the hobby-less me

i just figured out that i'm hobbyless, which makes me feels (and looks) pathetic.. while lots of my friends love reading since they were really2 young (like Aida and Aini), i'm not.. let's look for some list:

cooking - not 100%. i love cooking (and eating!) but only for daily chores
watching tv/movies - not 100%..
gardening - no..
travelling - not yet (but i started to like it, but it's expensive)..
exercise - no (hahahaha!)..
outdoor activities/games - NO (see that big no?hahaha)..
shopping - cannot afford (is this a hobby anyway?)..
scrapbooking - no (i like it but it's expensive, again)..
baking - no (bcoz baking means eating more)
etc etc...

see, i'm pathetic! (sigh).. btw, is it OK for not having a hobby? or should i have one? my own definition of hobby is that it should not be costly and it must be fun to have, not burdening.. i think i want to have some hobbies, at least i wanna try..

and now i'm considering recycling, sewing and gardening as my new hobbies.. and the reason i'm choosing these three are because all can save money, and i want to be friendly to the environment.. one more thing, i want to consider spending quality time with my family as a hobby, can i? i found not all people/parents like to spend their time with their families, so i think this can be my hobby too, at least to my own definition :) (hehehe)

carboot-ing day

today is saturday and saturday means weekend, which means carboot day to me! i like carboot and i don't mind buying second hand things as long as they're clean and good. but i'm not yet a carboot-lover as i don't mind not going to carboot. but if i did go, i'm surely excited with the outcome! :)

and today, we went to Dunchurch's carboot (if i'm not mistaken), a bit far from the usual one. it was huge, with lots and lots of local carbooters. we went a bit late, hoping to get the last minute bargain, which means much much lower prices. and luckily, we did grab some things for really really cheap price. plus, kind carbooters gave 2 brand new big teddies to Aisya & Faris, although i only pay 50pence for what i bought from them. summary of what i've got today:

claire's hair clips and scrunchies - 1.00
toys (fishing toy, puzzle, 3 superheroes, block letters, dinasour) - 2.70
power ranges school bag - 0.50
brand new sauce pot - 4.00
crystal-glass tableware (2 serving bowls, 1 cake plate, 4 small bowls) - 3.00
men's jacket - 1.00
kids' clothes (Next & Baby Gap) - 1.00
food savers (1 Tupperware & 8 others) - 1.50
Diadora shoes - 0.50
NY yankees cap - 0.50
bob the builder water bottle - 0.10
parking - 1.00

total = 16.80pound, which is equivalent to RM84 + priceless satisfaction!

i'm surely gonna miss this weekly event after going back to Malaysia. what i admired the most is that these carbooters really took good care of their clothes and things. especially the toys and books! maybe because they have high purchasing power, which means they can buy things at really2 cheap price with their pound income.. plus, they get a lot of new gifts every year during christmas. so, they dont bother to give away their things at cheap prices. some just sell for fun!

i doubt this will happen in Malaysia. with RM wages, we can't buy so many things, and can rarely do shopping, especially for branded things.. and even if we did, we will wear and use them until worn or broken. and i think, even if we have the chance to re-sell our things, we might opt to donate to those in needs rather than selling it..

i think i will enjoy my carboot-ing weekends while i am here.. :P

Pre-Easter Holiday ~ Cornwall

break sekejap dari project literature review.. teringat2 last week pergi caravan vacation with hubby, kiddos, zamie & shina.. sungguh2 relieved drpd assignment yg bertambun2! siap tak tidur pun pagi nak pergi cornwall sbb nak kena submit assignment by 9am.. hihi (always the last minute.com) hoping to have Euro vacation pulak next time.. walaupun ditenggelami dissertation work, holiday tetap holiday! hehe

day 2 - newquay, cornwall

day 3 - land's end, cornwall

day 3 - minarch theatre, land's end

day 4 - on the way to eden's project

eden's project - tropical biome

mediteranean biome

eksiden - faris tersembam dalam shuttle bus

day 4 - bye2

the implant and the mood-less

(gambar di sebelah adalah hiasan semata2 dan tiada kaitan dgn entry ini)

2-3 hari ni rasa teramatlah tak ada mood utk blajar. cemana nih? assignment nak kena siap cepat before cuti2 easter. adakah terkesan dek pemakaian implant? uh uh

oh ye. actually lenganku baru dipasang benda asing bernama implanon 2 hari lepas. saja gatal nak cuba, pastu masa nurse tgh masukkan kat lengan, rasa nyesal tak sudah sbb sakit. huhuhu. actually takdela sakit sgt, but ngeri gak la procedure tu. kat sini free jer pakai contraception, not sure semua jenis free or ada yg kena bayar. maybe yg terlebih advance ada kena bayar. apa2 pun, daku perlukan keselamatan terjamin selama kat sini. before this i'm on pills but biasala, asyik terlupa.

