Very brief indeed. We were there for less than an hour I think. I was very excited to show my parents where I called home for the last three years. But the weather was not helping much it was freezing cold and by the time we got there it was already almost Maghrib.
I was quite disappointed that the security didn't let us past the barrier to Lakeside. My dad really wanted to see the lakes and the wheat plantation. What a shame.
We went to Royal Grill before leaving Coventry and thanks to that I was really sleepy in the car.
It felt really good whilst praying in the Prayer Hall. Seeing familiar places, familiar spots in prayer hall where I used to spend a few nights when I was feeling quite low in energy to take the bus home or when I had to work at 9 on Sundays (bus doesn't start till 10am on Sundays, hence overnighting in the cold Prayer hall was needed).
There were doing major constructions on the Student Union and Arts Centre. But the eatery at Arts Centre was open, the last time I was there it was shut. They changed the old wooded chairs to white ones. Or repainted the old ones, I don't know. The Front of House office where I used to report for work was shut, if not I could've said hi to Emma or any other stewards on duty.
I felt as if I was back to somewhere safe. I really liked warwick. It has been kind to me. I have so much good memories there. I loved my jobs as Steward there and really missed watching good shows for free. Movies, concerts, comedies, even selling ice creams. I enjoyed them all. The last concert I did was perhaps Jason Mraz concert, I was already at Westwood by then, he was literally 5 metres from where I was standing the whole time, but it was such a bummer that I didn't have my glasses on, my vision could have been better. But the experience was amazing!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Selsdon Park Hotel
I am now at the hotel in South Croydon on training with the firm. It's a truly amazing place this is, the facility is superb, the hotel itself has been extablished since the 1920s! That's really something, isn't it! There's a golf course, acres and acres of land at the back of the hotel which I have not yet got a chance to roam, and the room is absolutely fantastic. Although I am feeling a bit lonely that mama dan abah are in Luton and not with me, I wish they were. I should have forced them to come, but there's costs to think about as well, but the room is massive, I really am feeling quite lonely in here all by myself.
Today before dinner somebody bumped into me and started conversing in bahasa melayu, and I could tell he's not had a practised in a while, but it's truly impressive really. Jamie used to work in Brunei, and had a friend in Kota Kinabalu and he's done Gunung Kinabalu twice! Mentioned it to him that I did it when I was 14 too. We had a nice chat and would have gone on for a bit longer until he realised I hadn't had my dinner.
Went to have a quick dinner, the meals.. well, there's not that many that I could eat, they tend to put wine or some other forms of liquor in most of the dishes which the waitress/waiter would kindly point out for me which was nice. But they do have halal chicken, although they seemed to unable to comprehend that when u put alcohol into the sauce that goes with the chicken, the meal would then be haraam. Oh well, need to educate them on them.
Oh ya, we did the synchronised swimming today (on land) during the intermission session, we performed last and ended first! Although we were all over the place with the synchronisation to be honest! We were the only group with natural sound, in other words, we hummed the danube song as our background music, there's another group with music, but they got it off computer which is not really that creative haha.
Ok need to get some sleep for tomorrow, I need to be early, as I was one minute late this morning!! Not impressive!!!
nitee
Today before dinner somebody bumped into me and started conversing in bahasa melayu, and I could tell he's not had a practised in a while, but it's truly impressive really. Jamie used to work in Brunei, and had a friend in Kota Kinabalu and he's done Gunung Kinabalu twice! Mentioned it to him that I did it when I was 14 too. We had a nice chat and would have gone on for a bit longer until he realised I hadn't had my dinner.
Went to have a quick dinner, the meals.. well, there's not that many that I could eat, they tend to put wine or some other forms of liquor in most of the dishes which the waitress/waiter would kindly point out for me which was nice. But they do have halal chicken, although they seemed to unable to comprehend that when u put alcohol into the sauce that goes with the chicken, the meal would then be haraam. Oh well, need to educate them on them.
Oh ya, we did the synchronised swimming today (on land) during the intermission session, we performed last and ended first! Although we were all over the place with the synchronisation to be honest! We were the only group with natural sound, in other words, we hummed the danube song as our background music, there's another group with music, but they got it off computer which is not really that creative haha.
Ok need to get some sleep for tomorrow, I need to be early, as I was one minute late this morning!! Not impressive!!!
nitee
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Which city is famous for Strawhats, Vauxhall and had an album named after its airport?
....It's Luton of course!
Yes yes, I'm in Luton now, after two weeks living like a nomad. Alhamdulillah, at last, I found a pad here for me and my mom. We moved here on Saturday the 26th of July, and I could not stop counting my blessings, although it wasn't really smooth sailing. But the landlord and his family are great people and they tried their best to make us feel home.
The first day we found out that the hot water was not working properly, told him on Sunday, and he promised that someone would come on Monday to fix it. The guy came, but the boiler decided to behave when he was around so surprise surprise, there was no hot water again when he left! But he was a nice gentleman who made some small talks with me, so I didn't know that he was paid 60 quid for just 10 minute worth of talking!
The second guy came on Tuesday, but he also did not solve the problem. My guess was he was with the same company with the first one, but he said something like he needed to talk with the landlord to let him do thorough cleaning of the boiler, and for this he needed to break the wall or something. So I let him go and said I'd tell the landlord about this. And only when Mr J came later that night with another boiler man did I know that the other two guys were paid 60 quid each time and still no result! What a waste!
The third guy was Mr J's friend from Pakistan, and he looked professional, and I was surprised to see that he was willing to come and look at the boiler at that hour (11pm!). To that MrJ replied that he was a friend of his, and said he's a really busy man and since he's good at what he's doing he was booked up during the day. This guy did clean the boiler and put some strong chemical in it and before leaving he told some jokes to me and I laughed with them although he took his time to tell it. After he's done he said insyaAllah the boiler will work again, but the next morning it's back to cold water after 30 seconds of shower!
And then on Wednesday MrJ said he'd taken a contract with BGas and another guy would come and fix the boiler. I was so relieved by this, since a contract means there won't be anymore of "wait a few days and it'll work fine" kind of comments, since they have to make sure whatever they do will amount to results! And this also means MrJ doesn't need to fork out more money for some boiler man to come in and get paid for nothing.
