The reviews are in!

This was what I found when accessing mySI-net today. I feel like crying, vomitting, passing out. Been checking this page every day, sometimes a couple of times per day since last month. Ya Allah, Kau permudahkan laluan ini bagiku. Rabbi yassir wa la tu3assir. Apalah agaknya examiners' reports ni kata :(

Assessor Thesis Sent to Assessor Thesis Due Back Date Assessor's Report Received Chair Examiner A 07/04/2011 19/05/2011 30/05/2011 Examiner B 31/03/2011 12/05/2011 12/05/2011

Menunggu email/notifications on what to do next ....

Cicak yang Lazat

Had a conversation on the phone with my husband yesterday. He was telling me about his friend who rears arowana (kelisa) and sells them to interested buyers over the internet (they would have to come to his house to get the fish though). Hubby told me that the price of this fish could go up to thousands of ringgit if they grow big enough.

I was like wow!

Me: Mahalnya harga ikan kelisa ni! Tak susah ke nak bela? Mesti mahal nak bagi makan.

Hubby: Tu la, nak kena jaga betul-betul. Tapi ikan ni kadang-kadang makan macam-macam gak. Kadang-kadang dia makan cicak (his voice was not that clear, blame it on Vodafone :P)

Me: Hah? Cecak? Apa tu? (was thinking that maybe it's a special food for arowana)

Hubby: Cicak..cicak... lazard tu...

Me: Eeeeeeeee, ikan tu makan cicak ke? Geli la, abang dok cakap pulak cicak lazat, wekkkk!

Hubby: Bukan lazat la...apa tu, lazard lazard...lizard!

Me: (ROLF) Astaghfirullah, nak cakap lizard rupanya...wakakakakakaakakakaka

Hubby: Ha, lizard la...apera tu pun tak dapat ke... (and he bursted out laughing too).


Muahahahahaha....adeh hubby ku, terguling-guling daku gelak...next time sebut betul-betulllll...

Rain... feel it on your finger tips

So, my family was here and had gone back to Malaysia. One week was too short... too short. I wish they could have stayed longer.

Anyway, we had such a good time together. I really wanted them to come, and I really wanted it to happen.... not just wishing like last time. They didn't have the chance to do so when I was studying in the US; what with my mother's health condition at that time and the dreaded September eleven {roles eyes}. So, this time, I made sure they "menjejakkan kaki" here in Australia, especially my mother. We had such fun time in Gold Coast and here in Brissie. I also had some other guests as well, also important people in my life: my aunt and her family.

So, it was entertaining 6 guests that I did (my parents, my brother, my aunt, uncle and cousin). I can just say that their arrival was just perfect. The weather was nice and the timing couldn't be better. We rented an apartment, townhouse type hotel (budget punya lagi tau huhu) with a pool of its own in GC. Very nice! Went on Aquaduck, went to Sea World and Movie World. Movie World was ok, but Sea World was great! Really worth the money. We were lucky too because we had the chance to go to the cultural/night market on Surfers Paradise. Then, we went back to Brissie. What's the point of visiting Australia without encounter with its exotic animals? So, that was what we did next. Off to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary we went, followed by a trip to Mount Coot-tha.

It was after we had done all the jalan-jalan that the thunderstorm melanda Brisbane. Luckily the weather was nice again on their departure days (my aunt and her family left two days earlier).

My house had never had that many overnight visitors and oh, how good it was to taste my mother's cooking again. I'm glad that they had an uneventful flight back. Now, I'm feeling a bit lonely, so sunyi now that my housemate has also gone back for her data collection.

Oh yes, my presentation went well, alhamdulillah. I think my supervisors were happy too, heheh. Pheww, that's a relief ... but I think I really need to brush up on expressing myself verbally (and in public!) ish ish...

Now back to work and more work. The rain this week is somehow contributing to the gloomy feeling that I've been having since they left (sigh). Let's hope for more sunshine next week.

Life in auto-pilot mode

My research journey has not been a smooth sailing one. But then I guess, I've never heard of anyone who could claim theirs as one, by the way. I think one of the scariest moments since I started all these was when the place that I wanted to do my research decided to re-evaluate my application. What? Re-evaluation? After I'd been given the letter of approval and was then back in Malaysia thinking that I was ready and going to start data collection?

