weather, FB or e-mail. Cuma masalah phone ni ialah size. Memang susah kalau nak pergi kedai yang dekat2 pun nak kena bawak beg untuk letak hp ni. Kalau bawak kat tangan nampak besar pula. Disebabkan penat nak usung hp ni ke hulu ke hilir, saya telah membuat keputusan untuk membeli second-hand phone dekat TradeMe.

Search yang murah2 je. Ada yang harga $1, tapi bila nak dekat closing time, harga melambung jadi $200. Takde kerja nak pergi beli yang harga $200. Dollar pulak tu. Jadi saya hanya beli Sony Ericsson Z250i. Very cute and small. Again function tersangatlah basic. Tak macam E90 tu. Tapi boleh la. Setakat ni Sony Ericsson z250i ni berfungsi dengan baik. Better stay that way! Dah tak larat nak tukar2 hp dh.

Bila tengok2 balik, rupenya banyak jugak phone yang saya dah guna. Sebenarnya ada lagi 2-3 model yang saya tak cerita kt sini sebab saya guna adalah dalam 2-3 bulan sahaja. Sebab selalunya guna leftovers from my dad or sisters je. Yg saya betul2 beli hanya Nokia 3216, Samsung Pinky ngan Sony Ericsson z250i ni. Yang lain semua gilir2 pakai adik beradik.

Kalau nak beli phone lepas ni pun, mungkin nak beli Blackberry or PDA or yang seangkatan lah. Sebab nak guna function macam internet, notes, appointment etc. Ala2 N90 or E90 tapi tak nak yang saiz besar sangat. Tapi ni tunggu kerja dulu lah. Buat masa sekarang, amat berharap Sony Ericsson z250i dapat bertahan at least setahun.

Sebenarnya technology mobile phone ni memang cepat bergerak dan berubah. Kalau nak kejar memang tak terkejar. Jadi pilihlah hp yg benar2 sesuai untuk kegunaan supaya selesa walaupun tak mengikut trend. Saya rasa kalau hp N90 saya tak rosak, saya still guna N90 sampai sekarang. Because it was a very useful phone. =)

45 minit yang membanggakan

2010-02-04T20:28:00.004+13:00

The month of February is regarded as the Bike Wise Month here in NZ. It's a celebration and an encouragement to use a two-wheeled transport (a bike of course) to get around your daily routine in support of a healthy lifestyle as well as sustaining whatever we have left in our environment. In Hamilton there's quite a few activites organised for families and individuals. This includes the Perry Foundation Rev Cycle Festival, Go By Bike Day, Mayoral Challenge and the Bike Wise Challenge. To encourage participation from the public, they have arranged for free breakfast to those who decided to chuck their car keys and use the bike. If you would like to know more about these events you can visit Sport Waikato, www.bikewisechallenge.co.nz and www.therev.co.nz/.

As for my story, I wouldn't really say that I'm inspired by the Bike Wise Month, but I bike every now and then. Err.. to be precise I've only cycled 6 times since I bought my red bike a little more than a month ago. And the Bike Wise Month sorta gave me a reason to go cycling. =)

And today, I did the unthinkable. I cycled for a whole 45 minutes! (proud. haha) And it wasn't cycling for a few times and relaxing my leg letting the bike run down the hill. I was actually cycling! I put the gear up till 6 and hell ya I was working my legs!

Here's the route that I took. Fuhh.. It was draining people.

Since I don't have any stamina at all, I was puffing up the hill from the end of Knighton Road into Cambridge Road and until Masters Ave. I think I can equate my cycling speed to the speed of a lazy snail climbing up a tree. Haha. But I enjoyed the ride nonetheless, except for the hilly part.

When I got to Carrington Ave, I couldn't wait to get home. I thought I might faint. But I managed to reach home in one piece, thank goodness.

I am a proud woman. Haha.

Let's see if I can do this again e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y.

Wishful thinker aren't I? :p

p/s I haven't got a picture of my bike, will put it up when I do.

Shitake Beef Porridge

2010-02-03T15:07:00.000+13:00

I'm back to cooking today.. (sigh) I had to anyways.. so I'm making porridge which I named, "Special Shitake Beef Porridge". Haha.. (it's being cooked right at this moment and I can smell the aroma.. yumm). Well it's cooked now. That pic above was taken a few minutes ago. =)

Porridge is easy to make. Just drop in anything you want and there you have it.

I usually don't follow recipes and when friends ask for recipes I don't really have any. But since I'm writing this as I cook, I guess I can tell you guys what I've put in before I forget. Here goes..

500 g of beef (the ones i bought were labelled curry beef so it has bones and some meat on it.

1 carrot - diced nicely. haha

1 bowl of small size shitake mushroom - immersed in water and put in the microwave for 5 minutes. drain.

1 large holland onion - the white one - sliced thinly.

10 cm of ginger - sliced thinly.

2 large potatoes - peeled and cut into whatever shape you think is pretty.

1.5 cups of rice - I used mixed brown and normal rice.

100 g of rice vermicilli - washed

salt

I used an electric frying pan to cook my porridge, but you can use normal pot or slow cookers.

So fill up your pot with like 3/4 full of hot or boiling water. I just used hot tap
water and put in the beef pieces, sliced onions, ginger, shitake mushroom, potatoes and salt. Just let it stew for 30 - 40 minutes till the beef is tender.