So the 4th guy came at 9am on Friday as promised and I had to take some time to put on my hijab (to which the boilerman thought I was still in bed!). He looked like he knew what he was doing, and he had one small laptop-like machine with which he checked the boiler, and his phone is that superhard panasonic types and I think only handy-men like this would own one cause it doesn't have the camera/3G etc. But I bet they could be thrown on rocks and still work fine. And when I asked him politely whether he'd mine taking his shoes off, he said he could use his overshoes instead. See, only professionals like this carry overshoes with them while they do house visits and I think I want to get some of them so that I can give to visitors who don't like taking their shoes off before entering the house. But I still don't know where they're sold though.
After about 2 hours, he said he figured out what needed to be fixed, and he needed to get the parts and come back on Monday. He put something like smoke detector on the wall and said he'd bill that to MrJ. Poor MrJ, he's been spending a lot for this part of the house since we moved in.
So we've been blessed with hot water since Monday and I'm very pleased. The guy spent more than 3 hours in the kitchen and I really ran out of ideas to chat to him so I spent time between checking up on him and blog-hop. This guy is a lot younger than previous boiler men, and he might even be somewhere around my age.
Another thing about the house: There was only a dryer, which I thought was a washer dryer before. And after talking to MrJ, he promised to buy a washer dryer instead. I said a washing machine would be fine not wanting him to think that I'm demanding, but he insisted, so a few days ago he brought a new one home. But after painstakingly installing it, we found that it wasn't spinning correctly, so it had to be replaced. So today I was waiting for him since morning to come and take it to the shop, and he only came at 4pm when I was in the shower.
I also sold his old dryer for 60 quid. Quite cheap, but better than leaving it outside to stand the August showers! I hope MrJ is pleased with the sale since he did say that he was going to throw it away as he had nowhere to put it! The idea to sell it is of course from me, on the day that he installed the w.m, and he asked his daughter to do it instead. But I had secretly done it myself without knowing that not one, but two ppl would actually be interested! So no more dryer on my front door, yay!
And when his daughters came for their iqra' class tonight, they gave me a key to the front door/gate. He just fixed it today alhamdulillah. No more knocking the door after coming back from the shops!
Yes yes, I'm in Luton now, after two weeks living like a nomad. Alhamdulillah, at last, I found a pad here for me and my mom. We moved here on Saturday the 26th of July, and I could not stop counting my blessings, although it wasn't really smooth sailing. But the landlord and his family are great people and they tried their best to make us feel home.
The first day we found out that the hot water was not working properly, told him on Sunday, and he promised that someone would come on Monday to fix it. The guy came, but the boiler decided to behave when he was around so surprise surprise, there was no hot water again when he left! But he was a nice gentleman who made some small talks with me, so I didn't know that he was paid 60 quid for just 10 minute worth of talking!
The second guy came on Tuesday, but he also did not solve the problem. My guess was he was with the same company with the first one, but he said something like he needed to talk with the landlord to let him do thorough cleaning of the boiler, and for this he needed to break the wall or something. So I let him go and said I'd tell the landlord about this. And only when Mr J came later that night with another boiler man did I know that the other two guys were paid 60 quid each time and still no result! What a waste!
The third guy was Mr J's friend from Pakistan, and he looked professional, and I was surprised to see that he was willing to come and look at the boiler at that hour (11pm!). To that MrJ replied that he was a friend of his, and said he's a really busy man and since he's good at what he's doing he was booked up during the day. This guy did clean the boiler and put some strong chemical in it and before leaving he told some jokes to me and I laughed with them although he took his time to tell it. After he's done he said insyaAllah the boiler will work again, but the next morning it's back to cold water after 30 seconds of shower!
And then on Wednesday MrJ said he'd taken a contract with BGas and another guy would come and fix the boiler. I was so relieved by this, since a contract means there won't be anymore of "wait a few days and it'll work fine" kind of comments, since they have to make sure whatever they do will amount to results! And this also means MrJ doesn't need to fork out more money for some boiler man to come in and get paid for nothing.
So the 4th guy came at 9am on Friday as promised and I had to take some time to put on my hijab (to which the boilerman thought I was still in bed!). He looked like he knew what he was doing, and he had one small laptop-like machine with which he checked the boiler, and his phone is that superhard panasonic types and I think only handy-men like this would own one cause it doesn't have the camera/3G etc. But I bet they could be thrown on rocks and still work fine. And when I asked him politely whether he'd mine taking his shoes off, he said he could use his overshoes instead. See, only professionals like this carry overshoes with them while they do house visits and I think I want to get some of them so that I can give to visitors who don't like taking their shoes off before entering the house. But I still don't know where they're sold though.
After about 2 hours, he said he figured out what needed to be fixed, and he needed to get the parts and come back on Monday. He put something like smoke detector on the wall and said he'd bill that to MrJ. Poor MrJ, he's been spending a lot for this part of the house since we moved in.
So we've been blessed with hot water since Monday and I'm very pleased. The guy spent more than 3 hours in the kitchen and I really ran out of ideas to chat to him so I spent time between checking up on him and blog-hop. This guy is a lot younger than previous boiler men, and he might even be somewhere around my age.
Another thing about the house: There was only a dryer, which I thought was a washer dryer before. And after talking to MrJ, he promised to buy a washer dryer instead. I said a washing machine would be fine not wanting him to think that I'm demanding, but he insisted, so a few days ago he brought a new one home. But after painstakingly installing it, we found that it wasn't spinning correctly, so it had to be replaced. So today I was waiting for him since morning to come and take it to the shop, and he only came at 4pm when I was in the shower.
I also sold his old dryer for 60 quid. Quite cheap, but better than leaving it outside to stand the August showers! I hope MrJ is pleased with the sale since he did say that he was going to throw it away as he had nowhere to put it! The idea to sell it is of course from me, on the day that he installed the w.m, and he asked his daughter to do it instead. But I had secretly done it myself without knowing that not one, but two ppl would actually be interested! So no more dryer on my front door, yay!
And when his daughters came for their iqra' class tonight, they gave me a key to the front door/gate. He just fixed it today alhamdulillah. No more knocking the door after coming back from the shops!
While I was in hiatus...
