When the going gets tough

Oh my goodness. It gets harder every time. Long-distance relationship is hard. Even though I've been through it for soo many times/years, it gets harder every time. How I wish distance is no longer our hurdle

Holiday rambling

Holiday has been not too bad lately. Although I sometimes wish that I'm working but I'm trying to hold on and enjoy this moment. I've been trying to make desserts lately. It's the second attempt at making creme brulee and pavlova. Why both you might wonder? Well to make pavlova you need to use only the white eggs and to make creme brulee you'll only be needing the egg yolk. So there you go, 2 desserts made on one night. I forget to add in vanilla essence and vinegar to the pavlova but it still turned out to be better than the last one I made. I think I'll try something new soon. I'm starting to believe coming here was also a training for me to become more domesticated since I take things for granted at home. Oh well whatever keeps me happy.

I can't wait for my family to come again. What a life! Everyone keeps coming to visit me. I'm more than happy to meet them. Although I'll be going to the same places again but I think it's gonna be a different kind of fun. Most importantly I got some extra 2 1/2 days with my brother and finally we got to do something that caters to young people like us. Haha..That'll be loads of fun!! Also, I can't wait for March and I'm gonna start my work experience at WEHI!!! It's gonna be awesome. No, I'm gonna be awesome.

99 Balloons

The hardest thing in life is to forget things you prefer not to think about anymore. Dwelling on the past and making your life miserable ISN'T gonna solve anything. Reminding yourself of what is more important in this life, what you want to change about your life now and what you can do to make a difference in your life will hopefully inspire you to be stronger and let you move on. Those cats out there will always harm you because they want to pull you down. As long as you know what you want and you believe in what you do, you will be on the right track to find your happiness. Be thankful that you are even alive. Celebrate life and happiness.

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
-- Albert Einstein

Home is where the heart is

Ada hari rasa naaakkk sgt balik, especially bila tengok gambar2 kat fb.
Ada hari rasa okay je tak balik, sebab seronok jalan2 kat sini

Tapi hari ni, rasa nak balik sebab rindu sangat everything about Malaysia, the family, the food, the great friends and the boyfriend. Sometimes I wished I hadn't moved here tapi ni sume kan the test! Being away from the people and the place that you love makes you appreciate everything better.

Thank you Allah for letting me grow and be wiser. Thank you for making me have this life and be stronger. Thank you for letting me go through the transition period and reminded me that I still have a place in this world. I wouldn't wanna trade this life with anyone else.

New Year's Resolution

Let's start with my 2010 New Year's Resolution. Although it is quite early to start doing so but I'm in a good mood to start one!

1. In God we trust
- Always put God above and beyond others.
- Trust yourself and trust that He always have better plan for you

2. Better time management.
- That means NO MORE last minute work.
- All assignment must be completed at least 3 days before the actual submission date to give ample review time

3. Follow strict study schedule
- Make a schedule and follow the plan religiously
- Make time to study at least 3 hours per day

4. Better financial management
- Think before you purchase
- Ask yourself each time 'Do I Really Need This?' If you can't justify 3 reasons why you need it, then DON'T BUY it.

5. Get a great job and be confident about it
- Show them that this Asian Muslim girl can do the job well and not just another oppressed Islamic extremist

6. Be HAPPY
- Fight to be happy and thankful for what I have

7. GRADUATE
- Graduate on time with the very best result that I can.

To be continued...

Jalan2

The holidays are here and I'm starting to feel agitated and anxious with what I'm gonna do for the next 3 months. It feels weird to have a long holiday. Ever since I graduated, I never imagined that i would come back to this time where I get to do nothing at all. Not going home has its perks - I get to discover the other side of Melbourne. I've been googling cheap stuff to do here and hopefully I get to go to every single places in the list.