Then add the diced carrots and the rice. Simmer for another 30 minutes. (I think I have 5 minutes left at the moment.. I'm gonna go check my porridge).

Ok the porridge looked really thick so I've added some water. Do this if you want to thin down your porridge.

And lastly, adjust the taste and add the rice vermicilli. Simmer for another 15 minutes and you're done!

Jemput makan! Sorrylah resepi malas, xde tumis2, main campak aje.. hmmm

A Whining Cook

2010-02-01T12:51:00.000+13:00

i've never really cooked until i've come to live in nz. i'm more of an observer and a helper when my mom cooks.

it was last week when me and my housemate (kakyu) got tired of cooking. we complained that we had to cook every single day. that there's no place to dine out and eat malaysian food in hamilton unlike in auckland. we were hungry, but we decided to hold a riot against cooking. who we were holding them against were however unclear. haha.

do you know how tiring it is to cook every single freaking day? maybe you don't feel it. but just try imagining this.

u woke up, and u have to make breakfast. let's say ur in the mood to eat wheat-bix or yogurt. well that's easy enough coz there's just pouring of the milk and the cereals right? but what if you wanna eat nasi goreng? or mee goreng? or karipap? this is where it gets frustrating.

u have to cook the rice first. then prepare all the ingredients like the onions and chillies etc. after cooking it. there's the cleaning up as well. plus u smell like ns goreng afterwards.

and you go through this 3 times a day, 7 days a week for the rest of the year.. i don't think i can handle this anymore!!! it's soooo frustrating! And I've been doing it for 3 years... well minus all the eat outs, celebrations, hols etc.. perhaps 2.5 years.. still a long time people..

don't get me wrong. i do cook. i try all kinds of recipes. i'm not a lazy person who prefers to starve than cook. or who gets to eat but gets to skip the cooking. i cook all kinds of food. BUT LAST WEEK, I JUST GOT TIRED OF IT.

i miss living in malaysia. there's the good homemade cooking PLUS all the delicious restaurants, fastfood, hawkers and mapleys.

i was thinking the other day i might want to further my studies overseas again, but when i think of all the yummy food back home, i might not want to. haha.

my new wish: "Halal & Delicious Malaysian Restaurant in Hamilton, NZ."

Please, please, please...............

P.Y.O

2010-01-28T22:51:00.000+13:00

Time summer mcm skrng, dekat kawasan Hamilton ni mmg femes utk pegi PYO atau penuhnye pick your own.. jadi dapatlah merasa memetik sendiri buah2han yg dari pokok dan terus masuk mulut.. =) tp musim picking ni bukan hanya waktu summer, musim lain pn ada cume buah nye of course berbeza... slalunya farm owner akan kenakan entrance fee around $2-5, then dia akan charge per kg buah yg kita petik.. harganye of course lower than the ones in the supermarkets..

antara farm yg dh sempat melawat include strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, boysenberry, blackberry, perssimon, asparagus, sweetcorn & ladang bawang.. sukeeenyerrr! cume gambar kt ladang asparagus ngan sweetcorn xde.. sbb time pegi ladang asparagus camera dh abis battery.. sweetcorn plak time jd buruh paksa time keje kt AgResearch dulu, xsempat nk berposing2 pon..

yg belum berkesempatan pergi lg are kiwi, avocado, apple & pear farms.. other than PYO ade jugak DYO.. dig your own eg. potatoes or kumara.. insya-Allah kalau ada peluang & rezeki mesti nk pegi tgk jgk..

my first farm visit was to the blueberry farm in ohaupo, near hammy.. sedap blueberrynyer gemoks & manis.. i was working at AgResearch during that time and i told a collegue that i was going blueberry picking during the weekend and he was like, 'why do u want to do that?'.. haha.. yelah omputeh dh biasa benda2 mcm ni jd bg die cm pelik plak nk get all excited nk g picking blueberry.. haha.. screw what he said, i went anyways and i liked it.. =)

nilah ghupe blueberry.. sedap je nk kutip, pokok xde duri, teknik petik just tarik2 je n ngap =)
****************

ni pulak ladang jagung yg xde jagung.. this is not the place i went picking (ni tempat kitorg pegi maze yg diperbuat oleh pokok jagung)... the corn plants were about the same height.. all were very very very tall.. mmg kalau org yg takut tempat sempit xleh pegi.. coz mmg akan panik coz xnampak atas, kiri or kanan bila dh masuk in between the plants.. but sweetcorns are easy to pick as well, just look for a huge one, with a balck coloured tassle (the hair) and just twist it and walla.. then pop it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and ur good to go! sedap2..

**********************

this one is my favourite one of all.. mmg sgt teruja tgk pokok persimmons ni.. or better known as pisang kaki in m'sia.. pokoknye xde daun just the fruits.. kalau nk buah kt bhgn atas tu kena panjat tangga.. mmg manis.. kalau kt m'sia makan pisang kaki ni selalunye mommy akan kupas kulit, tp yg ni, mmg fresh and sgt crunchy.. xyah kupas kulit pn just eat it away like an apple.. =)

****************

the next farm was the strawberry farm.. strawberry ni susah sikit nk petik sbb kena mencangkung utk petik.. n kena selak2 antara daun nk carik buah yg masak.. kalau nampak yg mmg merah & ripe tu mmg sedap xsempat masuk punnet dh ngap.. =)

they're huge!

