Life goes on

12/03/2010- Farhana Md Azizan pulang ke tanah air dgn air mata..bercampur baur antara pilu meninggalkan teman2 rapat nya dan gembira menanti saat bertemu dgn keluarga tersayang di Malaysia..apa pun, tahniah diucapkan! segulung ijazah dah pun sampai di rmh, your parents must be very proud of you! kalau rindu kami, belek2 lah gambar2 yg kta tangkap.gambar poyos plg bnyk kut...haha..I, personally shall miss you dearly..the girls' talk b4 bed, we would remind each other about things we've forgotten, having ice cream in the middle of night, singing out loud in my room, movies, gossiping, and the list goes on and on.... Buat Cik Noha- adik; anak bongsu; paling manja (well, itu gelaran yg dicipta Noha sendiri) La Tahzan..Kak Sha kan ada ;) hana melangkah ke satu tangga ke hadapan dan kta yg tinggal kat palmy indah permai ni mesti move on juga! tetiba rasa tk sabar nk graduate :) jia you!!

A walk to remember "P

19.02.10
slept over at husna's house. we had dinner and watch a movie together..the movie was awesome! well, it's because i love vampire stories, but i don't really enjoy watching twilight :P  because it's more like a love story rather than the myth ruthless blood sucker movie..sorry for the twilight sagas' lovers out there! hahaa..
20.02.10
woke up very early..we (husna, afsana and I) had a decent breakfast together then off to do groceries on a lovely morning! There was pegaga sold that day..never seen pegaga in NZ before..hehe..bought a bag plastic of it and gave half to Doris (Nigerian friend of mine)whom I met at the market...I was promoting the Malay salad/herb to her and on Monday she told me that she loved it soo much as it produced a unique flavour while chewing it- like mint..however her children didn't enjoy it as much as she did.to be honest, I don't even like it when I was a child either..But now, I like it a lot! Right after that, we proceed with a 4-hour non stop shopping..from 1 shop to another..hahaa...what a record! Played basketball in the evening with zainab, fatima, the little sister of them (hajar), sarah, auntie norzam and her daughter :) the court was filled with laughter and togetherness which I miss so much...Dinner was great; we had a variety of dishes..bangladesh cuisines (brinjal smashed and prawn with brinjal-afsana's cooking), rice and stir fry fatt choy..
21.02.10
woke up early again but on this date we went out for tramping!! my first ever tramping in NZ :) although I was not fit enough for this trip, I still wanna try it..Alhamdulillah the track in Ruahine Forest park wasn't that difficult, the weather was perfect, people were nice and friendly, knowledgeable guides and the most important thing was that I didn't get asthma attack during the walk! the trail was hilly most of the time ;) indeed it was a tiring day of the week but I enjoyed every moment of it, experienced the mesmerizing nature of Manawatu..got to observe the smallest bird- rifleman; robin, fantail, grey warbler..knew few trees like the bush lawyer, silver fern, the big old yet beautiful beach tree..owh, 1 trick shared by Paul the guide-to get the robin's attention, you just rubbed the tree and it will come nearer to you..cool!!
that evening, we were very tired and just ordered pizza for dinner and watched a movie (the lake house).owh, that handsome keanu reeves and the pretty sandra bullock") a wonderful romantic movie; although it some sort of ridiculous-didn't-make-sense kind of story.however, I still love it because of the actor!hahahaa..

Take home msg:
1. Put away the differences and shyness. try to make friends, get to know other people, learn their culture, show them how wonderful malaysians are.(promoting our own country actually- since we are representing our country here ;))
2. Challenge yourself to do something different then only you'll realize your potential..if you keep feeling scared to make a change, you won't learn anything in life and might be left behind..
3. Be prepared and read a lot on things related to the current activities so that we can discuss about it in a more interesting way..

