Hari Raya Aidiladha & Farewell dinner

Time really flies..It’s been a week since I last updated this blog. Not that I didn’t want to, but I had been really busy catching up with things. Time didn’t permit!

The family and I went back to our hometown for the previous Hari Raya Haji on 17th December 07. We were in Kelantan for 4 days, which passed by extremely fast. Staying at my grandmother’s house had never been boring for me, every single moment would pass with new experiences. The way my grandma lives life (the traditional way that is) inspires and teaches me that life takes a full effort in all matters to make it meaningful. I’m really close to my grandmother, she was the one who took care of me for almost a year when I was left by my parents who had to study abroad 25 years ago. At that time, I was known as the kampong baby! :) How sweet of my grandma to cook my favourite dishes during my stay at kampung and I enjoyed them to the fullest. I should be gaining 3 kgs since my stay, but am wondering why the physical appearance doesn’t expand that much. This wonder is always an unsolved mystery! and yes..it is creepy…

Anyway, we had the raya haji celebration on 20th December, Thursday.. my parents and siblings including myself took part in the qurban (cow sacrifice) ceremony. My fear for blood that would usually result to fainting excused myself from witnessing the ceremony, but I managed to get through with the niat after the slauthering. My grandmother also had a kenduri doa selamat for my coming studies. I’m so touched by her kindness for such effort though she should be resting from these having her age in the 70’s. She even spent an entire day preparing serunding daging (meat floss) for me to bring with for the studies. My gosh, the preparation was extremely tedious! It took 5 continuous hours to cook the meat floss on campfire! Thank you grandma for all of these not forgetting the few hundreds that u gave me as well as the useful advices and reminders given..I will never be able to repay your kindness and love for me. and yes, the answer to your question is, I love u so so much! It was a touching moment when both of us were in tears before I left kampung for home lastnite. I pray for your health and hope to meet, hug, kiss and do the things we always do together on my return to kampung. Insya Allah..

As the usual weekends, I had the chance to meet Tomet today. We went to ou. After so long, we actually watched a movie called ‘I’m a legend’ acted by will smith and a dog. A bit horrifying I find it, but it’s not that bad after all. We then had lunch which follows by stationeries shopping spree before having a break at the kopitiam. Thanks tomet for the wonderful day!

Later at nite, once again I went to ou to meet my closest high school friends. Thanks peeps for making it for dinner. There were Alyna, Pui San and Elsa. We had dinner at the delicious, the food were mostly good but for tonite my selection wasn’t the best. But it doesn’t really matter coz I almost had everyone’s portion! I even finished half of Pui San’s quiche..heeee..I’m a total food monster! These people were really kind to get me a gift..After a quest and a firm insist of getting me a pressie, they finally present me with the lonely planet Great Britain travel guide..Guess I won’t be lonely in the flight. Thanks so much people, for this great gift! I shall make full use of it during my stay at the new coming home. Do keep in touch ya..gonna miss u guys very much! :(

Busy and busier

Pheeeeeww..lots and lots of things have been settled these past few days..Been really busy for preparation that I didn't have permissible time to touch my pc.

Just a quick run through on what's happened. I got my licensed renewed and applied myself an international driving license...hope that I could at least 'test drive' a car if I can't own one once im stable in the uk. Who knows..I might be lucky to put the latest 5 series bmw on a test drive..i wish! Alhamdulillah, after a one week of anxious wait but almost a month of documents preparation for the submission, I finally had my visa approved..it's worth of all the hard work, worries and swearing for the visa application. I also had my final teeth check yesterday which was my last dental appointment with Dr Hazmyr and Nurse Min, both were really busy when I arrived but were kind enough to attend my check up and teeth scaling. Thank you once again for the many help and kind attention given throughout the appointments!

My parents were very concern about my coming departure. How sweet of them to have a kenduri doa selamat for me. Thank you very much for the thoughtful attention! We had the kenduri last night. It was really thoughtful of my aunt, Makcik Sah to come early in the morning to do the cooking. The food was superbly delicious. Thank you also to my family members and Din's wife, Siti for the hard work of cleaning up for this event. Special thanks goes to Zati. Although having an eye infection which prohibited her to join, this close friend of mine actually came in the evening before the event starts just to see me and brought 2 boxes of my favourite egg tarts as well as a cash note! How very sweet..Thank you Zati for the endless support all this while. I really appreciate it! They were around 50-60 guests who attended, mostly families and relatives. I'm touched by the people who came for the support. Three friends, Hajar, Ajlaa, Elsa and of course my other half, Mr Tomet were also here. Thank you all for attending! Thanks also to the many ppl who were very kind to leave me with presents, apart from a few hundred of cash, I was given a sweater, a backpack, a set of bodyshop gift, a box of cute cupcakes, a homemade cheesecake and very useful advices and wishes.

I had half of my day spent with Tomet today. Poor dear who had to work tho it's saturday today. I understand that u're tired due to a hectic week of work, but thank you for spending the time with me yeah. I finally made myself spectacles, with the price of one..I managed to get another for free. Guess it's a good buy for the cost of rm168, thanks to the many cheap things u can get at Sg Wang. I've been relying on contact lenses all this while, so I consider myself facing a new experience stabilizing with wearing glasses. It's a little giddy wearing in for the first time, but I think I'm getting used to it. I also got a few other stuffs, LAN cables, a photo album and 3 cd casings for the price of 2. After having dinner of tomet's favourite dish, Kueh Teow both of us dropped by the MAS office at KL Sentral to reserve a seating for my coming flight. Thank god there were still suitable seatings and reservation were made without much problem.