And that was also not to count the many other challenges prior to getting to that point in my study. What with the finding out that someone else had already started their research work at that place, so I had to make sure that mine would be different. Then, making sure I pass the confirmation process. And then came the painstaking ethical approval process that followed. Of course, not much support back home from the workplace at the valley. It seemed the only thing they were concerned about was compliance.

I felt as if the world had collapsed at that time. What have I put myself into? So many thoughts came across my mind. What if this...what if that... What backup plan (or plans) to use? Then, came the news that my main supervisor was suddenly diagnosed with an illness, despite the fact that he was one of the healthiest and fittest staff in the school.

It was that one fine string of hope and trust in God that I hold on to, that kept me going (and still is). Many, many times I've stopped and tried to steal a moment... to think about what in the world have I committed myself into? But I don't want to stop and think too long, for it could be painful at times.

Sometimes, it feels like I'm living life in an auto-pilot mode. But then again, I keep remembering the words of my associate supervisor at that point earlier this year when I was at wits end, "There's no other way to go, but forward". With those words, here I go again. Hopefully this time, back on track.

So, bismillahi tawakkaltu ala Allah. Please make this path easy for me ya Allah the Most Merciful, and forgive my sins.

2 years oledi!!!

It has been two years exactly yesterday..... and I thought it would actually be two years next week! Sheesh, time flies when you are having fun? So, am I not a confused newbie in Aussie anymore? Perhaps I'm not a newbie anymore (although there's much of this Aussie land that I really ought to explore) but I definitely haven't left the circle of the confused...

Since, SueYoung has put this blog of mine as a link in her blog, I guess I need to update more frequently. Bersawang dah, achoom!!!

This must be a good week...

...or a special week that is.

Mother's Day was on Sunday the 13th. I know that we should be appreciating our mothers every single day but it is still ok to dedicate a special day to mothers around the world. To my Mama, thank you very much for being there all the time for me. I hope I will inherit your strength, lovingness, wisdom and determination. May Allah blessed you with good health, happiness and most importantly Jannah. I love you very much.

Yesterday, May 16, was Teachers' Day. So, a happy belated Teachers' Day to all teachers especially all my teachers. I wouldn't be here without you. Thank you.

And today... our Raja Muda Perak (Raja Nazrin Shah) selamat diijabkabulkan dengan Zara Salim Davidson. We are very very happy Tuanku. May your marriage be blessed with happiness always ke anak cucu.

It's a SMALL world after all

This is a moment when I feel that life surprises me when I least expected it. I just found out that a friend of mine knows someone from my hometown who knows an ex- college mate of mine and used to be best buddies with my cousin when they were in primary school. And this school was my primary school too. Not only that, this person also went to the same secondary school that I went to. She is now also a PhD student in Queensland. Fancy that!

Subhanallah! Indeed anything is possible.

I'm back!

Huhu...it's been ages since I last updated my blog (Sorry peeps.... as if I have that many readers kekekekeke...).

Been extremely busy with school nowadays....getting my confirmation document done, plus I'm also tutoring for one of the classes in the school. I was back in Malaysia a couple of weeks ago to work on building rapport with the people at the unit I plan to do my research at. Now, I have to polish up my proposal. I'm rewriting my methodology section as I found out a few things unsuitable when I went to the unit in KL and also adding some new stuff as well.

What else to write about? Oh yes, I was thinking the other day that I should write about how I miss watching The Biggest Lo*ser on tv. I was quite disappointed that Chris won, was hoping that either Marty or Pati would win instead but somehow I knew Chris would. He lost a tremendous amount of weight (almost equal to an overweight person!). I just felt somehow that his inclusion (and Kimberly's) in the house later in the show was somewhat unfair.

So, nothing to look forward to watching at night nowadays. Big Bro*ther is on... but I hate it! Man, I think that it is a show about a bunch of people with raging hormones. It's just sad to see that they are acting like teenagers (with the screaming and jumping) when they are well into adulthood. Pity...pity...

Ok, back to work now!