*******************

ok, next!

yg sebelah kanan boysenberry.. sebelah kiri blackberry.. berries2 ni makan with ice-cream or pancake mmg sgt sedap =)

the following are pictures of the berries we ate at the fresh berry farm.. i liked raspberry the most and next best was the boysenberry.. mmg juicy.. tp blackberry & black raspberry mcm kelat2 sikit..

had enough of berries?
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bawah ni pulak ladang bawang.. time ni kitorg (me & kakyu) ternampak ladang ni kt tepi jalan & kitorg terus masuk.. at first ingatkan cendawan sbb nampak bulat2, tp rupenye bawang.. mmg luas sgt ladang ni seluas2nye.. bila tgk ladang bawang ni br nampak sebenarnye susah process nk kutip bawang ni.. mula2 daun bawang tu dicantas, then bawang kene korek bawak naik ke atas tanah.. lepas tu nk lerai2kan bawang tu lg.. then nk kena masuk dalam guni.. bnyk betul nk buat, pekerja pulak sikit je xsampai 20 org.. matahari pulak sgt terik.. ladang pula seluas-luasnyer..

yang banyak2 kt blakang tu guni2 yg dipenuhi dengan bawang..

best x?

these farm visits were just to occupy our time during weekends.. but it was a good exposure for me to learn about the origin of the fruits & veggies we see in the supermarket.. of course la tahu these fruits & veggies come from a farm but i've never cared to know more than that.. now i appreciate what i eat more coz i know it's pretty hard work for the workers at these farms..

i've never worked in these farms before, cume pegi PYO only.. but picking stakat yg nk makan pn dh penat, bayangkan kalau kerja 8 hours picking? penat tu.. tambah dengan matahari summer yg sungguh menyegat..

bg yg xsuke makan bawang tu, fikir2kan lah.. =)

*************

owh baru teringat!!! selain fruits & veggies, seashells pn leh g picking.. i've only been cockles picking, but there's oysters and mussel picking as well..

here are the pictures.....

us in raglan..

hasilnyer.. seronok! =)

************************************

Bukan Rezeki, Takde Jodoh

2010-01-26T00:27:00.000+13:00

Port Waikato is where the Waikato river meets the Tasman Sea and it's a small town. A crazy idea of fishing came when we were researching the place on the net. Lots of reviews saying it's a good spot for fishing. So we decided to try our hands on fishing! None of us never did any fishing what so ever! We took off to the warehouse and surveyed some fishing gear.. that's where we were discouraged. Too many unfamiliar things were sold at the fishing section and we couldn't understand a thing.. we roam around and left buying a hand-held fishing line..

Then we continued reading reviews about Port Waikato and some people mentioned net fishing. We got another crazy idea of buying a net! So I searched in Tradme and found some fishing net for fishing flounder and decided to bit on it. But the closing was a couple of days away. (ended up not getting it coz it was too expensive).

In the mean time, the two fisherman-to-be, were getting all excited! Siap mimpi2 lagi! hahaha..
We kept reading reviews and they were all saying they got lots and lots of fish at Port Waikato, which made us even more thrilled!

We decided to go to K-Mart and survey the fishing gear over there. We looked at each of the rods and the tags. We kinda figured out ourselves that some rods were used on the seaside or the beach, some are for the river and some are for the boats. Good on us! There was a 25% discount as well on the fishing gear so I bought a surf-casting rod (12 feet long for the beach) and Kakyu bought a river rod (slightly shorter). The rods were sold as combo along with the lines and the rotating thingy. We were all smiles in the car with the fishing rods in the back seat.

When we got home, natural curiosity got me thinking, "Hey, we haven't got the hooks! How are we gonna hook the fish?". We fell on the floor laughing. Luckily we realised that before going.

So the next day we went to the warehouse again, this time looking for a hook. Again when we got there, we were greeted with different sizes hooks. And there was a guide telling us for a surf casting rod, we need swivels, hooks, and sinkers of different sizes and shapes! What the heck are those things? After reading and browsing through, we figured out what hooks and sinkers are, but we still don't know what swivels are. So we bought the hooks and the sinkers and decided not to bother with the swivel thingy. We went home, once again smiling with the hooks and the sinkers in our hands. We were all set! Or so we thought.

Then the night before the fishing trip, we went to a friend's house, who was also going with us, to learn how to tie the knots and stuffs to set up the rods. He's also new in this fishing thingy but he went fishing once so he was our 'expert' and that's where we found out what swivels are! It's used to tie up the ends of the line to hold the sinkers or to extend the line. I didn't really get how to tie the knots properlly but decided that my knots were good enough. Haha. After a couple of tries doing the knots, we went home with high hopes of catching lots of fish the next day! Wishful thinkers weren't we? It's all the adrenaline making us all excited!

Off we went the next day @ 7.30 am.

At the Port, we were staying at a lodge and the owner had promised to teach us how to fish and point us to the fishing spots. Glennys was such a wonderful teacher. She taught us from the start till the finish.

We started by setting up the rods and she thought us how to make a simpler knot which i mastered after a couple of tries! The setting up of the rod were fairly straight forward and i got it quite quickly. When everyone is set, Glennys took us to the sand dunes near the sea. We were gonna practice casting the rods.

This is how the line is set up. The round thing at the top is a hand-held rod thingy which can be replaced with a normal rod. In between are the hooks and at the bottom are the sinkers. So the baits were attached to the hooks. The swivels were just connecters between the lines and the sinkers.