Oh before I forget, we went for a road trip just before my mom arrived. Marjan, Siti, Nadiah, Fizah and me. We went to Land's End and then Cornwall to check out the beaches. Unfortunately it started raining just after a few minutes when we got the Land's End, so we got to spend more time in the car instead of on the beach. Nevertheless, we still went out and brave the weather to take some pics. I really admired how Marjan was able to drive through the long journey. And we ate A LOT too! We cooked nasi goreng and pasta the night before for the trip and had so much of junk foods too! I swear I gained more than whatever I lost the fortnight before!
While I was in hiatus..I
A lot has happened since the last entry on June 15th. As I'm writing this, Mama is asleep on the bed and I'm very very grateful to Allah for having her with me now. Let's recall what has happened since June 15th.
I was busy working at Arden and Arts Centre after exams and on some good days I put on my running shoes and ran around campus after work. Plus some mornings when I wasn't working. That was fun. On some days, I had Jang/Siti with me and we'd talk about a lot of things.
And then there was packing to do as we had to move out of Hurst by 28th June. To westwood. The day before we had to move out, I was trying to hire a van to move my boxes to a store (which hadn't been decided yet by then), but they were either booked up or too expensive! I was planning to store my stuff with some other friends, but Alhamdulillah I worked out a better alternative. Thanks to my friends' neighbour; an elderly lady whom I've never met before. She let me put my stuff at her place for free!
Westwood was okay, I was sharing with Marjan and Siti, but the floor was really packed with uni-leavers, no-one was really taking care of hygiene! I hate going into the kitchen/bathroom at night. Too disgusting, so I avoided these places as much as I could. I'd just go to work in the morning, after work I'd go to the prayer hall as most of the time I'd be working at Arts Centre till late. Thank God for Sha's bike and shuttle van at night!
Mama arrived on the 12th of July and I had booked myself another room at Westwood on the 10th. As I was working for graduation, we'd be moving out again for Rootes, and I was so sorry for my mom as we had to move out for so many times. And I know she's not as strong as she used to be anymore, so going up and down the stairs are really not for her, but I had no other choice.
I was busy working at Arden and Arts Centre after exams and on some good days I put on my running shoes and ran around campus after work. Plus some mornings when I wasn't working. That was fun. On some days, I had Jang/Siti with me and we'd talk about a lot of things.
And then there was packing to do as we had to move out of Hurst by 28th June. To westwood. The day before we had to move out, I was trying to hire a van to move my boxes to a store (which hadn't been decided yet by then), but they were either booked up or too expensive! I was planning to store my stuff with some other friends, but Alhamdulillah I worked out a better alternative. Thanks to my friends' neighbour; an elderly lady whom I've never met before. She let me put my stuff at her place for free!
Westwood was okay, I was sharing with Marjan and Siti, but the floor was really packed with uni-leavers, no-one was really taking care of hygiene! I hate going into the kitchen/bathroom at night. Too disgusting, so I avoided these places as much as I could. I'd just go to work in the morning, after work I'd go to the prayer hall as most of the time I'd be working at Arts Centre till late. Thank God for Sha's bike and shuttle van at night!
Mama arrived on the 12th of July and I had booked myself another room at Westwood on the 10th. As I was working for graduation, we'd be moving out again for Rootes, and I was so sorry for my mom as we had to move out for so many times. And I know she's not as strong as she used to be anymore, so going up and down the stairs are really not for her, but I had no other choice.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Dilemma...
I received an email from Adik the other day asking me not to buy my tickets yet since Mama suggested that I don't go home at all. I was a bit disappointed and disheartened by the email, not least because I have been planning 1oo1 things to do if/when I go home. I didn't go home last summer since I thought it was going to be my last summer, and naturally I missed home terribly now. I missed my cats more than anything else. Of course I missed my parents above all else, but I get to speak to them over the phone regularly (even if voip stunt lines sometimes leave a lot to be desired!), but I long to hold my cats once more. When I was in first year, mama kept from me about Misai's passing, until I dreamed about it, and when she finally told me, it had been more that six months! Misai was the closest to me and even when I'm writing this, tears are flooding in my eyes thinking about him. May Allah take care of him.
I think I've blogged about my cats before, but since I came back from autumn 2006, I lost count of who died, who were the newborns and who got picked up from the market, and who came from the bushes at night. By 'who' I mean the cats of course. It's a long story - the history of how we get to keep cats at home in Napoh. It started with Pung (the mother, cos she had a son named Pong as well and he ran away while I was home for summer).
And then I knew that Misai came to our house at night as a little kitten hungry and cold, and my parents fed him and let him stay. And then Anne came as a beautiful teenager. Anne is the strongest of them all, she came as a full-grown cat (mama said she was already remaja) and bore many many kittens than we cared to count, many of whom died along the way, but she kept on bearing beautiful kittens for us. Even now, when her surviving children started to get pregnant, she got pregnant too:) Talking about being productive. And did I tell you she was beutiful?
And how did this entry become a story about cats? I should really keep my focus!
Anyways, the day after I read the email from Adik, I called home, and since nobody picked up the phone, I called abah, my parents were on the road, so I said I'd call back and then I forgot. Two mornings later, I called again and then cried over the phone to abah. I didn't do it intentionally, it was because I was so sad for not being able to go home. I missed so many things about home, it's hard to even list them down. I've never even seen Anis, my brother Bangcik's first born and my parents' first grand-daughter since she was born a few weeks after I flew back here in autumn 2006.
I missed durian, I missed cendoi, I missed Asun's market on Friday mornings, I missed the heat, I missed going out to surau with Abah, I missed going out for a ride and talking about politics, and I missed everything else I could not do here. Like riding a motorcycle to work. Like teasing and bullying Ikram. Like being angry with the cats and chickens when they decided to dirty the floors after I spent my energy mopping them several times! I missed feeding the cats and just watching them eating like hungry little things, even if they've been fed three times before! I missed them crawling on my feet whilst I mixed their food (boiled fishes and freshly cooked rice), and trying to warn them that it's still hot. I missed giving them a bath when they're super dirty and smelly and needless to say getting a few scratches in the procession. I missed them dearly:(
I think I've blogged about my cats before, but since I came back from autumn 2006, I lost count of who died, who were the newborns and who got picked up from the market, and who came from the bushes at night. By 'who' I mean the cats of course. It's a long story - the history of how we get to keep cats at home in Napoh. It started with Pung (the mother, cos she had a son named Pong as well and he ran away while I was home for summer).