so, setelah bertanya kakak2 yg dah expert bab2 ni, ku gagahkan diri utk mencuba. hu hu. so far tak penah nampak mak buyong kat library ke, kelas ke. so, tanakla jadi sejarah kat sini, dahla blajar pun setahun je. hi hi

kembali kepada moodless, actually rasa exhausted dgn assignment berderet nih. letih bab kena baca journal. muak sgt2 dah. so, pagi tadi masa tgh moodless tu, hati terdetik nak pegi shopping kat town koboi coventry. almaklumla, stok baju pon dah tahap nazak dah. asyik pakai baju sama je gi lib hari2. bosan2. setelah berkira2, rasanya kalau pakai baju baru, maybe bleh dapat mood utk blaja. hohoho (alasan utk shopping)

so, tangkapan hari ni, 3 helai blouse & 2 cardigan.. cardi yg ada pun dah berbulu, so it deserves a change. teringin nak beli baju2 spring yg berbunga bagai, tapi mcm tak banyak yg murah. tak kesahla, yg penting ada persalinan baru utk musim bunga. walaupun bajuku takde bunga, hatiku tetap berbunga2 ok :P

tak percaya?

i am supposed to struggle with my 6th assignment essay by now. but i think it's a worth 5minutes break to make this note, at least to myself..

alhamdulillah, i've been working with the co. for 7 years by now. and i've been granted scholarship twice already by the co. again and again, alhamdulillah. for the past years, i've been working hard, at least to my own standard. but every time the evaluation result came out, i didn't get what i thought i should. but usually, i'll tell my little heart "it's ok, your time will come. maybe u need to work harder and just be patient"..

and usually it turned out ok with me, not until my 6th year's evaluation, which i thought i really deserve to get more than i got. i cried. i sulked. i asked myself "what's wrong with me?". everytime i did a good job, they pat my back. but when it's evaluation time, i'm no more than average. my heart broke and i went to see the bosses. my boss calmed me down. she told me to be patient. she said, insyallah, my rezeki will come.

then, i thought maybe i should take a career break to regain my motivation and passion to work. and alhamdulillah, after series of attempts, now i'm here! it was an enjoyable career break with piles of assignment :). and for 2009, i didn't expect superb result. i just want to be treated fairly, that's all.

but today, my boss emailed me and broke the happy news! it really makes my day. and now on, i'll be on the right track again. after school, i'll work harder and will make the co. proud of having me, at least to my own thot! :) haahahahaha


i'm so jumping now!
.
.

and still jumping! toing! toing!
.
.

i need a break

now pukul 2.56am, baru lepas submit assignment ke-4. ada lagi 3 menanti. huhu. sgt2 tak sabar nak submit those three, sebab lepas tu nak ber-caravan vacation ke cornwal with big bro & close friends! harap2 dah spring & cantik time tu. weather skrg sungguh2 tak keruan. today snow, tomorrow sunny. tak sempat buat snowman pon sbb dah melting.

hemp. daku blank tak tahu nak tulis apa. kepala dah pusing sbb tak cukup rest. esok i need to pay back some time to hubby and kiddos before i get bz again. kesian diorang, terperap kat rumah je. nampak gaya before cornwal kena gak plan short vacation, tapi ke mana ye? kalau sunny, london maybe?

oh ni masa adhoc picnic kat kenilworth, dekat jer, 15min from rumah tapi tak penah sampai. what a beautiful place! sunny2 pon sejuk tuh. the kids were so excited sbb dah lama tak main kat playground. next sunny day i shall go again this place! picnic & a novel, perhaps. oh i miss novel. asyik baca journal je, naik muak dah. huhuhu :)

seronok tapi (malas)

lalalala... (nada senang hati)

terasa macam nak terbang2 jer sebab dah habis 7 out of 9 modules utk course MSc ni. which is quite suprising sbb rasa mcm cepatnya masa berlalu. rasa macam baru jer semalam sampai sini. tup2 dah mid february. tinggal 7months jer lagi nak balik mesia. huhuhu (rindu mee mamak boleh tak?)

tapi yg tak bestnya, ada 4 assignment dalam tangan plus dissertation yg baru 5% progress. dan itu bermaksud, saya perlu menaip 4x5000 + 20000 words dalam masa sebulan setengah - (gulp!)