When we were practising the casting, I was sooooooooooooooo slow. I don't get it at all! The string kept getting tangled up and I don't even know how to hold the rod properly! But Glennys were very patient. She made sure everyone knew what they were doing.

After what felt like 50 trials of casting the rod, I was able to throw the line quite far into the water. So Glennys left and we waited for the fish to come biting. We used frozen pilchards as the bait and waited patiently.

This is the sand dune we had to walk on to get to the fishing spot which is at the other side of the dune.

me at the top of the sand dune

There were 6 fishers that day, but we only caught 3 fish. (2 was kahawai & the other one was a sprat). Go google if you wanna know what they look like!

I wasn't discouraged that my fish jumped back into the river when I was trying to pose with it. A new lesson learnt was NOT to pose but get your fish AWAY from the water ASAP!!! But it was a small fish so I wasn't so frustrated. We went back to the lodge with 3 fish in hand and half was fried and the other was cooked as masak lemak cili padi.. sedap2.. slurrp!

The next day we decided to try our luck again. We went to the sand dunes @ 10.30 am. This time with more confidence, but again luck wasn't on my side. This time it was a huge fish. I was sitting on the sand when I felt the tug at my line. I didn't have time to stand up so I just turned the reel from where I was, but the fish gave a good fight and the line snapped just before the fish reach the sand. So there goes my 2nd fish! It was so close and I could clearly see it, yet it managed to get away from me.I was pretty upset with that lost. We didn't catch any more fish that day and went home.

Nonetheless we were quite pleased with ourselves. We can now stand proud and say we know how to fish! Something that have never crossed my mind. Something that i never thought i would ever do. But I've done it and I'm proud that i gave it a go! And I think it's safe to say that i like fishing and would definately try again regardless of the outcome!

Picture of me by the sand dune and the river waiting patiently.

Besides topping up life-skills, i learnt that i don't always get what i see. Even though for a moment it seems like i was definitely going to get those two fish. But i didn't. I could clearly see it in front of me, i was confident that i was going to get it. But yet i didn't.

*********
I could relate this to life, one moment in my life in particular. Something I learnt a couple of years ago. A friend once asked me about a person i knew, "Are you going to marry him?" And i answered with full confidence, Yes. Well, to me at that time it seems so clear. It was well defined in my head. It was crystal clear that he was the one i loved and that he was the one i'm going to marry. But that didn't happen. Another lesson learned, don't be too over confident. Don't be too confident that a boyfriend will turn into a husband ey? Hehe..
***********

The fish jumped back into the sea. A sea full of the unknown. And I didn't give up and continued casting my rod for I couldn't see what was in the sea. But I have faith there are still fish in the sea and perhaps even different kinds. And when the tide changes, and it was time to go back, i told myself, "bukan rezeki, xde jodoh".

It wasn't meant to be. But it was worth every single bait.

Strength

2010-01-10T19:28:00.000+13:00

Ya Allah berikanlah aku kekuatan,
untuk aku berkata apa yg kurasa sebenar-benarnya.
untuk aku menulis atas namaku sendiri.
untuk aku tidak lg berselindung di balik bait kata yg dikias insan lain.

Ya Allah berikanlah aku kekuatan,
untuk aku lafazkan apa yg ada difikiranku,
untuk aku melakukan apa yg tergerak oleh hatiku.

Ya Allah berikanlah aku kekuatan,
untuk terus hidup dalam dunia yg penuh liku ini.
untuk aku tegar berhadapan dengan dunia dan segala isinya.

Ya Allah berikanlah aku kekuatan,
untuk membuat yg betul,
untuk meninggalkan yg salah,
untuk memperbetulkan yg salah,
untuk terus berpegang pada yg benar.
untuk meneruskan yg betul.

Ya Allah berikanlah aku kekuatan,
untuk aku mendapat kegembiraan yg diredhai-Mu.
bukan kegembiraan yg hanya menambah dosaku dan membelakangkan agama-Mu.

Ya Allah berikanlah aku kekuatan,
untuk aku tempuhi dugaan ini.
aku tahu ini semua datangnya dari-Mu.
aku tahu Kau yg menguji.
aku tahu Kau tahu aku kuat.
tapi ini perit.

Ya Allah
Kau permudahkanlah perjalanan hidupku ini.
Aku belum mengerti mengapa kau berikan aku ujian ini.
Tapi aku tahu akan ada nanti hikmahnya.
Cuma aku belum tahu.

Ya Allah permudahkanlah.

my travelling checklist for 2010!

2009-12-31T15:54:00.000+13:00

1. Tongariro Crossing

2. New Plymouth

3. Napier/Hastings (Hawkes Bay)

4. Gisbourne

5. Hammer Spring

6. Kaikoura

7. Blenheim

8. Picton

9. Nelson

Tongariro Crossing

So Tongariro Crossing is a hiking trip up and between the three rings (Mt. Ruapehu, Mt. Ngauruhoe & Mt. Tongariro). People say it'll take 8 hours for the walk.. I'll say more like 10-12 hours with people who snap pictures every other minute! We're doing it in March. GOSH! I haven't started training for it yet! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

************************************************************************************

Mt. Egmont

In New Plymouth, there's Mt. Egmont. So perhaps in May.. Insya-Allah.