And then I knew that Misai came to our house at night as a little kitten hungry and cold, and my parents fed him and let him stay. And then Anne came as a beautiful teenager. Anne is the strongest of them all, she came as a full-grown cat (mama said she was already remaja) and bore many many kittens than we cared to count, many of whom died along the way, but she kept on bearing beautiful kittens for us. Even now, when her surviving children started to get pregnant, she got pregnant too:) Talking about being productive. And did I tell you she was beutiful?
And how did this entry become a story about cats? I should really keep my focus!
Anyways, the day after I read the email from Adik, I called home, and since nobody picked up the phone, I called abah, my parents were on the road, so I said I'd call back and then I forgot. Two mornings later, I called again and then cried over the phone to abah. I didn't do it intentionally, it was because I was so sad for not being able to go home. I missed so many things about home, it's hard to even list them down. I've never even seen Anis, my brother Bangcik's first born and my parents' first grand-daughter since she was born a few weeks after I flew back here in autumn 2006.
I missed durian, I missed cendoi, I missed Asun's market on Friday mornings, I missed the heat, I missed going out to surau with Abah, I missed going out for a ride and talking about politics, and I missed everything else I could not do here. Like riding a motorcycle to work. Like teasing and bullying Ikram. Like being angry with the cats and chickens when they decided to dirty the floors after I spent my energy mopping them several times! I missed feeding the cats and just watching them eating like hungry little things, even if they've been fed three times before! I missed them crawling on my feet whilst I mixed their food (boiled fishes and freshly cooked rice), and trying to warn them that it's still hot. I missed giving them a bath when they're super dirty and smelly and needless to say getting a few scratches in the procession. I missed them dearly:(
Thursday, June 12, 2008
My goal after exams!
I made a pack with Siti that we should both try and lose a few kilos after exams. Our motivation? So that we'd look good in our graduation pics and when we smile we can smile as wide as possible and don't have to worry about our faces going too round or our eyes going too small! Well the latter part only applies to me actually. If you must know, I refused to smile in my Form Five pictures since my cheeks would push my tudung outwards and make me look like a certain creature which I would not mention. Seriously that was when I was 17 and when I weighed a few grams short of 50!
And now ladies and gentlemen, I am nowhere near the 8 stone mark on your bathroom scales, but in pictures I still smiled broadly, but I had to face the camera sideways in the intention to make my face (and the full body mind you) look slimmer! Hah, who says camera trick was difficult! Alas, I don't think it works anyway...
So, now, I have made a promise to myself to exercise at least 30 minutes everyday, and so far I have been keeping the promise. It has just been a week, and I have only lost about 1 1/2 kilos! I refuse to give up, since giving up would undoubtedly pile on the weight again. I've tried before and when I gave up, it proved that my weight went soaring up again! So let's see how it goes. I pray to Allah to give me strengths to do this, what I need is just determination.
Just four weeks left to graduation, and hopefully I can shed a few more kilos and be all smiles again for graduation!
And now ladies and gentlemen, I am nowhere near the 8 stone mark on your bathroom scales, but in pictures I still smiled broadly, but I had to face the camera sideways in the intention to make my face (and the full body mind you) look slimmer! Hah, who says camera trick was difficult! Alas, I don't think it works anyway...
So, now, I have made a promise to myself to exercise at least 30 minutes everyday, and so far I have been keeping the promise. It has just been a week, and I have only lost about 1 1/2 kilos! I refuse to give up, since giving up would undoubtedly pile on the weight again. I've tried before and when I gave up, it proved that my weight went soaring up again! So let's see how it goes. I pray to Allah to give me strengths to do this, what I need is just determination.
Just four weeks left to graduation, and hopefully I can shed a few more kilos and be all smiles again for graduation!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
What is this feeling...
I seriously don't know how to describe this feeling, yet I always have it after exams. Yeah it's the feeling that you don't have to do anything and when this happens it's so weird that no entertainment is half entertaining anymore! For example, after I went for a jog with Siti this morning, I tried going on youtube to listen to some of Siti's songs like I normally do when i got bored with revisions, but I stopped halfway and tried another one. Yeah you guessed it, I didn't finish that one either! Either I'm loosing interest on Siti, or my mind has a life of it's own it's decided to not get entertained by music!
I even tried Lee Chong Wei's historic match against Lin Dan in Msia Open in Kuching (which is btw the most fantastic match of the century which never failed to amuse me before, and I've watched it for more that 5 times!), but that didn't work either. Haih.
So yeah, in conclusion, I seriously think I need to get back to some 'studying' since I realised that is actually what my brain needs! Well before you groan, studying does not have to be Advanced Financial Reporting or Corporate Tax, I could probably start with some current issues like Msian politics (altogether now euwwww!). haha
I even tried Lee Chong Wei's historic match against Lin Dan in Msia Open in Kuching (which is btw the most fantastic match of the century which never failed to amuse me before, and I've watched it for more that 5 times!), but that didn't work either. Haih.
So yeah, in conclusion, I seriously think I need to get back to some 'studying' since I realised that is actually what my brain needs! Well before you groan, studying does not have to be Advanced Financial Reporting or Corporate Tax, I could probably start with some current issues like Msian politics (altogether now euwwww!). haha
Monday, June 09, 2008
Done with exams!
Wooo-hoooo! I finished exams and degree! The results are another matter, but seriously after the end of Japanese paper, it was a nice feeling I had, not least because the questions were not too difficult as I had imagined. I thought Japanese was going to be the hardest one for me, since I hadn't done so well in the two tests before - largely because the readings were so difficult I couldn't understand the entire passage, and if you don;t understand what it says, how in the world are you going to answer the comprehension questions!
The night before the exam, I was panicking like crazy and in the morning, I went to Siti's room to do some last minutes Q&A, and we realised there were still sooo many kanjis we hadn't memorised! Luckily, the kanji questions were easy and readings were okay too. I had a nice 30 minute to check for silly mistakes like spellings etc before the time was up.
