The cold ones.

Weather is not looking good this week. I have experienced lower temperatures in the States, but I had a very good heating system in my house, and the utility bill was included in rent, so we put it on 24/7. I didn't even know if there was an off button :P So yeah, it was always warm and fuzzy at home.

Here in the UK, the house central heating is basically rubbish. Only boilers in the dining area, living room and one of the attic rooms are working. In the other 3 rooms, the boilers are mere decoration. During cold weather, my room is the coldest of all spaces in the house. The previous owner even nicknamed it 'bilik mayat'.

I always put on sweater and socks at home. It was hard to get used to wearing socks all the time, but now it has become second nature. 

And for added warmth, this is what I do.

Snuggle myself down in my snowman blanket with a radiator!

Let's just hope it won't burn the blanket or me :P

Happy tummy.

I have lovely housemates who love to cook, and to make things better, they are really good at it. They make all the hardcore dishes/food that I would never imagine making here in the UK.

Last Sunday Kak Hani made laksa utara enough to be eaten by 5 people for 3 days. Ha beat that! Not forgetting, she made tonnes of karipap sardin and daging on the same day.

This morning right after Subuh Kak Qamar made laksa johor for lunch. *I'm happily eating it at the moment*

Kak Ieda followed not long after. She made bihun sup daging kambing to be eaten for dinner. *Can't wait to go home to bihun sup now!*

I'm so spoiled!

That's why I have been slacking in the cooking department because 1) they are always ahead of me and 2) whenever they don't feel like cooking, I feel so inferior to cook for everyone being afraid my cooking is not good enough. They have set the benchmark so high okay. -_____-'

Maybe they want to give me a good rest before I start cooking full force come June :P

One step at time.

On Monday, couple of weeks ago, I did some experiments. I remembered it was two or three separate experiments I did that day. One after another, I found myself frustrated looking at the results. All my hard work from the previous week were in vain. If you must know, normally scientific experiments don't just take a day. It's normally a build up of small procedures of many days, before you get the final result, say after 3-4 days. So yeah, how can you not get frustrated after knowing on the 4th day that your experiment is worth nothing? Technically it doesn't worth nothing because we must hold the principle 'negative results are also results!' But still, I can't help but feel a bit down.

Then the next day I sat with my supervisor to discuss my results. She pointed what could have gone wrong and how I can improve my experiment. We also planned what experiments I should do for that whole week. Before I left her room, she asked me, 'Are you happy?' I answered nonchalantly, 'Yes, at least for this week -__-.' Then she said something that struck me, 'Sometimes it takes a week at a time'. 

Alhamdulillah, the next few days everything worked out fine, not excellent but fine. I managed to get decent results, enough to get me going. Her words can never be more true. I can't expect to get all good results. It's normal to find a glitch in carrying out experiments. That's what research is all about; it's not about getting excellent results all the time so that you can publish them *it's GREAT if yours turn out to be excellent ALL.THE.TIME*, but it's also learning from your mistake and improving/correcting them so you won't do the same thing the next time. I should be fine, I will be fine, InsyALLAH.

As a last note, I'd like to dedicate this song to myself *boleh ke camtu? haha* and also to others who are struggling in whatever you guys are doing. Remember, sometimes it takes one step a time.

Hurry up and wait
So close, but so far away
Everything that you've always dreamed of
Close enough for you to taste
But you just can't touch

You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it
You know you can if you get the chance
In your face as the door keeps slamming
Now you're feeling more and more frustrated
And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting

We live and we learn to take
One step at a time
There's no need to rush
It's like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It's gonna happen when it's
Supposed to happen and we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

You believe and you doubt
You're confused, you got it all figured out
Everything that you always wished for
Could be yours, should be yours, would be yours
If they only knew

You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it
You know you can if you get the chance
In your face as the door keeps slamming
Now you're feeling more and more frustrated
And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting

When you can't wait any longer
But there's no end in sight
when you need to find the strength
It's your faith that makes you stronger
The only way you get there
Is one step at a time

Twiathlon.

Salam,

So my friends and I had this crazy idea after seeing an ad at the cinema last month. They are having special screening for Twilight movie(s).

It was a good bargain, so we decided, 'Why not?'

The only downside to that is that we have to 'berkampung' at the cinema for 8 hours plus. Krazy, I know. But for experience sake..LOL.