************************************************************************************

Cape Kidnappers

Napier & Hastings & Gisbourne is a long way from Hammy. Not really sure when to go there.. Well, if I ever go, the Cape Kidnappers place sounds awesome. The only problem is the distance. Hmmm. Anyone keen on driving?

************************************************************************************

Picton, Malborough

Number 5 till 9 are all in the northern part of South Island. Thinking of doing a 2 or 3 days trip to visit all of them. Fly in to Christchurch and do a road trip up to Nelson and then back down again. Fuhh.. When? Don't know yet.. Maybe during Winter Break or Summer 2010.

************************************************************************************

Cape Reinga, Northland

I haven't been to Cape Reinga yet.. but it's way too far.. like 8-9 hours drive from Hamilton.. I'll have to skip this one I guess.. Unless someone is keen on driving and I can hop in the back seat. Hehe..

My November 09

2009-12-06T22:29:00.000+13:00

banyak betul benda berlaku in November. there was exams! then lepas exam kelam kabut pack barang and flew home the next day (friday). really tiring. notes and books semua xsempat kemas sgt. when i arrived, my sisters, wani & nina picked me up and we went for dinner in soho bangi. the next day i went to my sister's house and met my cute lil niece for the first time. zara was soooo cute! she cried obviously when i tried holding her. but she was ok after that.

the next couple of days i went shopping for shoes, glasses etc etc. went to wani's college. drove around in kl with wani. haha. both of us don't really know the roads coz my sister just got her license and car but we made it! makan2 was soooo good in m'sia. too many shops to choose from. =)

then on thursday i flew back to kelantan. i haven't met my mum coz she was in kelantan coz my granma had a stroke and was hospitilised and my mom was also hospitilised (long story) but bottom line my mom was already out of the hospital but there was still some follow up to do in HUSM so she needed to stay in kelantan for a few more weeks. took firefly and went back with wani.

kelantan was heavens for food! sedap ok. i haven't been back for almost 4 years. and a lot have happened. lots of improvements. kelantan now have parkson, tesco, giant, KB mall. dalam KB mall ada macam2. just like KL and i just realised that my village is in the middle of the kota bharu city! nice. sbb sblm ni xleh drive lg so tak brapa peka the locations of places. haha

i had to drive a manual coz all the available cars were all manuals except for one. tp bila nk pegi hospital & city pinjam my aunty's car which is auto. drive manual bawak dalam kampung je.. gear tige je aku bawak. mmg kena gelak kt orang. haha.. pagi2 kul 8 dh bgn g beli breakfast. murah plus bnyk gila dia bagi. nasi kerabu 2 ringgit je kut. kuih muih bnyk giler. yummy yummy yummy! i was in kelantan for a week. pegi hospital every other day. went shopping for tudung + bj kurung. went to aunties' houses. and eat eat eat. mmg bnyk btul makan. also sempat pegi visit aliaa at her school. bdk nk spm, jerawat tumbuh melata.. haha

che nah buat.. sedap oo.. =p

then came back to kl a week before flying back to nz. bnyk lg benda nk buat. & raya haji was coming too. g dentist. g lowyatt. g macam2 tempat. setiap hr tak lekat kt rumah. then it was raya haji. after 2 years kut, all of us 5 beradik ada sama2 for raya. so it was a complete set raya kali ni. makanan raya macam2 ada. celebrated birthdays wani & aliaa too. my flight was at night at 9.30.. boring btul naik flight tp nasib malam so i slept most of the time.

the complete set, except zara yg tgh tidur selepas meragam

then arrived in nz on the 28th (Saturday), 28th was raya haji for nz. biasela nz lewat sehari raya. so there was still raya food. rendang and lots and lots and lots of daging. then the next day (sunday) dh start packing coz we're moving house in a week!

we started packing and there wasn't enough tape to tape the boxes. so kakyu was gonna go out and buy some. dia pn kluar pegi kt kreta, and u know what. sumbody broke into the car. the small triangle window was broken and the thief went through the glove box. my car was a mess. i wasn't impressed with the offender at all. ko dh pecahkan cermin keta, dh sepah2 kn, then xde curik ape2. buat susah org je. it was a hassle having to make police report and stuffs. took the car for fingerprinting on monday. was quite pleased with the service from the nz police. they kinda took the offend seriously even though i know it's gonna be impossible to find the culprit.

then had to call the insurance ppl. luckily the window ppl came and repaired the car at the house. okla kn, coz xyah susah2 pegi hantar kt service centre plaks. and in between packing/moving house & car theft, i started working on tuesday! fuhh.. mmg bz betul la..

now all of that is behind.. the busiest november ever!

i'm settling into my job quickly, my mom's better now, alia is finished with her spm, the new place is nice and cosy, results are out (alhamdullilah), almost settled with hons application stuffs and i'm embarking on the last month of 2009.