We went to Tesco's straight after the paper, I didn't bring any money since I thought if the paper was superhard, I would just go back to my room and sulk alone! That's typical me, I should know:P
And then later, stopped by at Dira and Wani's place, wani's mom was there, she was making cucuq ikan bilis, but I was not in the mood, but had some sagu gula melaka and teh o ais (super sedap since it was quite hot that day). Chatted with her mom and then had to excuse ourselves since we had another invitation from kak Min. She cooked for us, kari ayam and salad which were really sedap and licin in less than and hour! Sedap!! thanks Kak Min!
The night before the exam, I was panicking like crazy and in the morning, I went to Siti's room to do some last minutes Q&A, and we realised there were still sooo many kanjis we hadn't memorised! Luckily, the kanji questions were easy and readings were okay too. I had a nice 30 minute to check for silly mistakes like spellings etc before the time was up.
We went to Tesco's straight after the paper, I didn't bring any money since I thought if the paper was superhard, I would just go back to my room and sulk alone! That's typical me, I should know:P
And then later, stopped by at Dira and Wani's place, wani's mom was there, she was making cucuq ikan bilis, but I was not in the mood, but had some sagu gula melaka and teh o ais (super sedap since it was quite hot that day). Chatted with her mom and then had to excuse ourselves since we had another invitation from kak Min. She cooked for us, kari ayam and salad which were really sedap and licin in less than and hour! Sedap!! thanks Kak Min!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Of exams and Allah's help
Hari ni ada corporate tax exams. Exam dah mula lama, tapi ada satu cerita nak share hari ni.
Bangun pukol 8.15 am (tidoq dah pukoi 3 pagi), mandi sat saja, pastu baca sikit2 pasal transfer pricing lagi sbb rasa2 macam masuk la kot. (Alhamdulillah ada la soalan pasai ni).
Pastu dah nak kluaq la dengan siti ngn sarah, macam tergesa2 jugak la, depa dah siap kat luaq, pastu jalan la pi, sambil2 tanya2 soalan. pastu dah kat luaq exam hall tu, dok bincang2 lagi, tiba2 perasan takdak calculator!!!!! tak pernah jadi ni! lupa nak bawak pulak. panic habih, dah la orang ramai, dah la tak bawak duit nak beli! nasib baik ada dira, dia bawak kad, pi la bookshop, tapi tak dak scientific calculator!!!! ada ka patut. lari pi costcutter (dira kata belum pukoi 9.30 lagi) cari2 tanya org tu, dia bagi la yang agak buruk dan pelik dan cikai tu. dira tolong bayaq, dira suruh pi tanya sapa2 boleh dak pinjam. aku tanya dua org, tak kenal pon, tapi semua tak dak. aku pasrah la kan. salah sendiri pon. dira masih dalam costcutter lagi. rasa guilty gila la, kalau terlambat masuk exam macam mana? dah la 2 jam tu memang lynne oats kata cukup2 ja. pastu lari lagi, dira dah kluaq costcutter dah. check number meja, dira check, tiba2 Leena Patel kawan sama class aku (British) said hi. I said hi back, pastu cakap la aku lupa bawak calculator, dia ada dua!!!! dan dia terus kata guna la, dah la yang tu sama macam calculator lama aku yang dah habih batteri tu. Alhamdulillah!!! Allah nak tolong la ni. sbb yang beli tadi tu tak macam scientific, takleh nampak double line tu (paham ka ni). kira dia macam ordinary calculator la, dah la tak biasa kan, so nanti mesti lambat!!.
Ni la gambaq calc yang beli kat costcutter tu dan yang lagi satu tu aku punya, tapi sama macam leena bagi pinjam. Yang bawak tu yang abah baru beli tahun ni yang aku lupa! Nak tunjuk yang kat costcutter tu dia satu line saja.
Alhamdulillah la kan. aku pon ambik, terus masuk ngn dira. bila masuk, ingat meja aku 262, ada org duduk, dengan slamba aku kata "are u sure u're sitting here?" she said yes. sudah, aku dah salah tengok la ni. dengan ayunya aku jalan kluaq balik. panic mmg panic, tapi control la. masa ni org tak start lagi tapi dah dekat la kot. aku kluaq check balik, 292! haih, salah tengok plak! sebenaqnya bukan salah tengok, tapi sbb kejadian tadi tu, aku dan termixed up la kot. alhamdulillah meja aku dua dari depan, so senang la nampak, tak buang masa cari2 semua. Alhamdulillah. duduk2 ja, tak dan tulih nama dah boleh start.
Aku buat essay dulu, essay ok la kot. lepas tu buat section A, ada la dalam 3, 4 soalan aku taktau. so buat la calculation. soalan ok, dah pernah tengok, tak tricky sangat, tapi aku banyak tak sure!!!! geram sungguh dengan diri ini!!! underlying tax aku tak sure kena tambah ka dak dalam schedule D case 3 tu! haih... so sbb tak sure, aku tengok masa ada lagi, aku pon buat dua2 calculation questions tu!!! lagi satu pasal group relief, yang ni ok sket, tapi banyak assumption.. aku harap lynne oats tanda dua2 dan ambik yang paling tinggi lah no... Ya Allah tolonglah bukakkan hati lynne oats untuk kesian kat aku... aku dah cuba terbaik dah...
tapi aku try jugak lah jawab section A bagi habih, ada yang aku main tulis saja apa aku tau. ada satu soalan tu aku tak ingat lansung penah baca ka dak. haih.. (tanya siti, dia kata dia pon sama, so ni mesti dari chapter 8 yang aku assumed tak kan ada soalan sbb kami dah penah buat assignment on it).
So bila dah habih masa tu, lynne oats mai nak ambik, aku masih tulis nama! seb baik dia tak kisah. overall alhamdulillah la.
Lepas tu pi ambik feedback ngn dira for assignments (CMS + Learning Diary2).
Alhamdulillah, inilah assignment aku yang paling tinggi. for cms. aku banyak tanya org la nak buat essay ni. dia pasai plating, so aku tanya bob, abah, abg sharizal. pastu aku ada tanya sorang budak ni aku tak tau nama dia tapi dia sama seminar ngn aku (so terima kasih banyak2 semoga Allah balas la jasa dia ni, amin.) Alhamdulillah sangat2, kalau kerana usaha aku, memang tak padan la, tapi ini lah dia kuasa Allah, dia nak tolong aku ni.. sebab ada assignment lain aku dapat teruk sangat2 (tak mau cakap sbb sedih gila).
