Terdesak March 1, 2009

Apa nak buat bila dah terdesak?

Dah 25 bulan kat bumi Sheffield nih.  Menggelabah sebab belum upgrade ke PhD lagi.  Ada member kata biasalaa.. native speaker pun upgrade lepas 24 bulan. Erkk.. tapi supervisor dah siap tanya dah.. ada personal problem ke lately yg sampai nampak cam slow semacam je compared ngan before?  Heheh.. kalau nak citer pasal personal problem tu.. hmm.. sampai esok pun tak habis.  Tapi.. kena count the blessings ye saudara.. kalau tengok kat keliling kita, ada ramai lagi org yang jauh lebih susah ujian dia dibandingkan dgn kita yang tak seberapa ni.  Orang kat Palestin tu budak lagi ada yang tinggal sebatang kara. Hmm..

Jadi apa agaknya nak buat kalau supervisor bagi sampai Rabu depan je utk send in last chapter?  Honest.. dah 3 chapters sent.. so ni kira chapter 4, last to be sent to qualify for upgrade.  Yeah.. yeah.. rasa nak lari je.. tapi lari setempat gitu.  Lol.  Oh yea.. bila dah terdesak camni, kenalah tido siang and berjaga malam.  Dok kat lab sampai subuh.  Berhenti keje cleaner.  Lol.

Huhu.. dah 3 weeks dah berhenti keje.  Dah 1 week lak masuk lab malam and tak tido kat rumah.  Ni kena pulun habis nih.  Ingatkan malam ni malam terakhir bermalam kat lab.. tetiba kena malware infection laks PC nih.  SafeSoft trojan.  So sesape yang terkena tu.. silalah refer di sini ek.  InsyaAllah boleh OK tuh.  Cara lain tak jalan wehh.. Good luck!

Visit to South Yorkshire & Scarborough April 13, 2008

Salam sumer..

Dah lama tak update. Congrats to Ijal & Ani who just recently wed. Sorry I totally missed the date. But I’ve got something sorted for your reception at Ayah’s (thanks for Nisa’s help).

Also.. congratulations to Sue for being offered a job and will start the new journey very soon. Good luck, babe!

Arghh.. feels like going home to Malaysia. I want to meet everyone.. new family members who I’d missed (congrats to Ija/Han for newcomer Hanis and to Pait/Pern for newcomer Faridah). Even Hazeeq always wanting to go back to Malaysia coz once I’d promised I’d give him a brother and a sister once we get back to Malaysia. Har har.. So sorry guys, I don’t plan to get pregnant here in UK, especially now. There’s so many things to do here and though different people have opposite view abt it, I believe people have to respect one’s decision.

Ohh.. about Sufiah.. recent update. I want to apologize if my previous post hurt anybody’s feelings. But just to let u guys know, her family (Halimahton & co) has set up a blog to explain their views on the matter. Quite interesting. Probably you guys want to check them out before you made ur final judgement on the matter.. http://hyusof.com/.

Last two weeks, on 29-30th March 2008.. we went to North East England & Scarborough. The journey started at 10.00 am. We rented this Ford Focus Style make of 2007, 1.6cc. Oklaa.. not so bad. Comfortable for long journey.

First, we went to Kirklees Light Railway, in Huddersfield. Cute. 50 minutes return journey where we started the ride from the main station, through farms and countryside. So.. know what it taste like riding a steam train.

Next, we went to Eureka! Museum for Children, in Halifax. Hazeeq was so excited and the visit is worth all the penny! There so much thing to discover, and even for adults we would be fascinated at how little we know about things surrounding us. You need to spare minimum 3 hours to allow your children to take advantage of all the exhibits there.

We then arrived at the hotel, Green Gables Hotel in Scarborough. The suite is huge and comfortable. We have the lounge, kitchen, bedroom with 2 singles and 1 double and a spacious bathroom. Even the cookery was provided.

The next day, we went to the Scarborough beach. Scarborough is famous for its beautiful coastline. Cantik sangat! Though Malaysia has beautiful coastline as well, England has more ‘raw and wild’ kind of seaside. We can see people on yacht and motor skis not very far away from the beach. But well.. we might be too early for the beach. Hazeeq can’t take off his jacket and bring himself to build a sandcastle .

After checked out, we rushed to Sunderland. There we want to experience what it’s like to shop in a car boot sale along the coastline. The view is really stunning. But the price of goods there just as expensive as the view! He he.. Anyway, if you want to go to North East England, Sunderland might probably be the best place to stop for fuel filling coz it’s really cheap, even when compared to Sheffield. We also stopped there for lunch and relaxing.

On the way back to Sheffield, we stopped to take some pictures of the Windmill at Sheraton. It’s a bit modern but the view is beautiful.