I'm practically cruising through life. Such a good feeling. =)

almost mine.. almost.. haha

2009-10-29T22:17:00.000+12:00

cantik kan? by the brand Teva.. from US.. both of us shrieked with excitement.. well, a little less on my side.. haha

It's called Westwater "Walnut". Very nice, looks feminine, sporty, semi-formal plus semi-casual.. memang smart gell..

i did try it on though.. cost $169 nzd.. td tgk dekat website Teva, harga $70 usd.. + shipping $50 usd.. harga dlm nzd, sama... tp ade choice kaler lain.. cantikkkkkk gilerrr...

but it wasn't meant to be... isk2... kini dia dekat tapi jauh.. begitu dekat dengan kakiku.. tetapi bukan saiz ku.. ceit! kakyu yg beli... ngeh3

kakyu dengan kasut Tevanya... =P

My 17th paper

2009-10-29T12:26:00.000+12:00

Yesterday i sat for my 17th paper since i started uni almost 3 years ago.
and for the 17th time, i was annoyed.
i was annoyed by the people who were waiting to go in the exam rooms.

they normally talk away loudly.

about how they didn't study till yesterday.
about how they were drunk till this morning.
about how they skipped one lecturer's part.
about how they think the paper is going to be easy.
about how they think the paper is going to be tough.
about how they think they're gonna fail.
about what they got for their internal marks.

They chatted away without showing any sign of anxiety.
I learnt through these years, not to stay too close to these crowds.

Lagak macam terror.
Muka ala bagus.
Mulut becok kalah peraih.

Why can't they just keep quiet and keep to themselves?
What good does it do to you, telling people you trashed yourself the previous night?

I am not a spontaneous person. 85 percent of the time I plan.
The other 15 percent, I can tolerate and go with the flow.

I plan.
I plan strategies on how I would go about for my exams.
The studying part is one thing.
I plan what to bring. My pens must be new.
I plan what to wear. My clothes need not be new. But need be comfy.
I must shower. And take time to get ready. Tudung must be nicely ironed.

I don't turn up for my exam, talk crap, enter the hall laughing and then SPONTANEOUSLY shut up and start answering question.

That doesn't work for me.

Halloween Hantu Melayu

2009-10-22T15:06:00.000+12:00

minggu depan halloween..

masa kecik dulu pernah jugak ade experience ber-halloween..

time tu kecik2 lagi, belum kenal erti halloween tp sekadar mengikut aktiviti di sekolah..

buat decoration dlm kelas, buat performance sempena halloween & organise haunted house.. banyak kenangan bengong2 yg best.. adelah 3-4 kali gak ber-halloween.. time tu kt oversea, takkan mesia pulak kn..

sekarang dh besar, dh pandai google halloween tu ape.. so nak tahu lebih google jelah ek..

anyways, mase first time tiba musim halloween, kitorg tgh dok lepak2 kt rumah..

masa tu dh malam jugak about 10 pm..

ttbe loceng berbunyi, my dad pn pegilah nk bukak pintu..

bukak2 tgk2 ade sekumpulan budak2 datang nak ber-"trick or treating"..

diorng pn jerit "TRICK OR TREAT!!!"

my dad manelah tahu trick or treat tu menatang ape.. die pun sengih je..

time tu dia pakai kain pelikat je, tak pakai baju, perut buncit terkeluar, muke pn cm dah ngantuk.. plus pulak misai ala2 dato K.. kihkihkih..

lepas sengih, die pun tutup pintu..

kitorg tanye knape bah? die pn jawab ntah budak2..

then we learnt that it was halloween.. nk kluar air mata gelak sbb mesti budak2 yg datang tu ingat my dad pakai costume utk halloween! heheh =D

F.L.Y.I.N.G

2009-10-18T17:43:00.000+12:00

have u ever had a flying experience? my little sister did when she had that accident a couple of months ago.. and i had mine in august.. i forgot about it once it was over.. but now i think the after effect is kicking in.. which makes me think that flying experience had a contribution.. hmm.. but before we go into that lets go back 21 years, 10 months and 3 days ago.. the day i was born..

i was a big baby.. by big i mean the biggest they ever had in the clinic! i think i was still the record holder until the clinic closed down.. haha.. i was 9.8 pounds! 4.5 kg.. H.U.G.E.

and because i was so big, the doctor accidentally broke my left arm while delivering me.. just below the shoulder, yup, he actually B.R.O.K.E it! i had to wear the sling thingy from the very first day i saw the world. dang!

anyways, because i was a baby, my bone was still soft so my arm was ok after that.. i've never asked my mum how long it took to heal.. now when i'm older, i get an occasional ache in my left arm.. which makes me sleep on my right arm.. and then both arms would ache.. *sigh*

ok, going back to the flying story.. in august this year, we went tobogganing at Mt. Ruapehu.. a 5 hours drive up to the mountains.. i've long decided i didn't want to ski and i've been up the chairlift as well, but i've never been on the tobogan.. so there was me, kak ayu, ai and riena.. i rented the sled and we went to find where would be suitable to tobogan.. i was sure there was a special place reserved for the purpose, but we couldn't find it.. so we just settled by the side of a not-so-high hill.. well, it isn't really high, but still sufficient to give us a trill sliding down it..

at first we were quite scared to slide down the hill, then a couple and their daughter joined us and they start toboganning as well, so we watched and pick up a few 'skills'.. hahaha.. then some other people who couldn't find the special tobogan zone joined us as well.. so there was a crowd of people there..

fyi, Mt. Ruapehu is a rocky mountain.. and once it was covered in snow, all the rocks dissapeared leaving only a few poking on the surface.. after a couple of times on the sled, a few other malaysian joined us, and asma wanted to try, so i decided to show her how it's done.. this is where the fun bit starts..

me and asma started climbing the hill.. i was at the top of the hill when i got on the sled.. there was a few rocks on the right side of the hill.. so i knew i had to control the sled to go to the left.. well, i've done it a couple of times and every time i managed to detour from the rocks.. so there should be no problem right? WRONG!