Alhamdulillah ya Allah, Kau lah penolong nombor satu aku. Aku sekarang lebih tenteram sbb aku ada penolong yang agung macam ni.
Thomas Ahrens comment (takdak sapa baca blog ni pon, so nanti2 kalau aku dah hilang kertas feedback ni, aku boleh la tengok kat sini untuk hiburkan hati)
"Very good report. Analysed the case in great detail and focus on key issues. Excellent use of literature to frame the argument and support conclusions. Very professional!"
Thank you Thomas! May Allah bless you always and always!! (dia ni Islam tau, nanti2 aku nak cerita pasai dia lah, aku suka sangat lectures and seminars dia!)
ok dah la tu. aku kena study for AFR dan japanese. Ya Allah, tolong lah aku lagi!!!
Bangun pukol 8.15 am (tidoq dah pukoi 3 pagi), mandi sat saja, pastu baca sikit2 pasal transfer pricing lagi sbb rasa2 macam masuk la kot. (Alhamdulillah ada la soalan pasai ni).
Pastu dah nak kluaq la dengan siti ngn sarah, macam tergesa2 jugak la, depa dah siap kat luaq, pastu jalan la pi, sambil2 tanya2 soalan. pastu dah kat luaq exam hall tu, dok bincang2 lagi, tiba2 perasan takdak calculator!!!!! tak pernah jadi ni! lupa nak bawak pulak. panic habih, dah la orang ramai, dah la tak bawak duit nak beli! nasib baik ada dira, dia bawak kad, pi la bookshop, tapi tak dak scientific calculator!!!! ada ka patut. lari pi costcutter (dira kata belum pukoi 9.30 lagi) cari2 tanya org tu, dia bagi la yang agak buruk dan pelik dan cikai tu. dira tolong bayaq, dira suruh pi tanya sapa2 boleh dak pinjam. aku tanya dua org, tak kenal pon, tapi semua tak dak. aku pasrah la kan. salah sendiri pon. dira masih dalam costcutter lagi. rasa guilty gila la, kalau terlambat masuk exam macam mana? dah la 2 jam tu memang lynne oats kata cukup2 ja. pastu lari lagi, dira dah kluaq costcutter dah. check number meja, dira check, tiba2 Leena Patel kawan sama class aku (British) said hi. I said hi back, pastu cakap la aku lupa bawak calculator, dia ada dua!!!! dan dia terus kata guna la, dah la yang tu sama macam calculator lama aku yang dah habih batteri tu. Alhamdulillah!!! Allah nak tolong la ni. sbb yang beli tadi tu tak macam scientific, takleh nampak double line tu (paham ka ni). kira dia macam ordinary calculator la, dah la tak biasa kan, so nanti mesti lambat!!.
Ni la gambaq calc yang beli kat costcutter tu dan yang lagi satu tu aku punya, tapi sama macam leena bagi pinjam. Yang bawak tu yang abah baru beli tahun ni yang aku lupa! Nak tunjuk yang kat costcutter tu dia satu line saja.
Alhamdulillah la kan. aku pon ambik, terus masuk ngn dira. bila masuk, ingat meja aku 262, ada org duduk, dengan slamba aku kata "are u sure u're sitting here?" she said yes. sudah, aku dah salah tengok la ni. dengan ayunya aku jalan kluaq balik. panic mmg panic, tapi control la. masa ni org tak start lagi tapi dah dekat la kot. aku kluaq check balik, 292! haih, salah tengok plak! sebenaqnya bukan salah tengok, tapi sbb kejadian tadi tu, aku dan termixed up la kot. alhamdulillah meja aku dua dari depan, so senang la nampak, tak buang masa cari2 semua. Alhamdulillah. duduk2 ja, tak dan tulih nama dah boleh start.Aku buat essay dulu, essay ok la kot. lepas tu buat section A, ada la dalam 3, 4 soalan aku taktau. so buat la calculation. soalan ok, dah pernah tengok, tak tricky sangat, tapi aku banyak tak sure!!!! geram sungguh dengan diri ini!!! underlying tax aku tak sure kena tambah ka dak dalam schedule D case 3 tu! haih... so sbb tak sure, aku tengok masa ada lagi, aku pon buat dua2 calculation questions tu!!! lagi satu pasal group relief, yang ni ok sket, tapi banyak assumption.. aku harap lynne oats tanda dua2 dan ambik yang paling tinggi lah no... Ya Allah tolonglah bukakkan hati lynne oats untuk kesian kat aku... aku dah cuba terbaik dah...
tapi aku try jugak lah jawab section A bagi habih, ada yang aku main tulis saja apa aku tau. ada satu soalan tu aku tak ingat lansung penah baca ka dak. haih.. (tanya siti, dia kata dia pon sama, so ni mesti dari chapter 8 yang aku assumed tak kan ada soalan sbb kami dah penah buat assignment on it).
So bila dah habih masa tu, lynne oats mai nak ambik, aku masih tulis nama! seb baik dia tak kisah. overall alhamdulillah la.
Lepas tu pi ambik feedback ngn dira for assignments (CMS + Learning Diary2).
Alhamdulillah, inilah assignment aku yang paling tinggi. for cms. aku banyak tanya org la nak buat essay ni. dia pasai plating, so aku tanya bob, abah, abg sharizal. pastu aku ada tanya sorang budak ni aku tak tau nama dia tapi dia sama seminar ngn aku (so terima kasih banyak2 semoga Allah balas la jasa dia ni, amin.) Alhamdulillah sangat2, kalau kerana usaha aku, memang tak padan la, tapi ini lah dia kuasa Allah, dia nak tolong aku ni.. sebab ada assignment lain aku dapat teruk sangat2 (tak mau cakap sbb sedih gila).
Alhamdulillah ya Allah, Kau lah penolong nombor satu aku. Aku sekarang lebih tenteram sbb aku ada penolong yang agung macam ni.
Thomas Ahrens comment (takdak sapa baca blog ni pon, so nanti2 kalau aku dah hilang kertas feedback ni, aku boleh la tengok kat sini untuk hiburkan hati)
"Very good report. Analysed the case in great detail and focus on key issues. Excellent use of literature to frame the argument and support conclusions. Very professional!"