Check out this 2 sites. They offered some great cheap things to do in Melbourne

http://www.australiablog.com/planning-a-trip/free-things-to-do-in-melbourne.html

http://www.whitehat.com.au/100GT/General/100GTM.asp

My plan to work at an awesome organisation (according to me) has been postponed to March because they don't need me yet. Silly me for not having Plan B. For now I'm quite content being the tourist guide for my new housemate to discover Melbourne. It would be cool if we can cover all the cheap places and check out all the latest free gig and exhibitions here. I'm falling in love with this city. Of course I'd wanna go back eventually. So far everything is going pretty good. Alhamdulillah

Light of love

There was a craze. Frequent fb status updates raving about it or at least mentioning about their dissatisfaction towards certain character. I gotta say being away from everything made me a bit curious about this latest craze. I decided to join the wagon and see what is the deal. Turns out, it wasn't quite as bad. I think the writer and the director are brilliant. They managed to tick the right boxes to suit the interests of our people. It was good enough to entertain the likes of both parties - the so-called modern city people and those from the suburbs as well. For that, I salute the team for coming up with a great piece with good actors. OF COURSE there were some cheesy parts and the characters were too forgiven for my likings. I dunno if a person as nice as Aidil exist and if there is I would like to get to know him. hihi. Nur Kasih, I would say is a phenomena after Mawi rocked the 'world' of Malay community. Never have I ever seen anyone caring about any shows as much as this show.

I love that Adam went to Down Under to further his studies and we got to see frequent view of Sydney Harbour and Sydney Opera House from his apartment. In reality, I don't think a student can afford such apartment unless ur pretty rich cos Sydney CBD is more expensive than Melbourne CBD. Typically, Malay shows/movies always prefer to choose London and since I'm in Aussie now, I was quite excited to see the change of scenery ;) The ending was pretty predictable. Love story must always end with happy ending. The whole show was pretty typical and predictable, but hey sometimes I got sick and tired of 'I dunnoi', let's go to chaddies or I hate maccies or what's for brekkie? Sometimes I just wanna remind myself that as exciting it was to be in a new country and integrate with the people, there's no place like home. Hence, the typical and stereotype jalan cerita of NK mengingatkan saya pada my good ol' Malaysia.

I wonder what's the next craze will be? I reckon there'll be an equivalent shows coming up anytime soon. Can it ever be as popular or maybe better than NK? Let's just wait and see

If you just smile

A great song to cure a broken heart



Lyrics | Charlie Chaplin Lyrics | Smile Lyrics

I Hate Shopping Sometimes

crazy-jokes.com

I saw this new place to shop in Malaysia and can't help but think surely I'll spend hours trying on clothes that will actually fit me. I always feel fat in Malaysia cos when I shop I always have to go for size L or XL…n then u see the next girl trying out S or M n u feel daym I’m fat. Do you wanna know why I love shopping in Melbourne because all the clothes fit me. L is wayyyy too big for me. My normal size will be 10-12.(that's M size btw).Yes I’m not as skinny as posh okay so there you go. I can even go for size 8 if I want to cos I can fit into it. In Malaysia I can barely put it in to pass my shoulder without ripping the clothes…

If they actually look closely, Malay people have meat you see. No I’m not being rascist I’m merely stating the fact that culturally, Malay people have meat n we have big bum and big thighs. Therefore all the clothes that you source out from China and Taiwan can only fit into their skimpy little legs and small shoulder. The rest of us just suffer in silence n beat ourselves hard when we look in the mirror. Oh you horrible tummy, why does my thigh has to be soo big. Why is my shoulder too broad. Why am I so tall? I cant afford buying oberseas brand all the time u know. u think I cop duit ka? I want clothes that fit. Look around you. Malay people have those excess baggage. To be fair, women are made up of different sizes okay. Not all of us have the luxury of being USA size 0. Those are supermodels. The reality is we don’t really care about being Kate Moss. We just want clothes that fit! Look around! Find us something to wear. Twartt…

The Britney Melbourne Circus

OMG Y'all It's Mrs Britney Scandalous.

So I spent $100 to watch her mime. It's nothing new really, she's a popstar people! I don't get all the sudden media backlash. They were rooting for her comeback and then opps she just did it again. It was my first concert in Melbourne so I was pretty excited. The opening act by DJ Havana was goood! Awesome selection! The intro by Perez was over the top, building your excitement and then there she was!! What she should hv done was to scream her head off or sth and get the crowd pumping. She muttered a few words including What's Up Melbourne? Her voice mostly was drowned by her music even though it was all computer generated or maybe cos i bought the cheap seats so i didnt get a better view n sound. I reckoned she should hv pulled out more numbers from her first few albums. Those are basically the one that made her the star!