It's a week full of experiences. After all formalities settled, I'm now left with packing. I'd better start soon as I'm only left with 2 weeks before departure..

Gadgets Shopping

Many things were accomplished these past few days. I’ve been quite busy running errands to get the important matters for the coming studies resolved. I finally managed to get all formalities such as submissions of the agreement documentations to the kpt and visa done within a couple of days. Thank god everything went on as planned and within time left.

As for yesterday and today, I allowed myself for two more shopping sprees, this time..it’s fully dedicated for electronic gadgets. In line with the pc fair at klcc which runs for 3 days, I initially thought of only going for a survey, but ended up shopping! I went to pc fair with my good friend, Alyna yesterday evening. Unfortunately, I started to develop fever and cough once we parked our car. But as we were already there, I didn’t bother thinking much about the developing sickness. We went for a 3-hour survey on the notebooks when both of us finally decided to each get ourselves a notebook. We had a quick dinner just before we got our stuffs and by then I was like a walking zombie! I felt really tired and started to loose my voice as it became out of tune! Got myself panadol and lozenges and had them after meals. After that, we took separate ways to the notebook booths.

I finally got myself a notebook – a model from hp – though it’s not the one I had been eyeing on, but I’m fully satisfied with the specs, after all what more can u get when there’s a RAM upgrade to 4Gb. The price is rm500 less than the one I wanted. I came to a decision where it’s not worth spending that much just for ‘looks’- thank god I made the right decision! :) And Alyna got herself the red & sexy Sony VIOR, quite tempting I find them. We were the last customers served at yesterday’s fair. Yeap, we were..that means, both of us went home quite late at nite. Glad that both of us went home feeling satisfied with our selections. : ) Thanks to Alyna for accompanying me.

I was voiceless when woke up today! I completely loose my voice! That was what I realized when Tomet called me in the morning. Geee..the line when there’s a happy moment, slight misery happens as what tomet told me happens to me quite frequently – perhaps the happiness of getting a new laptop yesterday is sort of ‘paid of’ with losing my voice today! Coincidence..Heheee! Anyway, that didn’t stop me to see my dear Tomet though I had to switch to the mute mode due to slight sore in the throat. I bit awkward I find it when we were quiet most of the time as I’m always the chatty one with endless stories to tell. I accompanied Tomet to his office for a while before we headed to klcc, yeap – to pc fair again! Parking was so difficult to get, it took both of us 40minutes or maybe more to get the car parked. Sorry Tomet for suggesting an open air car park as it rained in the evening when u had the car washed in the morning.

The initial reason to pc fair earlier today was to collect a pen drive for which the salesman at the counter promised me yesterday, and to buy a hardware my brother asked for. The salesperson was busy and asked if I could wait, so while waiting, Tomet and I went around looking at the things they have at the fair. Along our way out, I ended up buying myself a laptop casing, 50 pieces of dvds worth rm38 and a digital camera that I’ve been eyeing on – it’s cheaper by almost rm300 than the actual price. Although the camera isn’t the best of the available, I’m happy and satisfied with the functions it has..and the best part is, I managed to persuade the salesmen with lesser price for these items, thanks for being partial voiceless. I assume they felt sorry seeing me struggling to talk..so, bargaining wasn’t really tough! ;)

I am now still without voice..i sound like a squeaking kitten whenever I talk! How buruk..been laughed at by almost everyone who hears my voice..i lost count on the numbers of people..almost all salesmen at least grin when they heard me talking. It ^*@$& not to have ur normal voice. So, please appreciate the ability to be able to speak normally..regardless of how bad u think ur voice might sound…hearing ur own voice when u’ve lost ur voice is the worse of all..

The friends whom I admire

I had a few meet ups with a number of old & new friends today. Tomet & I spent almost an entire day at the Midvalley Megamall. We met Shah (one of my good & close friends during undergraduate & postgraduate studies) and Sam (my new friend who is Shah’s best friend). Shah had been my study mate during our university lives. I still remember the times during undergraduate when both of us would revise together whenever there’s a paper to sit for and would share the joy or sadness when the results appear. One thing that I really admire about Shah is that he’s an intelligent person who picks up on matters really quickly without much effort to put on. We were also lab mates during Masters. During this period, together with a few other friends we would have our lunch at the faculty’s balcony almost everyday. I can still recall our ‘marathon’ from one block to another, moving around to settle our work which at times got distracted when the faculty’s lift goes on a disturbed ‘mood’. It’s been so long since I met Shah, perhaps a year or so since Shah moved to another place to start his new job. But I’m glad to have a good contact with him; we keep each other updated with latest news once in a while.

These special friends of mine are very special in their own ways. They are indeed, unique than my other friends. I am most touched to witness the close & friendly relationship between Shah, who’s on wheelchair & Sam, who’s blind. Although disable in their own ways, that does not hinder their appreciation of each other towards friendship. I respect them even more as they’re both successful in their respective fields. Shah is now working as a researcher with the national space agency(Angkasa), the type of work which(to me) definitely demands a great degree of intellectual powers. Sam on the other hand is currently pursuing his Master’s degree at UM in the field of Counselling. I find these inspiring.