Thank you Thomas! May Allah bless you always and always!! (dia ni Islam tau, nanti2 aku nak cerita pasai dia lah, aku suka sangat lectures and seminars dia!)
ok dah la tu. aku kena study for AFR dan japanese. Ya Allah, tolong lah aku lagi!!!
Friday, April 04, 2008
The one who blew the whistle
It's probably not so hot a topic now: Chua Soi Lek's fame rose overnight after two dvds were circulated in Johor late December last year. Many have been talking about a certain politician's scandal, but it was confirmed within a week when the man himself made a PC in front of hungry press and his even hungrier musuh dalam selimut (aka friends of the same party who don't like the man's guts).
I don't want to post links to other articles of the same issue. Partly because this is like the umpteenth time it's been raised again. And secondly I have far too many assignments already to worry about proper referencing.
But today 2nd April, in Malaysiakini, the said dvd star said that he has some clues on who the culprit behind the whole incident that caused him losing his job, and some air muka (because I'm sure he did not regret what he did! Correct me if I'm wrong but when I saw the PC, there was even a tinge of proud when he said he was the man behind the tape! Teringin nak jadi filem star rupanya kau), as well as a machoness a person normally has for being able to cheat on his wife. Oh don't get me started here... I'm sure although the wife made statements of how they were all behind him, the scenes at home might not be that idyllic.
Anyways, too much digression there. Yeah so the whistleblower of the incident may be someone the shortlived star knows personally. But then again, are the media and the press at large interested to know who that person or persons might be? Not too much I suppose. Same with any other whistleblowing cases, the hero will be able to escape the attention so long as the impacts are insurmountable. So Mr Ah-Chua, don't try looking for more cheap publicity la, we were more interested on what you did than the person with the VCR who obviously knew well enough about your favourite past-time, what your favourite hotel/motel/resthouse in Muar, andalso the taukeh that owns the place (I bet taukeh received his rewards for the tips as well.) And the personal friend? Let's give her the benefits of the doubt shall we?)
I remembered when we had the group presentation of whistleblowing in CIM class, I was easily fascinated by the stories about those whistleblowers and the necessary protection for them for the kind of backlash they might receive. This doctor from Bristol Infirmary case had to flee to Australia for blowing the whistle about how doctors in that hospital are causing unnecessary deaths of young babies during simple operations.
I was asked at the end of the presentation about the nature of whistle blowing in Malaysia, I was stumped for a moment trying to figure out any interesting cases (of course this was before Soi Lek's rose to stardom). In Malaysia most of these stories relate very much to politics. Everything will be related to politics somehow. MAS overspending on RM3 m worth of paintings come to mind. Pak Lah's RM60 m house in Perth, or Najib's and Razak Baginda's joint-partnership of securing contracts for MINDEF and at the same time pocketing more rich to their already fat wallets and even fattier bank accounts.
All these spread of stories would not be made possible if there are no people brave enough to get up of their fat ar*es and blow the whistle. It does not matter how strong the sound. For the wind will carry it as long as man is allowed to breath by the Almighty.
I don't want to post links to other articles of the same issue. Partly because this is like the umpteenth time it's been raised again. And secondly I have far too many assignments already to worry about proper referencing.
But today 2nd April, in Malaysiakini, the said dvd star said that he has some clues on who the culprit behind the whole incident that caused him losing his job, and some air muka (because I'm sure he did not regret what he did! Correct me if I'm wrong but when I saw the PC, there was even a tinge of proud when he said he was the man behind the tape! Teringin nak jadi filem star rupanya kau), as well as a machoness a person normally has for being able to cheat on his wife. Oh don't get me started here... I'm sure although the wife made statements of how they were all behind him, the scenes at home might not be that idyllic.
Anyways, too much digression there. Yeah so the whistleblower of the incident may be someone the shortlived star knows personally. But then again, are the media and the press at large interested to know who that person or persons might be? Not too much I suppose. Same with any other whistleblowing cases, the hero will be able to escape the attention so long as the impacts are insurmountable. So Mr Ah-Chua, don't try looking for more cheap publicity la, we were more interested on what you did than the person with the VCR who obviously knew well enough about your favourite past-time, what your favourite hotel/motel/resthouse in Muar, andalso the taukeh that owns the place (I bet taukeh received his rewards for the tips as well.) And the personal friend? Let's give her the benefits of the doubt shall we?)
I remembered when we had the group presentation of whistleblowing in CIM class, I was easily fascinated by the stories about those whistleblowers and the necessary protection for them for the kind of backlash they might receive. This doctor from Bristol Infirmary case had to flee to Australia for blowing the whistle about how doctors in that hospital are causing unnecessary deaths of young babies during simple operations.
I was asked at the end of the presentation about the nature of whistle blowing in Malaysia, I was stumped for a moment trying to figure out any interesting cases (of course this was before Soi Lek's rose to stardom). In Malaysia most of these stories relate very much to politics. Everything will be related to politics somehow. MAS overspending on RM3 m worth of paintings come to mind. Pak Lah's RM60 m house in Perth, or Najib's and Razak Baginda's joint-partnership of securing contracts for MINDEF and at the same time pocketing more rich to their already fat wallets and even fattier bank accounts.
All these spread of stories would not be made possible if there are no people brave enough to get up of their fat ar*es and blow the whistle. It does not matter how strong the sound. For the wind will carry it as long as man is allowed to breath by the Almighty.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Burnt
I burnt the kitchen today. Again. This is actually the third time. But it's the first time that the alarm went off. The other two incidents I was quite lucky that it did not trigger the alarm although they were much worse than this since this time around there wasn't any food burnt or even fire. Only smoke. Thick black smoke that blackened every inch of the wall, ceiling and cupboard doors. Even the floor. Everything.
I'm now trying to figure out what signs did I get this morning that perhaps might give away that something bad would happen today. None. Nada. well except for the fact that I was late for subuh. But everything else was like normal. Had my shower and wanted to cook something for brunch. Heat up the grill and went to type the CIM report. And then the alarm went off.
I ran off and found the kitchen covered in smoke. The pot with oil was hot. Took it and poured water into sink. Opened window. Tried to wipe off the smoke from wall. Too dark in there couldn't see anything.