i leaned my body forward so that the tobogan would slide down and my sled started going to the right towards the snow-covered rocks, then i thought "owh my god, i'm gonna hit the rocks!"

and sure enough, the next second i hit the rocks with the sled which sent me flying through the air, i let go of the sled and while in mid air, i FLIPPED, you know like those diving people you see in the olympics, my snow cap flew off and i landed flat on my face in the snow..

well, that isn't me but that's how i landed.. minus the red thingy..

everyone was speechless when they saw me lying on the snow.. took me a few seconds to get up.. but it didn't hurt a bit, i was just shocked, so i got back on my feet and told everyone i was ok.. i was sooo thankful i didn't hit the rocks.. i knew what was gonna happen when the sled leaned towards the rocks but everying happened too quickly, in like 2 seconds i was up in the air and then down in the snow.. while in the air i remembered thinking in my head if i landed on the rocks, it's definately gonna be fatal.. Nauzubillah.. and Alhamdullilah i landed on snow..

that's my flying story.. and lately, i've been having major aches in my left arm (the arm the doctor broke).. and i was thinking the other day.. it could be because of this flying thingy too.. who knows.. hmmm.. might get it checked out later..

T.W.O D.A.Y.S

2009-10-14T21:41:00.000+12:00

i'm almost there! two more days!! esok presentation.. luse lab book due.. pstu habis! yeay! then sabtu AGM WUMA.. bagus2.. dapat melepaskn segala tanggungjawab.. then next week study week.. pstu exam hr rabu 28/10.. pstu exam lg hr monday 2/11 ngan wednesday 4/11.. pstu balik mesia woh! 6 hb.. yeay! lame dh tak jejak kaki di bumi Malaysia itu... =D

Aren't they cute?

2009-10-13T19:36:00.001+12:00

u can feed them by clicking and they follow your cursor too!

urgh.

2009-10-05T14:10:00.000+12:00

To await your decision is like waiting for the cows to come home. Perhaps I should take down a peg or two, and you can take the whole shebang.

The first phrase means: to wait for a long time with an indefinite end.

The first part of the second phrase means: to lower someone's high opinion of themselves.
The second part of the second phrase means: to take the whole thing.

These phrases are not used together. I've put them together to convey my feelings right now.

OMG! I can't stand slow people and my patience is getting very very thin.
Owh well, that's life.

Grades

2009-10-03T18:24:00.000+12:00

My future depends on my grades.
Believe it or not.
But, yes it is true.
Yes, there are other things that I can do even if I don't do honours or graduate with extraordinary transcript.
Yes, it's not just grades that matters.
There's all that other important stuff like interpersonal skills, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
Yes, I do realise that.
There are other things I can do. Yeah sure.

But you know what.
I don't even have anything yet in my life.
I don't even have a degree yet. I only have SPM.
Let alone a job, or a house.

And you know what.
I don't care if I don't quite have those extra things like communication skills, networking etc. etc. etc.
Cause you know what.
I don't even have a degree.
If I go chasing too many things at once.
In the end, I'm afraid I'll end up with nothing.

No degree. No skills. No nothing people.

After SPM, I sorta realised that grades aren't everything.
But at this moment, I'm changing my stand.
Because at this moment and time,
My grades matters.
And it really matters.

Because you know what.
If my grades aren't good enough.
No one can help me.
Not even those good friends.
Not even my family.
Not even my lecturers.
Not even anyone.

Only God can.

I get to answer all the WHYs.
or the WHATs.

No, not you, but me.

There's a fine line between the distinction of getting good grades and acquiring knowledge.

My Life

2009-10-03T16:22:00.000+12:00

It is very hard to please people.
But fair enough, cause I'm hard to please as well.
But what happens when people are not pleased?
They talk, bad-mouthed perhaps.
Oh well, I'm hard to please too.

It is very hard to say no.
But it is also very hard to say yes.
I say no when I know I can't fulfill what you want.
I say yes when I know I can do what you want me to do.

It is easy to ignore.
But sometimes, things are hard to ignore.

I am not ignorant.
But caring too much isn't too good either.
Especially, when others don't even care.

I've tried to ignore.
But when I ignore things, people notice, and say I'm ignorant?
That I neglected my responsibilities?
Yet, when you were ignorant, you didn't notice?
Yet, when I cared, you didn't see?

It is easy to utter the word friend.

When what you really meant is acquaintance.

What do you know about me, may I ask?

Do you even know my full name?

Do you judge me on first impression? Well if you haven't notice, I'm not at an interview.

This is life.

Things happen.

Things move.

Things are not static.

Things revolve.

Things are not at steady state like in theories.

There are many important things in life.
Which one comes first?

Life is full of choices.
Prioritise.
Choose.
Live it.

Don't complain.

Decisions decisions

2009-10-01T19:58:00.000+12:00

I am a decision maker.
My dad thought all of us to be decision makers.
His lessons were simple.

For example, if we want to buy something, we decide which shop we want to go to, what time to go, what day to go, etc.

At the shop, my dad would let us decide, which one we'd like to have.

He often said "Choose which one you want. Make a decision. I can only give you money."

Even though, on the surface, his words looks simple, but this has thought us to decide. To make decisions. To choose what we want.

He would bring us to shops and show us what it would cost to buy something.

He would show us what it would cost if we were to buy an original Reebox sneakers compared to a fake one.