All 4 of us had lunch at Dominos and chatted all the way. It’s an enjoyable experience to share and exchange stories with these folks. Helping them shopping is also a new experience for Tomet and I, from presents to clothing to computer stuffs, we hope you guys like all the things bought today. :) The day went by quickly; we said our good byes in the evening. To Shah & Sam, keep up the enthusiasm for a greater success that awaits ahead. U guys are the best role models.

Later in the evening, Tomet and I met another friend, whom I think is also gifted with special talents for which not many people are born with. It’s is udeyismail, a humble (at times chatty but most of the time quite) yet very passionate, skilful and talented photographer. I first met Udey when he came to shoot during my previous Master’s convocation. I was really lucky as being a professional photographer, Udey’s schedules are daily fully occupied. Thanks again Udey, for the wonderful shots! I promise to one day tell this story to my future kids. :)

Udey came with a friend. The four of us had dinner at Secret Recipe. Udey’s stories reminded me of the saying that “success comes through hard work” and I’m proud this young and highly motivated friend of mine has successfully proven this right, but I believe you will someday reach the skies higher than where you have reached now. In my views, Udey has revolutionized the saying of “where there’s a will, there’s a way” to “where there’s a will, there’re many ways” to achieve the aspiration. To Udey, keep up the desire of achievements for I’m sure that better accomplishments will soon be awarded in the future.

To these peeps, thanks for coming to spend a few hours with Tomet and I. We appreciate your time & both of us look forward to meet u guys again.

The long call ceremony

This morning, together with Alyna, I attended a ceremony similar to graduation of my friend’s, Elsa at the Jalan Duta Court Complex. As for today’s ceremony, Elsa is now an official lawyer who’s been approved to practice in the court. The ceremony is called long call where Elsa finally gets admitted to the Malaysian Bar as an Advocate & Solicitor of Malaya. What differs long call from a usual convocation is that during this ceremony, the graduand for they are called competitive will individually stand in the court’s front row facing the Judge where their biodatas will be read out by other senior lawyers to the public before the Judge admits them to the Bar, and they are officially admitted when a robe is put on them by their respective teacher. It’s a new experience for me to witness this very protocol ceremony, but I’m delighted to share the happy moment with this high school friend of mine. Glad that your dream(since high school) of becoming an advocate, the lawyer who speaks, argues and pleads for cases in the court has finally come true. To Elsa, be the best out of all & keep it up! :)

Truth about lying

I just lied to someone. It isn’t my intention to do so, but I had to. Why lie? People lie for many reasons: to deny mistakes, to protect others, to enhance egos, to avoid punishments, to get a reward, to save time, to protect information, to get an attention, to preserve sanity, an endless list where various infinite reasons lie, but all stands on the desire to maximize benefit or minimize harm. In my case, to minimize harm that is to avoid an argument. So, in situations similar to this, are lies considered immoral? I quite agree that lies are at all times immoral as it affects the power and freedom of making a rational decision, but to what extend should one remain honest when being dishonest would be of better option?

The saying, “honesty is the best policy” doesn’t quite apply to all situations where at times; “dishonesty is the best policy”. How ironic it is for us to teach the young that in whatever situation, honesty is all that matters..but we ourselves ended up lying either big or small in almost everyday, perhaps every hour if not between minutes. Religion, culture and society deliberately teach us to abide with or to devote ourselves with theory of honesty throughout lives. Unfortunately, regardless of age, gender, religion, ethnicity and profession the conflicting messages about honesty are very well practised. Earlier today, I was caught in a deceitful situation where it involves someone with a highly professional occupation, but in a difficult situation perfect honesty may seem second best next to values like compassion, respect, and justice.

There are many reasons and many ways to lie. Fortunately, through training and practices there are ways to learn to cut through these deceptions…

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/11/03/detecting-lies-trust-tech_06trust_cx_ee_1103lies.html

http://www.blifaloo.com/info/lies.php

http://www.wikihow.com/Detect-Lies

Frequently, choosing to lie is a serious gamble with integrity. Behind every lie, there is a big cost to pay for. The consequences of being caught isn’t a pleasing achievement after all, winning the trust again isn’t an easy task than what it takes for a simple lie…

Final dental surgery!

Finally, I had my third and hopefully final dental surgery early in the morning today. Guess, I’m the dental surgery champ for wisdom tooth removal in the past 3 weeks for which I had either willingly or unwillingly gone through 3 different surgeries almost every week. By now, all 4 wisdom teeth have been removed. Perhaps, becoming a frequent patient for the past few weeks made my appearance aware among receptionist, a few nurses and dentists. For once, I felt like a vip but not for a quite flattering situation. But whatever it is, thanks all for the friendly assistance.

The procedure today was relatively simple but could sound horrifying to some people. The removal of upper left wisdom tooth with a plier took exactly 5-minutes after 1 dose of anaesthetic was given on the gums around the corresponding tooth. Yep, unlike the previous experience, this time the tooth was removed by using only a plier..really, nothing else. Was this to put me on test? I was speechlessly terrified with the tool during the first dental surgery. Somehow, looking at the tooth removal plier today didn’t set me anxious feelings apart from wanting to get over with the surgery as I had other chores to settle. Alhamdulillah, I was pretty calm and it all went on well. Though it was a fast and painless process, I unconsciously slept for 7 continuous hours after coming home from the surgery. Wonder what made me felt tremendously tired as no medication was taken before/after the procedure, well apart from the anaesthetic - which I believe did not cause me the sleepy effect. At the moment, consumption of antibiotics must carry on although the gum has stopped bleeding. Again, I have to rely on nasi bubur but this didn’t kill my appetite on other cravings…can’t wait for a serving of ice cream when I’m fully recovered. Yum yum..

