Eid in Kangar and Retreat in Bukit Tinggi

Gosh it's been ages since I played with sparklers..

Aidilfitri was fun and we certainly enjoyed the trip back to Kangar. We arrived 4 days before Eid and had a whale of a time breaking fast each and every day in Kangar as we ate lots and lots of seafood. You name it, talapia fish, king prawns, squid and crab. We had it all thanks to Shah's Dad who bought RM250 worth of them all. It was enough to fill a small freazer. Shah's Mum made grilled talapia for dinner on 6 out of the 7 nights we we're in Kangar. Anyway, needless to say 1 week in Kangar oblterated my Ramadhan diet. I swear fasting for one month made me lose weight (although I did not officially weigh myself) but I put them all on again during that trip to Kangar. Now I have to start a over again (although I don't see the start ever materialising up to this very moment).

Anyway, once we got back to PJ on the 4th day of Eid I did go visit some relatives and my grandma in KL. Then went back to work the following Monday as Uni**n started exams that very day and the final exams for my subject was that afternoon. So from then onwards it was grading, grading, grading all the way. I'm not going to waste my energy talking (or should i say typing) about the results of grading. I'll just keep that to myself.
Now, amidst all the grading, Shah and I were asked to facilitate at a workshop for top-level management staff of our uni at Bukit Tinggi. So we jumped at the chance of having an all expence paid work-cum-weekend holiday. Even though it was tiring on the first day at Bukit Tinggi last Friday, the next day we spent there was quite fun. The whole Saturday was filled with brainstorming sessions but that night we had a wonderful barbeque dinner. Shah said it was the best barbeque he had ever. We were definitely spoilt for choice and at the end of the night our stomach was partically on the verge of bursting. Most of you from Malaysia would surely know that Bukit Tinggi is also called 'The French Village Resort' since it is designed to mimic a typical French Village. I must say a visit to Bukit Tinggi is definitely unique and different from all other highland tpurist attractions in Malaysia. I liked the way the resort has a main street with food shops just like the high street in a european village. But the shops are pricey and I am fairly sure the management are capitalising on the fact that the nearest town/shops is almost half an hour drive away. Luckily our meals were included in the seminar package.





Well, I guess that's enough of rambling. Suffice to say I enjoyed our stay at Kangar and Bukit Tinggi. The next time Shah and I go to Bukit Tinggi will be a day trip to the Japanese Garden and Rabbit Farm as we did not have time to go there this time around.

Balik Kampung...

Raya will be here in no time at all and every one is starting to head back to their kampung(hometowns). Shah and I are too. Tis year we'll be celebrating Raya at Shah's parents place in Kangar. InsyaAllah, we'll be departing KL early Friday morning, approx. 3am to be exact according to Shah. So tomorrow will be our last day at work and then we'll be off for slightly more than a week. I've never spent the first day of Raya with Shah's family so this will be a new experience for me. I'm not sure how namy people will come visiting to their house or whether we'll be going visiting to many places. But I hope it will be an enjoyable experience. I'm also hoping Shah and I will be able to go to Padang Besar (bordering Thailand) so that I can do some shopping...hehehhe...

Well, I guess that's all for now. Selamat Hari Raya..Maaf Zahir Batin.

Ramadhan..it came & it's almost going...how sad..

* picture courtesy of nas and taken from stock.xchng

It has been 16 days since the start of Ramadhan. This year will be our 2nd Ramadhan and eid in Malaysia since 1998. Plus it's my first Ramadhan while giving lectures and I must tell you it's not an easy feat. After each lecture I'm left feeling so very thirsty particularly when the lectures are late in the afternoon. Coincidentally this is the first semester where I have a two-hour lecture every Wednesday afternoon, 4 to 6 pm mind you. By the end of the lecture I'm almost too tired to think. I do pity the students too as I know they too can't concentrate the full 2 hours. So I usually end the class by 5:30 pm. I just hope whatever I've taught them is subconciously absorbed by their tired minds.

It's almost the end of the semester and I've got a couple more lectures before the syllabus is finished. But I've still got a stack of test papers which I haven't even started marking. I hope I'll be able to get through half of them by this weekend. And I'm hoping it'll all be done before the festivities start. the students are given 1 week holiday starting from Deepavali day until 29 October. Then the semester exams will start and we'll all start to get busy again. Anyway, I just hope I'll get thorugh all the exam script marking speedily and with very little problems.

Gosh.. I can't believe that we're almost half way thorugh Ramadhan. I didn't even realise it whiz by. Before we know it Ramadhan will be gone. I feel as though I haven't even gotten the most or done my best to make full use of this month. I've been too caught up with work and too tired by the end of the day to even do anything else. I feel so ashamed of myself. I hope I'm not too late and will be able to do my best and get the most out of the last half of this month. InsyaAllah.

Anyway, in preparation for Eid, my sister and i have baked 3 types of cookies. I don't think I'll be able to bake more of them in the coming weekends as I've got to work this Saturday and next weekend shah and i will be heading back to Kangar for Eid. This year we'll be spending eid with shah's family. Shah is very excited to go home and I am too as it'll be nice break from work.

Well, I guess that's all for this time. Hopefully all of us will make full use of this blessed month of Ramadhan and pray that we'll be able to meet it again next year. And to all of you, Selamat Berpuasa and Selamat Menyambut Aidilfitri.

It's been a while..

Lots has happened since I last wrote more than 3 months ago. My job at the uni has been confirmed and the workload hasn't been easing at all. My life other then work has been...wait, I don't think I have much of a life as it's all been taken up by...yes, you guessed it, work!! Anyway, Shah and I did get a chance to take a 10-day break to Nottingham for my graduation last July, almost 1 year since we left. We got the chance to reminisce and I enjoyed our stay there. We went with my mum and sis. The apartment that we stayed at was lovely and I wished that we owned that apartment. Apart from the excitement of my graduation, I did get a chance to shop at the summer sales. And boy do I miss living in Nottingham. Maybe in 7-10 years time Shah and I might just get a chance to go back to the UK.



















Apart from that break, Shah and I did spend 2 nights during the Merdeka week relaxing at a hotel in KL. I was a well-deserved break and we've decided to do more of that. Even if we can't go far, we can always take a day or two off from work and just stay in town but in a nice place and away from the stress and worries of work.

Well, those were the most enjoyable moments I had in the last 3 months. Now it's already September and believe it or not I've been a career woman for a year now. One year of earning my own living. I think I've adapted well with working life because it's now become routine to me. Sometimes when the end of the month comes I don't even realize that my salary is being deposited into my account. I'll only realize it when the time comes for me to settle the bills. I don't know whether that is a normal thing or not. Sometimes I feel like I'm working to hard for the amount of salary I'm getting. But I hope all my effort will not go down the drain as I'm putting a small hope on receiving a big fat bonus at the end of this year. I guess I've just got to wait and see.

Another trip

This Saturday Shah and I will go on another trip. Work for Shah but play for me. We're heading to Terengganu as Shah has to visit some students on industrial training there. we'll be in Paka for 2 days and then we'll go on to Kuala Terengganu. On our way back we might stopover in Kuantan. I'm hoping to be able to go by the sea and also to do some shopping at Pasar Payang. I need to get some materials to make a few pairs of baju kurung. I hope that even though Shah has to work, we'll still be able torelax and have fun.

Oh gosh! It's already June and soon classes will start again. I've still got to do lots of preperations and think about proposing some final year project titles. This week I'll be handing in a research grant proposal for M*STI. I hope it'll be approved. There's just so much to do but so little time. What else is new eh?

Take care for now and till next time...tata!