He then would say, "The original one would last longer, but off course the fake would be cheaper"

Then, he would let us decide. Which ever we want, let it be the original or the fake. It would be our decision. And he would pay for either, be it $400 or $50.

I think being able to make a decision is important.
If not, even the simplest matter can be hard.

Like deciding where to have dinner. It's simple, but if one can't decide, the matter then becomes hard.

My dad often said, "You can listen to everyone's advice, but, when it comes to making a decision, you have to make your own decision, regardless of what others have said."

I make my own decisions. Be it good or bad. And I take responsibility of them.

Summer please come faster!

2009-09-06T14:27:00.000+12:00

I can't wait for summer to come!
Oh, summer, please arrive faster..

This summer means..

I'm finished with my degree!! whooohoooo!!! Even though I've still got my honours degree to finish, but by New Zealand's standard, I'll be wrapping up and be eligible to graduate!

I'm done with classes! I don't have to sit in lectures anymore! YEAH! (even though next year still ade class but they are NOT lectures! Great!)

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! I can do all sorts of things! This is what I say when I'm busy doing assignments like right now.. I want to do something else, but when summer arrives, I forgot what I wanted to do.. so I'm writing it now so that I won't forget.. hehe

1. Go Camping! I can't wait!!! I wanna go camping!!!! If it was up to me, I wanna go every other weekend! hehehehe.. **too excited**
2. Tongariro Crossing - I'm not as excited at this as camping but I still wanna do it!
3. Swimming in the river - tak kire nak pergi jugak!
4. Go eeling - ni dh termasuk dlm aktiviti camping!
5. Go play with the sand up north, sandboarding! - can't remember the name of the place
6. Climb up Mt. Manganui
7. Go walking somewhere nice
8. Get a summer job (perhaps =P)
9. Go home - a couple of weeks at home would be nice too

Summer also means BBQ.. It's kinda nice if it is breezy (which may be impossible in NZ summer). Rather than BBQ I'd prefer going for a picnic by the river. NOT sea.. I like the view of the sea but not the sands stuck on me & my clothes.. Shady places would be nicer than open seaside.. Or perhaps sunset by the beach is more like it! Hmm.. maybe i should add that to my list.. 10. Sunset by the beach.. =D

Plus, my camera works better in summer. =)

Food & Cooking

2009-09-02T07:46:00.000+12:00

hmm.. people may think i loooove cooking.. coz my photo album kt fb penuh dgn makanan2..

but then, the truth is, i'm not all that crazy about cooking..

i think i can cook, but i don't looove cooking.. hmm.. confuse betul la kn? tp bukan xsuke langsung.. minat jugak.. but not crazy about it.. hehe

i'm quite fussy about food.. only some ppl knows about my fussiness tp klu org dh hidang makan jela kn.. but if it comes to me cooking.. mmg fussy..

i hv certain ways of doing things in the kitchen.. hehehe.. tp skrng ni dh kurang sikit fussy..

tu klu nk compare me and my friends..

tp if compare me and my siblings, aku lah org yg paling xkesah psal makan antara 5 beradik tu.. my sisters sume lg fussy!

contoh plg ketara, if org letak gula dlm makanan except kuih.. mmg pantang giler.. mmg boleh detect.. mmg xsuke gula in food esp in soups..

tp lidah skrng dh boleh tolerate sikit kut.. hehe =P

below is a photo of our recent food project.. isyh2.. makan jerr..

Knowing

2009-08-31T10:38:00.000+12:00

He who knows not and knows he knows not, he is a child, teach him;

He who knows not and knows not he knows not, he is a fool, avoid him;

He who knows and knows not he knows, he is asleep, awaken him;

He who knows and knows he knows, he is wise, follow him.

~old arabic proverb

Knowing who you are, yourself,
Knowing what your responsibilities are, to yourself, family, religion, community, country.
Knowing your roles, and to uphold it.
Knowing your surroundings, and decide to blend in or take a step back.
Knowing the people around you, which is which.

All are important.

I remind myself not to be ignorant, but to be alert, to be attentive.

It is tiring. Because sometimes it feels like you're the only one who cares.

Representation

2009-08-20T17:27:00.000+12:00

One may think one represent a group of people,

Thus, one may use a collective term such as, "we", "us", "our" and so on to elucidate that representation.

However, one may be wrong in thinking one is representing the whole population.

Statistically, a population is usually pictured as a bell shaped curve. Meaning, there is an average value, and also an extreme value on either tails. To generalise that oneself, who is depicted by a particular value on the graph, represents the whole population by employing those collective terms, is very misleading and erroneous.

Every individual, no matter how handicapped can speak for themselves, let it be by their thought, speech or action. Therefore, to think that one needs representation without seeking permission in the first place may be unwise.

Speak for yourself and let others speak for themselves. Unless off course you've got permission.

Education is life itself

2009-08-20T08:44:00.000+12:00

I found this quote today when browsing the web.

"Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself."

Written by John Dewey.

I think it's very true.

Just by being educated at schools, college & uni and by just being part of the process of education, even though i haven't graduated, has taught me many things. This has allowed me to observe many situations which can be applied to bigger things in my later life.

And the important part is not the end product, like the diploma or degree, it's the process that matters.

What have I gained in the process of being educated apart from the theoretical knowledge?

I've learnt a thing or two about myself.

And I've learnt a thing or two about people.

That's good enough i think. For me at least. =)