Thanks again to Dr Hazmyr and Nurse Min for the friendly and supportive treatment.

Feeling of gratitude

“Alhamdulillah, praise to god..it’s the only word I remembered and said out when I was told by Ayu that my appeal for the slot swapping with another candidate is finally approved…I was close to tears…”

Early in the morning, I started my day meeting the um hr officer who’s been in charge of my application for the coming studies. The offered scholarship that was initially approved for me to study in the uk suddenly turned disapproved for which I had to choose another study place, anywhere in the world except the uk. This is because the slot for um candidates for the year 2007/08 have been fully utilized for students wishing to study in the uk. For many possible reasons, these were not informed by the faculty that approved my application. After the dreadful news, I believe I did all out looking for other places, but wasn’t fortunate enough to find a replacement. It puzzled me when rejection came one after another with various strange reasons. It was even tougher when support from the faculty degraded which I later stood on my own for all obstacles faced. Those few uncertain months were depressing until one day I was informed by the hr officer that there’s a possibility of swapping the scholarship slot with another candidate(who was granted a slot to uk, but ended up choosing a university in the States). That gave me hope for then I was told to start with preparation in terms of initiating contact with the university, got myself an accommodation during my studies, bought the necessary things, settled documentation formalities with um, prepared documents for visa and an endless list of other tasks..all went on as planned except that I did not receive an offer letter from the kpt, the most important document as it is the only ticket as a proof of sponsorship to gain admission at the university.

I was left with 2 weeks before the scheduled departure, when there was still no news on the approval of the funding. The hr officer did her part by sending an appeal for the swapping to kpt where I expected to receive a likely answer from the kpt within a short period of time. But, my expectations failed when I was informed about an unexpected news..out of the blue, another candidate who was confirmed to study in Australia wanted to make a very last minute change to another university in the uk and made a direct appeal to kpt in order to be granted the uk slot. While definitely not following the correct swapping procedures, all these were done without the knowledge of the hr officer..how unethical! Matters went more unexpected when the officer from kpt disapproved my appeal thinking that I was the culprit! It was a total rejection. At that time, it seemed that I had no hope for a scholarship for which uk was the only choice in hands. And at that time also, I really felt like giving up..after so much of trials I had faced just for an honest intention to further my studies. But, a strong sense of motivation bloomed in me after listening to an advice from my other half which left a remarkable effect that echoes in my mind until now.

In determination to explain the actual situation, a lot was done to reach the kpt officer who had verbally rejected my appeal. Telephone calls were of no use as they were never answered, but thank god the officer responded to emails once in a while. Nevertheless, the matter was never resolved while time was running out. Today, I decided to make a visit to kpt in the hope to get a definite answer to my case. The kpt officer in charge was away for a course but managed to speak to the assistant, Ayu. Although we had not met before, Ayu knew me through my case from the very beginning, felt sorry for what had happened and was indeed very cooperative in helping me to settle the matter. After I made a concise explanation, Ayu made a call to the particular officer and once again I was lucky enough that he answered as according to Ayu, he rarely accepts calls from the office whenever away on course. After a while, Ayu came by with the news… Alhamdulillah, praise to god..it’s the only word I remembered and said out when I was told by Ayu that my appeal for the slot swapping with another candidate is finally approved…I was close to tears to know that at long last, the battle and worries have ended with a bright hope for the future. Ayu also told me that I am considered very very lucky to get this opportunity. I was requested to wait and less than 15 minutes, all the necessary documents were already in my hands with a comprehensive explanation of what needs to be done. I was further told that kpt approved my request to register in the coming semester that will commence early next year. And that means I could delay the current scheduled departure date to settle these matters. I just don’t know how to thank everyone who helped..I would have honoured each person the status of a king or queen to these peeps, if I’d ever have the power….but I will never have such authority.

After a short chat with Ayu, I excused myself and walked to the car which had been parked illegally(but there were many cars parked in that area). I was rushing my way to a nearby restaurant to meet tomet for lunch when I realized on the windscreen that my car had been summoned by the police. It was the first I told my other half when we met and this was his response… “for every happy moment, life balances itself with slight misery”..another remarkable advice I received ..and when I ponder about it, the exact opposite applies more often in reality…

Thank you Pn Ermiza for the struggle to ensure the consent of this scholarship.
Thank you En Husin for the considerate approval.
Thank you Ayu for being the middle person to relay the message & for the preparation of the documents.
Thank you Tomet for the noteworthy advices that made me think.
Thank you Policeman for leaving a summon as I have now learned to be extra-cautious when parking a vehicle.

Congratulations!

Today, for the 3rd time in my life, I had another graduation ceremony where it was held at Wisma Tun Sambathan, my 5-months school during the recent Java programming course which ended just before Raya. The graduation ceremony was organized by Buzznet and MDec. How thoughtful of them to celebrate us..I’m glad to see at least half of my cheeky classmates, most of them are already working while the remaining few are starting work soon.