I was of course excited when she did Hit Me Baby One More Time. I like the bollywood remix for Me Against The Music. My favourite Toxic was performed and pieces of me was where she danced in a cage. She might have not been as sharp as her dancers but it was nothing like her sucky performance at the VMA. She did quite better this time.

I do like her circus theme. My favourite was when she was lifted on a giant frame. At that point, I thought she was better than her dancers cos maybe they were pretty scared of the height? The magic trick where she suddenly appeared from nowhere n when she was cut into pieces were really entertaining The Big Apple Circus team was awesome, it was kinda like I was watching a real circus except Britney was there.

Considering what she had gone through, I would say she wasn't soo bad. She wasn't Beyonce awesome, she is on her improvement journey or that's what I like to believe. Pls Britney for the old time sake! I hope one day I can watch that old Britney that I used to go crazy about. I remembered watching Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys and came home still wishing I was still in the stadium. With Brit Brit, it didn't really give a lasting impact. Maybe cos I have my final exam to think about.

Whatever it is, we still were a bunch of noisy people in the stadium and it was great to escape the books and watch my teenage idol. Those days lah kan...

The magic trick


Freakshow/Toxic

Another invitation

And they say, "Our Lord, let our spouses and children be a source of joy for us, and keep us in the forefront of the righteous." [25:74]

There has always been mixed perception and opinions about the union. The ardent followers submit to the rightful ways. The not-so ardent followers who always pray and work hard to be a better servant, have their own stand. This is the age when a lot of my peers are either already blissfully in unison or joining the bandwagon. I used to have a mixed feelings too. They say it's gonna be over for you because your life no longer belongs to you but only to your partner. No one's gonna employ you cos you're just not gonna be committed. You have no freedom any longer.

I don't really know whether those are true. However, surely there must be a reason why it's a strong covenant made by The Almighty. Surely in this era of 21st century, people can't be too narrow minded about judging your ability according to your marital status. What about having that extra edge, the persistence to show people your own capabilities and that you deserve the job. Surely, your life doesn't just stop there. Surely, you get a different kind of freedom where you are free to build your own tradition, have a new set of practices and maybe freedom in the heart to continue your journey to find His path now that you are stable.

Surely, I was raised in a religious and Eastern culture which has shaped my mindset in a slightly strange way in the eyes of the 'Westerners'. Surely, I believe that it is gonna be a different challenge and surely I'll be there someday. I pray that Allah guides me there at the most suitable time for me. InshaAllah

Our thoughts and prayers with you

We received a pretty bad news a few days ago from a friend. Yesterday, the news was reported in Berita Harian. A fellow Malaysian was attacked on her way to uni. She was walking towards her class in the afternoon when she noticed that someone was following her. She notified this in her fb status but when she tried to take a detour to a nearby shop, she was caught and taken to a nearby car where she was hurt till she became unconscious. She woke up in an abandoned house, her hands tied up, battered and bruised. She managed to escape and immediately switched on her phone and received a call from a worried friend. Our prayers goes out to her. We hope justice will be served and she remain strong during this troubled times. This happened at a main busy street.

This reminded me of my unfortunate encounter with a flasher at a busy Princess St just a few days before Hanna was attacked. I was lucky because I was accompanied with a friend. Melbourne has been getting a lot of bad reports from bashing an international student, late night attacks on random people and of course the pub attacks. It was so frequent now that they decided to install additional CCTV in the city.

Be safe everyone. We pray that you Hanna has the patience and the courage to move on. May Allah give u the strength to go through this.

Trusting

Trust yourself
When the river of doubt starts flowing in
Trust yourself
When the uncertainty gets a hold of you
Trust yourself
When there's a surge of failure emotion
Trust yourself

Trust yourself and your ability
Believe that you've done it all
Perseverance
Prayers
Patience

Greener grass indeed

They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I think it's about pushing yourselves to the other side. Going out of your comfort zone to the other courageous phase. I pushed it and I did it. Now i just need to keep moving forward

The new beginning

pic fr wikimedia

I think starting a new blog is gonna be fun. I've some rough idea on how it's gonna be like. This time more pictures with sensible writing. Just stick around n we'll figure out how it's gonna turned out as. Prolly another lame stories but who cares. As long as I can write I'm happy!

First Attempt

Testing one two three

This is gonna be filled soon.