tapi saya yakin saya boleh. yakin boleh. yakin boleh. yakin boleh. yakin boleh. yakin boleh. lalalalala... (kena boleh kalau nak balik. huhuhuhu)

warung saya

hari2 jenuh pk nak masak apa. nak beli slalu pon mahal (kalau convertla). so, sebagai langkah2 berjimat cermat, haruslah hari2 memasak utk breakfast, lunch & dinner.

menu hari ni:

breakfast - bihun goreng singapore --> mendapat pujian ramai (aisya, faris & hubby. hehe). sangat kembang hidung saya ok

lunch - nasi putih, udang goreng kunyit dan asparagus+cendawan wif soy sauce (nama melayu dia kicap)

dinner - sama spt lunch (kalau belum habis). tapi kalau dah habis, hajat di hati nak makan fish & chip (paling senang, beli je yg frozen kat Iceland)

tak sempat nak snap gambar sbb battery camera out. insyallah lepas2 ni nak rajin snap & post gambar semua masakan, sebagai mengingati yg saya ni rajin juga memasak. hehehe (tak sudah2 puji diri).

sejak dok sini, banyak juga yg saya try masak. masa kat mesia, sangat2 malas dan tak suka mencuba. contohnya, lasagna, puding roti (jgn gelak ok), sup tulang, lamb curry, nasi briyani (walaupun instant tapi sedap tau), spaghetti goreng (italian style), gulai nasi berlauk (klantan style), pita bread with chicken filling, jacket potato and lain2 lagi. sangat seronok bile seisi rumah enjoy dgn masakan saya yg tak seberapa.

by the way, esok pagi nak masak apa ye? nasi lemak kot.. tak pon roti canai with lamb curry. laparnye! :)

p.a.n.i.k.

detik ini saya berada di library univ. of warwick, di sudut paling hujung di tingkat 5 (quiet study area). sangat2 quiet, sampaikan makan pringles pun tak boleh. hari ini hari pertama saya focus utk dissertation. sebab next 2 weeks nak kena submit literature review findings kat supervisor. suddenly rasa panic dan risau, am i on the correct track? huhu..

my achievement so far, 3 assignments submitted, alhamdulillah. but each one mengambil masa around 60hours utk disiapkan. supposedly hanya 40hours needed. dan word limit asyik terebih (limit 4000-4500). benci betul.

assignment pertama alhamdulillah, unexpected result that really worth the effort, walaupun word exceeded by 2000++! supposedly references around 15-20, selalu terlebih jadi 25. kadang2 rasa frustated sbb rugi 20hours, yg sepatutnya dispend bersama family pergi makan angin atau utk buat assignment lain (or utk tulis blog :).. risau juga asyik terlebih ni. sooooo not efficient,ok..

so sekarang, perlu ada strategy utk study smart. dissertation is worth 50% of overall masters degree, while each assignment only contribute around 6%. i'm not aiming for distinction. but kalau boleh, nakla worth the effort. and by the way, kena selalu ingatkan diri sendiri tentang rule #6! i need to have some fun some time :)

nota kaki: life is too short to be sooooo serious! tetiba terasa nak ajak hubby pergi bicester village & oxford weekend ni. hiks

Thank you Allah..

to make people love you, you must love them first.. no rocket science explanation for that.. it's just karma, i guess..

Who should I give my love to?
My respect and my honor to
Who should I pay good mind to?
After Allah
And Rasulullah

Comes your mother
Who next? Your mother
Who next? Your mother
And then your father

Cause who used to hold you
And clean you and clothes you
Who used to feed you?
And always be with you
When you were sick
Stay up all night
Holding you tight
That's right no other
Your mother (My mother)

Who should I take good care of?
Giving all my love
Who should I think most of?
After Allah
And Rasulullah

Comes your mother
Who next? Your mother
Who next? Your mother
And then your father

Cause who used to hear you
Before you could talk
Who used to hold you?
Before you could walk
And when you fell who picked you up
Clean your cut
No one but your mother
My mother

Who should I stay right close to?
Listen most to
Never say no to
After Allah
And Rasulullah

Comes your mother
Who next? Your mother
Who next? Your mother
And then your father

Cause who used to hug you
And buy you new clothes
Comb your hair
And blow your nose
And when you cry
Who wiped your tears?
Knows your fears
Who really cares?
My mother

Say Alhamdulillah
Thank you Allah
Thank you Allah
For my mother