The ceremony was attended by Buzznet and MDec management, students from 3 classes and a few peeps from the press. Although, it was held in a smaller scale compared to other graduation ceremonies, today’s event was a cheerful one. It started off with an introductory speech by Buzznet and MDec, certificate granting to each graduand for all 3 classes and ended with a Q&A before tea. I believe, coming from a slightly distinctive work experience or academic background from the rest, I was bolt from the blue when suddenly became the first called up by Mr Zain to give up opinion..well, to answer a question actually (which I missed due to woolgathering!)..thus ended up giving my own thought about the entire programme. For once, I’m relieved to be given the ability to always stay calm and pretend confident for an impromptu speech. Heheee!

Anyway, right after that, we had a few photo sessions with friends and the management . There was a part where after the photo shoot with the management, I hand shook with one of the top management MDec people..well, he was standing next to me. While shaking hands, instead of saying “thank you”, without thinking much, I wrongly but extra confidently said “congratulations!”, perhaps my ears expected to hear the word of rejoice so much..gosh..what a huge embarrassment! The Datuk was puzzled but a friend next to me laughed his head off and thank god all of us ended up laughing out loud..and there I had the pain on the jaw due to yesterday’s surgery! At least I didn’t feel that embarrassed.. and right after another funny joke follows..I was talking to another friend who works in Johor, asking about how he’s new job is like?..and this is how I asked…“So, how’s working in Japan?” – I swear that my head tells me to say johor, but somehow the word which came out was japan! How could that?! Another token of embarrassment ..geez..i was a total clown! A female friend who was listening gave me this remark …“iskh..iskh..bila dia dah takde gigi..entah apa la yang dia ckp!"—and I had an illusion of me being really old, without teeth of course..trying to speak with great effort....we really laughed our heads off for which I was served with a bonus pain on the jaw due to the muscle strengthening..thanks to laughing! :)

We had a memorable graduation day, although Mr Govind, our mentor throughout the course could not be with us..All in all, thank you Mr Govind for the aspiration, motivation, and precious knowledge patiently yet enthusiastically delivered to all of us for the duration of 5 months. To the rest, Congratulations!(yes..this time im saying this right!) and all the best for your future endeavours!

Second surgery

I had my second dental surgery this morning. This time, it’s at the UM dental clinic. I went there last Friday and had an appointment booked for today’s surgery. The process taken up for this surgery went on quiet smoothly and quickly, from registration to teeth check to x-ray followed by today’s appointment. Thanks to Dr Zamri whom I met on my arrival at the clinic the other day. He was the one who assigned me to the dentist in charge which I was later attended by Dr Hazmyr, another postgrad dentist who saw me last puasa month for information on my previous masters research related to dentistry…what a coincidence and how easy it is dealing with matters when there’s a good network of contact…and the best about this is that the surgery was completely free of charge. I could have saved RM300 from the previous surgery if I were fully convinced that the process of tooth removal at a university clinic isn’t an endless wait.

The appointment was at 10pm. Nurse Min who attended me last Friday directed me to the operation theatre where the dentist came in a few minutes later. After a short review by Dr Hazmyr, I understood that both lower and upper wisdom teeth of the right side of my jaw will have to be removed. Somehow or rather, I was not as terrified as I was during the previous dental surgery. Perhaps, it’s becoz these two were friendly and very concern about the patient’s feeling thus made me comfortable throughout the procedure. They even had a conversation with me forgetting that there were utensils in my mouth, which of course prevented me from talking.

During the surgery this time, I was given 3 doses of local anaesthetic, 2 for lower and 1 for upper jaw. The removal of both wisdom teeth took exactly half and hour, a shorter time than the previous and honestly, it wasn’t as painful compared to the first perhaps due to the advanced tools used during the surgical procedures. Again, I received the same remark as Dr Louise who removed my tooth during the first dental surgery, a comment by Dr Hazmyr was that I have strong teeth which require extra force for removal and for once, a vague illusion of an unlucky female dentist struggling to remove my teeth appeared briefly in my head if I had been attended by one. When the upper tooth was finally detached, I was told that it had 4 roots while it should only have 2. Was it good or bad? I didn't know how to react. The fact that I had to wear the green operation gown and had my eyes closed with a cloth throughout the surgery assured me that the process will be professionally performed and certainly, I was right. Glad that I didn’t have to encounter the fright of the tooth extracting forceps. On completion of the procedures, I was given antibiotics and painkillers to be taken every 6 hours.

It is now, 8 hours after surgery and my left cheek is starting to swell but I’m so thankful that my gums isn’t bleeding terribly and the pain is still bearable though I had to rely on nasi bubur for the next couple of days. Depending on my condition, I may have to remove the last upper left wisdom tooth sometime next week …Guess I’m getting used to this tooth removing procedures but it better be the last! Last but not least, thanks to Dr Hazmyr and Nurse Min for the kind attention throughout the entire process.