So today is the day.

 Tiket wayang kat sini macam resit je pffffttt sgt

Twilight

New Moon

Eclipse

Breaking Dawn Part 1

Starting at 4.45 pm

(I shall update the finish time later ;P)

Image from IMDb

Happy watching, guys!

Wordful Wednesday

A new place,  a new beginning.

Sounds cliche, right? But that's the truth, at least to me. I have been waiting for the opportunity to start anew. Last time when I decided to come back to Malaysia a year earlier than I was supposed to, I had my reasons. I wanted to leave that dark life I had in the States, and start a new chapter back home.

Now, I am in a totally new place, I am opening a new chapter of my life book. 

Being in a new place gives you a whole lot of different opportunities for you to play around with. But it all come down to, do you want to be better, or do you want to be worst? 

I choose to be better. InsyaALLAH.

You might ask why do you need a new place, just to better yourself? You can do it anywhere. Judgements, that's what I want to avoid. No, I'm not saying people back home are judgemental. I was the judge. I was being judgemental to myself. Something in me said it's hard, it's not doable. I was the staring eyes to my own self. 

Now that I'm in a new place, those staring eyes are no longer there. I am free to do what I want. The judgemental me is still here, but minus the staring eyes, I feel better about bettering myself, if that make sense.

I promise to myself, this new journey of mine, will not only reward me with the most sought-after title, but it will also bring me closer to my Creator. So when I come home in three years time, I will be the all-rounded person that PhD training should produce, and also a better Muslimah, InsyALLAH.

p/s: Tomorrow marks a month of me being here. Looking forward to the 35 months to come :) 

Do you know that..

1. The Brits also eat kek batik? Had it during our weekly lab group meeting today. Used to promote it as 'Malaysian Brownie' to the Americans. RIT peeps, kek batik tak 'Malaysian' sangat dah lah hehe.

2. The Brits also have pasar malam? Well not really like our own pasar malam. They sell used items, just anything everything. Langsir, baju, buku, carpet, frames, kasut, bags, pinggan mangkuk, make ups, toys just name it. Ada juga benda baru, like sale items they bought long time ago and never worn/used. Got myself two pashminas for 1 pound each. My housemate bought a raincoat for 2 pounds. Good bargain seh. Oh, actually the familiar term would be 'carboot sale' but then the one I went to just now takde cars, tapi sebijik macam pasar malam, ada khemah and meja bagai. Ada snap gambar tapi malas nak transfer pulak. Sambutan amat-amat menggalakkan. Almost everyone either carried a big shopping bag, or a shopping trolley yang mak-mak bawak g pasar. Maksudnya diorang memang pergi dan berniat untuk angkut banyak barang. Wonder if it'll work the same in Malaysia. Baju bajan maybe dah ada la kot, those bazaars kat KL yang fashionista dok jual baju diorang tu, nampak macam laku je.

.

Ni takde kaitan dengan title.

3. Tadi first time start buat lab work after tinggalkan for more than a year. Nervous sampai pegang pipette pun tak betul. And first time jugak deal dengan blood sample. I survived Hybridoma class di mana bunuh mice tetiap minggu adalah rutin, so I should be fine with blood, just this time it's human blood. Grrrrr

4. Ayah is now a pensioner. Pagi-pagi buka laptop baca offline YM message Ayah hantar, it made my day. Ayah wrote,

'Hi baby, sorry tak reply message. Today Ayah officially retire from government service. See you later alligator'

Part 'See you later alligator' yang made my day tu. Penat ajar Mama Ayah cakap these two phrases:

'See you later, alligator' and jawab 'In a while, crocodile'. Mama asyik lupa je. Bila orang cakap dia sengih sengih lupa nak jawab apa. Tak sangka Ayah ingat :))

Selamat berpencen Dadi! Enjoy your retirement...NOT! Ayah landed himself a job with Pharmaniaga. He will be doing some software programming with them, I think. Dari kecik barang kat rumah penuh dengan Pharmaniaga je, dari ubat, sampai towel, pen, t-shirt sampaikan multicooker yang guna untuk masak pun cap Pharmaniaga. Corporate gifts katanya. Tapi harus ke multicooker letak cap Pharmaniaga??

Multicooker 

(gambar hiasan courtesy of Pak cik Google)