And before we arrived at Sheffield, we also made a bit of detour to the Humber Bridge in Hull. Kinda Penang Bridge in Malaysia. We stopped there to take some pictures before arrived at our home around 10.00 pm.

In general, for just the three of us, we spent roughly less than £300, inclusive of accommodation, car rental, entrance tickets and fuel. We thought of going with some friends but no one interested and I am only available that week before heading for more busy weeks ahead before the conference. More pictures can be seen here.. and don’t forget to clevk on the ‘View as slideshow’.

Just before the conference in June 2008, I thought of visiting North East and North West England. We might celebrate Hazeeq’s birthday on the journey. As of my research, now I have completed 4 tests with analyses. And in this coming weeks before 1st June(where I’ll be heading for a conference in Holland), I’ll try to finish 2 more tests using different database(WOMBATS) and prepare for seminar presentation just before heading for visit to the North West & North East. Fuihh.. busy! Important dates :

14/04/08 – Start new tests for data collection
17/04/08 – Presentation in the Journal Club
01/05/08 – Presentation in the Seminar
03/05/08 – 05/05/08 – Visit to North East & North West England(Hazeeq’s birthday on the 4th)
19/05/08 – presentation for English Speaking class.
01/06/08 – 05/06/08 – Presentation in the ICCS conference, Holland

All this time, I need to complete the tests and more papers reading for the conference. And plus all the preparation before the presentations. Ehh.. do I really capable to go for the visits? Errkkk…

See you next time.. cheerios!

New Year 2008 January 1, 2008

Salam.. long time no news

Updates ek?.. 12.00 midnite.. kat luar tu berdentam-dentum bunyi mercun. Depa sambut New Year biasa je. Tadi Mizee sibuk calling sana-sini tanya if they’ll be holding any special occasion like what we had in KL before – lots of firecrackers.. but hampeh.. semua kata tak de. Betul pun.. just like few minutes bombing and then everything went silent again. Hmm..

Me?.. I’m busy adding important dates for Hazeeq’s school term, searching for solah time in 2008 and printing them together. Tak macam MY, setiap hari nak kena check schedule solat sebab a day after another boleh berubah up to 4 mins. Oh ye.. sekarang kat Sheffield, kul 5.45pm dah pun masuk Isya’.

Tadi petang baru je brain storm tentang schedule baru utk 2008 – buat daily planner & resolusi utk 2008. Ayah ni mesti nak tahu apa Kak Long buat sepanjang hari. Wuihhh.. very tight schedule tau. Memang tak de ruang nak memasak pun. Alhamdulillah la ada Mizee yang suka memasak . Oklah.. the schedule (weekdays) till September 2008 goes like this :

05 am – 06 am (1 hr ) : Solat, bersiap & journey to work
06 am – 08 am (2 hrs) : Kerja
08 am – 09 am (1 hr ) : Journey to work
09 am – 05 pm (8 hrs) : Research Lab
05 pm – 07 pm (2 hr ) : Ambil Hazeeq & balik Crookes & Journey to work
07 pm – 08 pm (1 hr ) : Keje
08 pm – 09 pm (1 hr ) : Journey to Crookes & Rehat
09 pm – 05 am (8 hrs) : Tidur

Resolusi 2008 :

1. More discipline – try as hard as I can to follow the schedule. Use weekends to catch-up delays.
2. Be a better person – don’t talk rubbish.. if no good words to say, don’t say it.
3. Stay healthy – get enough sleep for long term health & youth . It’s more economical in long run.
4. Financial – be more financial-wise. Organise money as you planned.
5. More balanced – spend weekends to teach Hazeeq spelling, cooking experiments, update blogs, kerja komuniti etc.

Sekejap je – 15hb Jan ni genap setahun I dah kat bumi UK ni. Woittt.. in 2 years time I should be submitting my theses and wait for viva. Kalau betul gayanya.. elok 3 years kat sini I submit my theses, then apply for extension for another 6 mths utk tunggu viva & writing for correction. Barulah I faham sekarang kenapa orang ramai yg minta extension – sebab mahal nak mai sini balik just to submit their correction or come back here for viva. I really pray that everything will be smooth for the whole family, ameen. Doakanlah Kak Long dapat sudahkan semua perjuangan ni within the time limit, ek? Rasa tak sabar sungguh nak balik MY

Missing Malaysia,

01.19 am

Fir Street, Sheffield.

 

First Autumn Ever October 31, 2007

The view from my window at the research lab (Regent Court).. nice view, eh?

This is my first autumn in my life. On my way back from work, I saw many leaves on quite a sunny day but windy, falling, flying in the air and resting at the side of the pavements. Nice.. beautiful, but I still miss MY.