I'm now trying to figure out what signs did I get this morning that perhaps might give away that something bad would happen today. None. Nada. well except for the fact that I was late for subuh. But everything else was like normal. Had my shower and wanted to cook something for brunch. Heat up the grill and went to type the CIM report. And then the alarm went off.
I ran off and found the kitchen covered in smoke. The pot with oil was hot. Took it and poured water into sink. Opened window. Tried to wipe off the smoke from wall. Too dark in there couldn't see anything.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Alhamdulillah
Allah really knows best. When you're feeling uncertain and losing confidence in yourself, never never lose your belief in Him, for He - the Creator of everything has it all planned for you. I was in my lowest of low the beginning of February, cried my heart out everyday on the phone, couldn't talk to anyone else but my mother, and was just about to lose belief in myself.
I was more frustrated that this test has some effects on something I'm planning for myself, particularly the one that involves big decision about my future after graduating this summer. But He never leaves His servants in the dark for too long. He answers calls and helps when you ask and seek for them. And then there were new doors opening up for me. More and more help. During these times I kept on praying that He'll make it easy for me if the plan is a good one. And that if it isn't, give me some signs. In my case the help came in the forms of advice, friends who were willing to spend time detailing what I needed to do and most importantly a mother who knows just the right things and words to say to get me back on my feet again. And a father who never doubts his flawed, imperfect daughter, and keep on believing in my dream.
Alhamdulillah, I am offered a position in the company I applied to. It was a complete surprise, yes I was hoping and prepared well for the interviews and tests, yet never thought I'd make it. Now praying that this is the best one for me and hopefully I'll adapt well and will be able to adjust to the changes and challenges well. Time for more and bigger plans actually. Oh Lord, help me please...
I was more frustrated that this test has some effects on something I'm planning for myself, particularly the one that involves big decision about my future after graduating this summer. But He never leaves His servants in the dark for too long. He answers calls and helps when you ask and seek for them. And then there were new doors opening up for me. More and more help. During these times I kept on praying that He'll make it easy for me if the plan is a good one. And that if it isn't, give me some signs. In my case the help came in the forms of advice, friends who were willing to spend time detailing what I needed to do and most importantly a mother who knows just the right things and words to say to get me back on my feet again. And a father who never doubts his flawed, imperfect daughter, and keep on believing in my dream.
Alhamdulillah, I am offered a position in the company I applied to. It was a complete surprise, yes I was hoping and prepared well for the interviews and tests, yet never thought I'd make it. Now praying that this is the best one for me and hopefully I'll adapt well and will be able to adjust to the changes and challenges well. Time for more and bigger plans actually. Oh Lord, help me please...
Birthdays
The past weeks have been the most eventful ones in my life. I'd like to believe that I've been through some tests in life, and the outcomes have seriously made me a stronger person.
Also, in February two other family members including celebrated their birthdays, adik (my older brother) on the 10th and mama on the 26th. I didn't get to wish Adik on his although he was home at the time I called and spoke to mama, but there were more pressing matters, and I was just mentally unstable at the time. I felt bad for this but I hope he knows how much I love him and my wishes for him to achiever his every desire in this life and hereafter.
As Kak Siha was here for about one month, and was leaving for Malaysia a couple of weeks back, I took the chance to get something for my parents and Ikram back home. After having a terrible experience with Pos Malaysia a year ago; where a parcel full with new Baby clothes for Anis (my bro Bancik's daughter, and first niece in the family!) went missing and couldn't be traced by anyone, I completely lost my trust to post anything else. There were few attempts though, I sent some birthday cards last year, but was completely exasperated when it never arrived! I am led to believe that the postmen or women might have just completely erased my parents' address from their system. Either that or they got lost on the way there from the highway. Or probably there's a magic spell that makes my house untraceable and couldn't be seen by the human eyes. I reserve my rants for another entry perhaps.
On the night of mine, my flatmates were so nice to throw a surprise. It was a Sunday (the next day was my birthday) and everyone was gone for the weekend except me (I'm always the boring one!) and another flatmate N. I was sure nobody would be there but later on close or probably after midnight they were throwing something onto my window. And then they were more people banging on the door. D, M, and W who were from other flats were also there. They were cakes and pizzas and muffins and balloons. I'm never a big birthday person but I appreciate it a lot nonetheless. Thanks girls!!
And happy birthday to other people celebrating on February, also to some who don't get to see their birthday too often, here's to all who were born on the 29th! Wow, how lucky, you guys age once in 4 years time!
Also, in February two other family members including celebrated their birthdays, adik (my older brother) on the 10th and mama on the 26th. I didn't get to wish Adik on his although he was home at the time I called and spoke to mama, but there were more pressing matters, and I was just mentally unstable at the time. I felt bad for this but I hope he knows how much I love him and my wishes for him to achiever his every desire in this life and hereafter.
As Kak Siha was here for about one month, and was leaving for Malaysia a couple of weeks back, I took the chance to get something for my parents and Ikram back home. After having a terrible experience with Pos Malaysia a year ago; where a parcel full with new Baby clothes for Anis (my bro Bancik's daughter, and first niece in the family!) went missing and couldn't be traced by anyone, I completely lost my trust to post anything else. There were few attempts though, I sent some birthday cards last year, but was completely exasperated when it never arrived! I am led to believe that the postmen or women might have just completely erased my parents' address from their system. Either that or they got lost on the way there from the highway. Or probably there's a magic spell that makes my house untraceable and couldn't be seen by the human eyes. I reserve my rants for another entry perhaps.
On the night of mine, my flatmates were so nice to throw a surprise. It was a Sunday (the next day was my birthday) and everyone was gone for the weekend except me (I'm always the boring one!) and another flatmate N. I was sure nobody would be there but later on close or probably after midnight they were throwing something onto my window. And then they were more people banging on the door. D, M, and W who were from other flats were also there. They were cakes and pizzas and muffins and balloons. I'm never a big birthday person but I appreciate it a lot nonetheless. Thanks girls!!
And happy birthday to other people celebrating on February, also to some who don't get to see their birthday too often, here's to all who were born on the 29th! Wow, how lucky, you guys age once in 4 years time!
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