I miss you, I love you

Last weekend I spent times with Kak Laila's family. I felt like home :) How lovely that feeling was! Actually, from the first day I stepped my feet on NZ's ground, I have already MISSED my family and friends..They are all scattered around the globe..I want to be there with them, even just for a while..I felt EMPTY after returning from Kak Laila's place. Starting from yesterday, I am alone and shall be alone in this court until Ain came back from Malaysia next week. It is because I LOVE all of them (ukhwah fillah, inshaAllah) that this feeling knocked on my door. I have a choice to open or ignore it, but I chose to open it. There, in front of me, I saw MEMORIES that I cherished...The laughters, tears, sulking, long faces, smiles etc..I don't have to flip through the album to remind me of them, as they all embedded in my mind and in my heart- the best photo album ever! How these small matters built the me inside..I learnt a lot from them..To be independent, to be creative, to venture on new things, to try hard enough to climb the highest mountain and to survive in the end of the journey. And how I woke up early in the morning and made Chapati after subuh prayer for mak and mak Ndak, went for grocery, sometimes hang around for hours in the malls, exchanged stories, had discussions over lunch or dinner, had book reviews, out for movies, visiting family members, enjoying the nature...I have nothing to regret during my short stay last year in Malaysia, Alhamdulillah..
Today, I received a bad news about Kak Long's health condition which moved me emotionally..I want to be there by her side, in Malaysia..I want to be Alang's and Mak Lang's support system..I wanted it so badly right now...But I realised, I can't fight what is beyond my control...I have my responsibility here and all I can do is pray..I pray for your quick recovery, Kak Long. May Allah give you the strength to move on and fight it..You are the most independent cousin I ever knew, you are strong, smart and kind..InshaAllah, Allah will be there to help you. He is our Refuge and our Hope..

today, yesterday and restaurant review :P

Today shall be my first time staying alone in kak laila's house..Nuha has moved to a new place which is only a few steps away..hehehee..I can run there whenever I wanted to ;) Helped her at her studio-home and I even prepared lunch-Nasi Lemak yg tk lemak, Sambal tumis ikan bilis yg tk pedas, telur rebus n ayam goreng berempah..I shall miss the girls' talking over dinner and a company watching tv :(

Yesterday I had breakfast with Nuha n her friend, Dr. Jijan (Azizan) at The Coffee Club. I tried Vienna coffee..it's actually long black coffee topped with cream..it's so bitter; although I have added 3 sachet of sugar, the bitterness is still there! Overall, I love the ambience there, love the smell of coffee in the shop..The arrangement  n space in between seats were just nice makes the place cosy. I think I love doing this kind of activity during the weekend! I'll try to spend some times n taste different kind of coffee at different shops around Palmy..

Yesterday too, we went to Wellington!! hahaa...just because Jijan wanted to have lunch at Kayu Manis ;) The place is beautiful and comfortable with great treatment from the waitress :D Not so many people dine here..I was told by Nuha n Jijan that the price were different. At noon, the price is much cheaper compared to late afternoon..We assumed that they wanted to attract many people to come and lunch there, hence the price is reduced.. Anyway, we shared our meal there. The char kuey teow was tasty, nasi lemak was..erm, I could say fair??hehe..doesn't suit my taste bud, sorry :( btw, their satay n its peanut sauce were good but can't challenge Satay Kajang and Satay Endut :D I had soto ayam-the soup was great, the taste of the spices were balance..Unfortunately, the shreaded chicken meat was terrible!! It's fortunate that I didn't suffer from stomach upset.

That's all for the review :P I'll update whenever I go to a new place for dining, insyaAllah :)