Quest for a laptop

Well..i’m a little undecided right now..Today, I had an entire evening spent on laptops survey at Lowyat. Endless list of products and brands available on market have left me confused on making the best decision. Each sales person at every visited booth will have his own say on the definition of an optimal choice although the specs are more and less the same. It is up to the buyer to make the selection and this shouldn’t really be a difficult choice for there are leaflets and extensive lecture of explanations willingly given by these ‘persuaders’. Unfortunately, I am yet to be able to decide upon the product which is most satisfying…well, ok..there is one..but it’s way too expensive than the estimated budget…it would costs me an entire year of starvation to invest on such a beautifooool and powerful laptop..aint talking abt apple’s macbook here, the precious one is still a darling at heart for I will(at least hope that) one day get it when I’m completely & financially stable..I’m referring to the hp’s latest stylish babe, the special edition hp pavilion dv2616tx..check out the pix..pretty right? Im so in love with the design and high-end specs, but the price is such a killer for someone jobless like me -- poor un..it’s more than RM5k, yeah..aint kidding..the truth is as written on leaftlets and websites in addition to spoken salesmen..aaawww, don’t remind me.. :( The attention seeker has winningly caught my concentration and has successfully guarded my thoughts with its appearance every time another potential product/brand appears..geez…I feel as if I’m on a witch’s spell! Ahahaa! Another part of my brain is transmitting information that I could perhaps gain better specs with other selections..and there comes the dell inspiron 1420..the best abt dell is that it allows customization, so it is definitely reconfigurable to the heart’s delight, plus a given selection of lid color (although the hp is still attractively award-winning!)- oh, the appealing cloud again…we’ll see which product wins when juries in the head make a decision…pray for the best, not to be fooled!

Happy 25th Birthday!

On this day 25 years ago, 12 November 1982, I was born on Friday at 7.28pm. The same date today, it's my birthday again! yep..it’s the day of the year where life is stepping my age ahead..alhamdulillah, god has given me a good life for the past quarter-century.. praise god for the good health and prosperous living throughout these years.

Tomet has always been the first person who sings and wishes me ‘happy birthday’ almost every year(without fail) for the last couple of years. It feels really good having someone as special as you are and I’m so thankful to have been taken care in a meaningful and wonderful way. You are, really, a sweet person as a friend and even more adoring as a partner. :)

This year’s birthday is significant in a special way..I finally had the chance to celebrate with my dearest tomet on the exact day after 7 years of knowing each other..long wait doncha think? Previously, we never really had the chance as we were in a long distance relationship for 4 years which resulted to a constraint to such celebration, but wishes, birthday songs and cards were never missed. Although tired due to long day of work(more tiring as it is on Monday)-poor tomet, as always..was cheerful and happy spending a few hours with me. I was surprised to receive a gift and a very lovely plus precious card. Opened the pressie at home and I’m very happy to find that I’ve been given a cute nemo mug. I promise to bring this mug with me to uk! We had dinner at Secret Recipe, the food was delicious. Even though it felt like an ordinary day going out together, I am so delighted to have the chance for a birthday dinner with you. :) Thanks too for the treat!

Many others wished and present me with great gifts. I’m not the kind who expects to receive gifts on birthdays, never have I requested for anything expensive. I think, this year achieves its record when unexpectedly, I receive the most birthday gifts than the past years, for as long as I can recall. Thanks to my parents for the thoughtful individual gifts and wishes. Mama gave me a necklace while I received a black jade bangle from papa. My brother ,taufiq, present me yesterday’s luggage bag, a big hug from my sister, nini and a sweet birthday message from my younger brother, taqi. Good luck for ur exams! My cousin & wife, ezzeddin & siti also gave me something special..I received a motivation book called don’t be sad and a cute birthday card with a badge attached. I appreciate all the effort for all of these.

To others who have wished me, thank u very much for the kind wishes! :)

Shahrizal Fadlie, Alyna, Che Nor, Abg Nua, Syameer, Khalidah, Osman, Brindha, Ayunie, Salhana, Elsa & Ruhil

Shopping spree

I had a half day shopping spree at ou with my parents and elder brother this evening. To my family, thanks for the concern and support for the preparation and needs for the coming studies. I was surprised to find that my brother actually present me a luggage bag which costs RM489…I know it’s a big amount of money and thanks thanks for the thoughtful gift! I appreciate it very much. My parents too spent a big deal of portion, they bought me a few pairs of new clothing and a very cute rice cooker. It’s a Philips product called Mini Fuzzy. Knowing the name of the rice cooker has enlightened my interest on it.

I’m glad to find out that without further research, I managed to understand the concept and functionalities of the fuzzy rice cooker. Thanks to the knowledge comprehended during the fuzzy logic subject taken during my undergraduate years. I’m even more contented to learn that my fascination on the idea of artificial intelligence, an area of computer science studies which I majored all this while, has been theoretically and practically applied to appliances for reasons of better living. A little bit of knowledge sharing, the idea of the fuzzy rice cooker is to cook rice at a correct time and temperature depending on the amount of rice and water placed in the pot..the more rice it holds, longer time is taken for it to cook. On the other hand, lesser timing is used for a smaller rice portion thus preserves the nutrients for fresh and nourishing meals...cool huh? This is what we call intelligent technology.. :)

A wonderful day for all..

Beep..we meet again! today’s been a memorable day for a number of people close to me..first, it’s zati’s wedding, secondly, it’s sara’s birthday, last but not least..my dearest tomet’s car has finally arrived and i have been given the honour to be the first passenger to sort of a launch the car..heeehee..i’m am very very honoured..thank you tomet!

It has been ages since I woke up really early in the morning, but today, zati should also be honoured as I actually woke up at 6:30am to get ready for a journey to taiping, zati’s hometown. 6 of us…haris and clans, sara, sal and myself met up as early as 8:30am and off we drove to taiping, perak. All of us carpooled with haris. The journey took approximately 4 hours where sara was dedicated with a birthday song along the trip there. We reached zati’s house at almost 12pm, they just settled the akad nikah at that time, we snapped some photos and waited for zati to get ready for the following event…although it rained for a while, the kenduri attended by families and friends was happening..it was full-house during the bersanding session..for the second time, I was assigned to be the video-camera-gal..it was cool tho’..followed them all around to capture the happy moment of their lives..and to interview a number of friends for wedding wishes specially dedicated for both of them..after lepak-ing a while, we finally made a move back to kl at about 4:30pm. Thank you very much to zati’s family for the thoughtful hospitality during our visit to the kenduri.. each of us actually went back with set of tapau food..