KASBI

Date: 19th Dec 2009
Venue: Bangi, Selangor
Activity: Sports

Wuhoooo!! I had another interesting agenda the next day after returning from Langkawi ;) Mom wasn't really agreed with me when I told her that I have to go to my new friend's house and play netball together. She was worried because I hadn't had rest yet after 3 weeks of continuous traveling :D But I enjoyed being busy; I felt satisfied, useful and active! I had to coax her and let me join the ISMA Perak team for KASBI- Karnival Sukan Belia Islam Nasional 2009. Owh, by the way, surely you want to know how I got in touch with ISMA Perak, right? Well, I received a call from Kak Nora saying that a friend of mine currently doing medicine in NZ gave her my contact number; and she's from Kedah..But kak Nora wasn't really sure that girl's name..I was like, huh?? hahaha..sounds funny to me!! So, till now, I don't know who she is..Anyway, I am glad that I'm part of the ladies..Actually, to be honest, at first, I felt uncomfortable around them and I didn't think I can fit in the group:( I know they were so kind to me, however, there is no common interest to start a conversation! How tragic was that?! Fortunately, Shikin (my new friend) was a graduate from UPM and currently doing her second degree in medicine was there..At least I have someone to talk to..on common thing...But the atmosphere was kind of changed the next morning..Everyone was so friendly and seemed like we all have known each other for years!! Maybe someone prayed for it??hehee..From there, I realised that even through games we can build wonderful ukhwah; and I hope this will last forever :) Okay, back to the sport: Perak team arrived just on time b4 the game started. We missed the grand opening though, which was held at Astaka Sukan UKM due to unavoidable circumstances I could say ;) The ladies were playing netball at German-Malaysia Institute, Bangi while the gentlemen were playing soccer at UKM's football field. Although we didn't win, but most important thing is that I make new friends and broadened my network :) I had so much fun especially playing in the rain..hehee..We all got wet but fortunate enough that there was no thunder! The game ended quite late. Overall, I enjoyed every moment of it!! Good memories to cherish..

malaysia my homeland

Nov.14 was the date I have been longing for. MALAYSIA my LOVE, here I come! I never thought I would feel this way as I didn't cry and feel homesick when I left for NZ in Feb 2009. I think it's funny! hehehe..First meal I had were ROTI CANAI n TEH TARIK. Abg bought me those although I didn't feel like having any; saddened by the fact that I wouldn't be staying long in KL. I wanna stay longer, catch up with ACIK, ALANG, KAK LONG, KAK NANA and NENEK. So, we headed to Ipoh after everyone had their dinner. Throughout the night I couldn't sleep and I force my mom to chat with me all night long! So sorry mak..I knew I shouldn't but I just need a friend to talk to..Every experience, every activity, every story had been told. We shared laughter most of the time :)
Hafezz and his family came by to visit me and my family 2 days before Raya celebration. My mom and I prepared sambal tumis udang, daging masak kicap and pecal for lunch. And the dessert was Bangkok Kaya Cake, my mom's specialty :D It was raining that day but am glad they could finally find my house. It's very difficult to find my house, I know..
Raya was extremely FUN! Most of my family members came and we talked and laughed and took our breath and laughed again..It was too good to be true :)
I stayed in Serdang for 2 weeks after Raya- to finish my assignment. I have to, since the materials I needed weren't available online. That's what Malaysia lacking of-publication! It's not that our researchers aren't doing their job well, it's just that they prefer to publish it in proceedings than an international journals?? But I reckoned, they can't publish the papers as they have put everything in the proceedings because one can't send the paper after they have put it in proceedings. So, moral of the story is: do not put everything in proceedings; only an extended abstract OR else u have to make some amendments on it in order to publish ;) Alhamdulillah, I managed to complete my assignment within the time frame :)
The following week, I went to Langkawi Island with mom; actually to accompany Shahaza for her interview at Underwater World. 3 days and 2 nights at Pantai Cenang. The place was so beautiful like Shangrila, subhanAllah...jogged and walked every morning, felt the breezed, the sand was soft like silk. During the night, the sky was so black and they stars shine like diamonds! Ya Rabb, your creation is marvelous! I shopped till I wanna drop dead looking at the bills :)) haha..
To tell you the truth, I could never imagine I can make it there. Usually, Alang or Abang would accompany my mom and I. But this time, I handled everything. Wuhoooo! And the most important part is, WE SURVIVED! hahaa..alhamdulillah for His guidance.
Owh, btw, Shahaza managed to get the job! She has started her duty last week, 5th January 2009. Good luck to you sista! Hope you'll enjoy every bit of it.. I know it will be difficult during this first phase, well they do know that we didn't have a formal education on wildlife and marine life. So, keep on reading! Jia you to you and me :)

DoN't U qUIt

from a friend to friends...

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is a queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is a failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.