We reached kl at 7:30pm and sent sara home before haris dropped sal and I at the asia jaya lrt station. On reaching the station just before taking lrt, tomet called up and told that he was near-by and would like to pick and send both of us home. Having to see tomet’s car, I had my first opportunity to be driven in a myvi, a local car which caught my eye when it was first introduced, but never had the chance to possess one...it’s a black myvi and named wan qisreena by tomet after its plate number..how sweet and sure it is a sweet name! And then we thought, hey…that’s a nice name..and for the very first time, we were actually serious thinking of having qisreena as our kid’s name (if one day, we're fated to have a family together—by god’s will..insya Allah!).. Before signing off…congratulations to zati & majin! I hope u guys like the special pressie..hehee.., happy birthday to sara and as for tomet…take good care of wan qisreena..

Attitude of dealing

My face is still swelling with inner mouth feeling sore as a result of the previous dental surgery. How I wish I could just put this pain aside, but it’s ok lah! After all..when else would I experience(a.k.a. suffer!) the after surgery effects. (the best line I could think to make myself feel better..)

What did I do today? Wasn’t really a productive day for me..thought that waking up early would somehow lead me to a number of chores settled, but ended up not(exactly) doing anything..I was supposed to submit the visa application today, a critical task needed to be done as I’m left approximately 3 weeks before departure. However, it couldn’t be settled due to a delay on receiving the amended sponsorship letter from the human resource office.The person in charge could have the letter ready by yesterday and if so, the process wouldn’t come to a delay. But this is life..things sometimes don’t normally flow as planned. Dealing with ppl can also, at times be very challenging, even more taxing when it comes to support staffs. I’m not highlighting all support staffs can’t work well..that isn’t my point on this view. In fact, I have lost count on the numbers of easy-to-deal-with support staffs within various organizations and these ppl are tremendously helpful with any request made. Keep it up the excellent group!

Back to my story, I was supposed to be given a sponsorship letter by the university’s HR for the submission with visa. The first was written with lack of information, so I requested for another from the officer I used to deal with. My request and urgency was fully understood and granted. Being a very busy officer and having to attend an entire day meeting, I was told to directly deal with the support staff just to make a few amendments to get it ready and signed by other officer on behalf of the one I dealt. However, the staff’s lack of sensitivity to even reach the slightest tolerance made the simple task a huge matter to be solved. The staff whom I have met infinitely(in other words, knows me), acted cold on my request though fully aware of the urgency. Perhaps this is a norm due to my status of a student and being young, a sign to show who’s the boss? – when the actual boss(officer) isn’t around…sad case.. It was no use of me arguing as the staff was the only person who could settle my asking. Thing’s would have been unsettled if I were to ‘participate in the play’. Although, initially, completely reluctant, my diplomacy worked moderately when I somehow managed to persuade that staff but was left waiting for 5 hours to finally get the letter ready…by then, the visa centre was already closed where I had to once again postpone the submission.

It would have made things so much easier and faster to settle if there was sufficient sense of awareness on certain matters, registered in their minds. How do we change this mindset/attitude? Well, my answer would be, we can’t… the person will have to realize and change the way of thinking themselves. It wouldn’t involve a single cent nor would it be required payment by others for such effort, but it pays more than what money can buy for the appreciation of the other person served in whatever scenario it may be. I feel it is worth for all of us to ponder about this as we meet people to satisfy constant needs everyday.

First surgery

Yesterday, 5th November 2007, was an unforgettable day in my life..I had my first ever surgery since I lived in the past 24 years. Ok..im not trying to make this too dramatic..but the entire procedure was really horrifying! It was only a minor dental surgery for which my left wisdom tooth was removed. The appointment with the dental surgeon was at 11:00am, someone was having a dental check when I arrived. Initially, the feeling was not like going for a surgery although I was fully aware that something had to be done to my teeth. My turn came and after a brief discussion with the doctor, he decided upon removing 2 of my lower wisdom teeth, having to operate one at a time, which means I have another visit to the clinic.. I started to feel the chill even though it wasn’t really cold...Nurses around started to lay all the surgical dental instruments on the tray beside where I was sitting..there were huge drillers, tweezers, tooth removal pliers and many other disturbing tools..my eyes enlarged! I have never felt scared going to a dentist but now I fully understand why kids are terrified to see a dentist. I now get the message of the typical joke I normally see on cartoons when it involves kids and dentists..

He then asked if I’ve had my meals, I did not and said “not yet”..and then the explanation comes..”If I proceed, u’ll feel tired and might faint”, hearing that, I was adviced and excused myself for a lunch. After lunch of a full plate of nasi kandar, I went to the clinic again and was called in after a while. Then the horrifying episode started, I was asked on which tooth to remove and decided upon the left..then, I was given 3 painkiller pills and 2 doses of local anaesthetic at the tongue, on the cheeks and around the wisdom tooth. The doctore told me that usually, he’d give 1 dose of anaesthetic to patients and I thought about myself.."Am I that strong?" .After abt 5 minutes, I started to feel numb around the areas…and there on..the operation follows. The doctor did what he was supposed to do..the noises of tooth drilling with all sorts of tooth extracting forcepts going in and coming out from my mouth left my entire body shivering! I was terrified..really..it wasn’t a pleasant experience at all..at that time, I regret not having someone close to hold my hands beside me. The 2 doses anaesthetic didn’t work quite well on me, although feeling numb, I could still feel the pain of removing the tooth. I heard the doctor saying “u have strong bone”..He was struggling to detach the left wisdom tooth and when it finally came out, he concluded that my wisdom tooth had 3 roots when others would usually have 2, which made it very difficult to remove..my o my…the surgery which started at 1:15pm went on for 45 minutes. I was advised to take medication every 6 hours, was told to come again the following week and did my payment..it costs me RM300(which I initially thought would only be RM30), a very big value that I had to sacrifice.

I started walking back at 2:05pm having to bear with my gums bleeding terribly. On my way back, I stopped by at the Visa center for a number of enquiries regarding my application form and went to Amcorp mall to buy a bottle of Listerine mouthwash before heading home. I reached home at 7pm. My gums had not stopped bleeding since the surgery..this made me feel even more tired and soon after I discovered that I was having fever..After shower I took a short rest before having a mug of milo and the painkiller pills..bcoz my mom didn’t cook, dad went out for dinner and bought me nasi bubur.. I was resting on my bed trying not to think much on the pain and bleeding gums when told to eat..I thought of eating later. At that time, I could feel my body aching due to the antibody combating the fever virus. An hour passed by and I started to doze off..thinking of removing my lense and taking wudhuk for Isya’ prayers, I rushed to the toilet..after a while looking at my swollen cheeks in the mirror, I felt a gush of dizziness..trying to keep balance, I hold on tight to the sink..but loose control and in a less than a minute..i was helplessly lying on the bathroom toilet..my brother and mom heard the sound of the sudden fall and started banging the bathroom doors calling for me..a few minutes later, i could finally move my hand and reached for the knobs..they came for my rescue..Thank god! Thanks to my family..I fully regained consciousness in about 10 minutes and took a short shower.Apart from a minor bruise on the elbow, I was ok..By the time I came out from the bathroom, I had my heated nasi bubur on my computer desk in my room..My brother can be really helpful at times..Thank you for heating me the nasi bubur..I had them finished in less than 10 minutes and continued my rest for the entire night..

Yesterday’s experience taught me 2 lessons :

1. Never go to a dentist alone! The psychological feeling is worse if gone by yourself.
2. Never starve yourself. I should never neglect the feeling of hunger or I shall experience the fainting episode again..this is the 4th time I fainted because of starvation..ain’t gonna go though it again..

Today, my left cheek is swollen more than an extra bloated ikan buntal. I look terrible! But I’m so thankful that my gums had stopped bleeding and am feeling less painful than yesterday..My next appointment will be sometime next week..this time, the doctor will remove the lower right wisdom tooth..thinking abt going through another dental surgery is enough to make me shiver! Hope that I’ll be better than the previous..

Education : Local vs Abroad

time really flies..it's less than a month before my scheduled departure to a country i've been long wanting to step my foot on, the united kingdom..a place where i'm expected to carry on life with presumably (precisely, definitely!) even more hectic academic calendar struggling with various possible obstacles, a place that will test my ability to be independent in all aspects a foreign student is required to have…In those days, I used to be extremely excited with the idea of going to study abroad, but these days…my perspectives somewhat changed in a way or two.. having obtained and been fully educated in home country, Malaysia for the past 24 years isn’t a bad experience after all…I highly feel what’s more important is the individual’s aspiration to become academically successful in whatever course taken, regardless of education delivery, environment, institution’s fame and endless reasons one may list.. I admit that I’m proud being a Malaysian education ‘product’…thought that by having to complete another level of education, I would be the ‘pure product’, but request from the local institution responsible to fund my coming studies leaves me limited choice to carry on with the title...also, many motives were directed towards this(where fame was never in the definition)..after all, I’m also admitting that there are more than a lot to learn from well-developed countries around the world..so, why should we leave the opportunity unoccupied? As for me, I hope to bring home and educate the coming generations with better knowledge transfer for a better Malaysian education product, within the next 3 years.. insya Allah..

So, why did I choose UK? An eternal question asked from my surroundings, an even more significant question starting from the point I’ve been tested with stumbling blocks until the final say.. a simple answer is, I’d like to take up the uk challenge in the hope to prove that age is not a gauge for academic excellence..it is way of out my intention to be supercilious with the statement, but certain things, sometimes need to be proven to gain reasonable respect. This might be vague, but enough to explain my many unsaid reasons.

Ok, enuff abt academic talk…hmm..what’s happened today? After weeks, I finally had the chance to see Zati for I was given 4 wedding invitation cards for distribution to a number of ppl..thanks so much for the invitation, Zati! yep, Zati’s getting married..from someone who’s been listening(not so much of helping tho’ :p) the previous ups and downs, I’m very happy for u on this approval..now that part of ur dream has come through, don’t’ forget on another dream of coming back within 3 years…and by then, I hope to pass you my invitation card… :p (if it’s not earlier)... to zati, congratulations! :)

My first entry..

hehee..i'm pretty excited to finally put enuff effort to start up a blog..been wanting, been attempting and beeen looong trying to create one, but the degree of laziness has been way leading the rest..what more can i say..well...welcome to myself and of course welcome and thank to you for putting the effort of wanting to read and share my experiences..cheers! (",)