I worked 5-8.30am today. Huarghh.. have to get up very early in the morning. But I thought it’s not a very good choice coz if the day got messy, I would have to continue to work until 9.30am! When do I start the research then? Well, I guess I need to readjust the time. Maybe I need to go to work 1 hour in the evening and 2 or 3 hours in the morning. Then I would still have time to teach Hazeeq recite Muqaddam and go to sleep at 9pm.. wakeup at 5am and go to school early, if time permits.

Starting last Monday, Hazeeq has been sent to Football camp. He’s very excited about it. I thought it’s a good idea to send him to any sports camp every school holiday as he can improve his social and communication skills. Plus, I don’t have to sacrifice my research time baby sitting him. Last school holiday, he were at home for 3 weeks with me coz at that time I can’t afford to send him anywhere. Today, father of Kyle (Hazeeq’s friend from the football camp) wants to take Hazeeq home to play with Kyle. He had asked for my permission and as he asked politely from Hazeeq and Hazeeq insisted, I have to agree. I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t know exactly how things work here. But I hope he and his wife is okay with it and I hope Hazeeq will behave (I have mentioned this to Hazeeq few time about compromise last nite before we went to sleep). So at 4.00pm today, I will go to Notre Dame High School, meet Mizee and go to fetch Hazeeq together.

The Raya season can still be breathed here in Sheffield. Every weekends people still go and pay visits to friends. I went to Aznul & Maya’s house in Firth Park last Sunday. Plan to go to visit Zubir & Marina on their newborn, then go to Nurul & Syazlan’s for Raya visit and lastly to Subud. The usrah group will hold a video on Sirah Islam this Sunday for 3 hours. I rarely went to any usrah activity lately because I was so busy at the lab. But on weekend like this one, I would like to join, just to keep up with good things happening in my life.

Last weekend, I managed to call my family at MY. Said few things and catch up on some important news from Ayah, Ibu, Piqah, Irfan, Ija, Adeq, Suraya & Ijal. Huarghh.. rindunya kat depa! Ijal akan kahwin tahun depan around Mac/April. Ija baru je keluarkan anak dari perut (kata Piqah). Nama newborn tu Hanis Fitriyah. Semua org panggil Hanis.. Suraya panggil Esah. Hmm.. Kesian la jugak.. makcik doktor tu asyik berulang pi hospital sebab nak buat dressing for a complication she’s having. Anak dia Sue and the gang la jaga. Ramai yg kata macam muka Hazeeq. I dapat tengok foto dia .. alahai.. comelnya.. mmg macam Hazeeq. Rasa cam nak balik je cium baby tu. Pastu call Sue balik, suruh dia pi survey beberapa mende nak suruh hantar ke sini. Duit lagi tu gamaknya

Oklah .. nak buat keje balik. Will update more soon.

An experience shared – viva July 5, 2007

Oh my.. today is Chris’s viva. He’s a collegue in Chemoinformatics section of CISRG (Computational Information Systems Research Group), sitting back to back with me in the lab.

I went in quite early in the morning after my morning work shift – around 9.15 am. But lately he turned in even earlier. He’s working both on his Post-doc and PhD since April 2007; going to 4th year of PhD anyway. He looked nervous. I asked him when he’s going in for his viva – around 10am. Still busy preparing things to talk about in the viva. God.. I can sense his nervousness through!

Prof Willett went in for extremely short discussion with me & Dr John on the project that I am going to carry on. It was 10 mins discussion. Basically he talked on a train speed and explaining things to Dr John – making sure at least Dr John can understand his idea by heart. Then he left.. me.. wide mouth opened. I discussed again with Dr John with his translating Prof Willett’s idea at a slower speed. That’s how things going here – it’s not easy, really! I am so fortunate to have two extremely patience and wonderful sipervisors!!! Alhamdulillah.. Anyway, I’ve got much clearer idea about what to do next.

Then, did some ammendement on my first chapter writing (this must be the 4th or 5th time!) based on Dr Diana’s comments. More of it on grammatical errors and construction of more formal writing. Did some reading on updates in chemoinformatics and some useful stuff. Can’t believe it.. I’d really go ‘no-nuts-doing’ today (apart from blogging these ).

At 12.30, Chris came in with smile on his face. Knew it – passed with minor correction! Really minor!! He has been given 2 weeks to do the correction – mostly typo, and that’s all!! Oh my God.. I really wish it was me. Well, I hope when my turn come 2.5 years from now, it will be something brilliant like his. I congratulate him and we had a chat. He shared some experience with me. Obviously he didn’t send his writings to any proof reader. I guess he is good at formal writing and no problem on grammar since English is his first language. And international students like me have to save alot of money for proof read before submitting the thesis Well.. that’s a challenge. No matter we set ourselves to reach our dreams, there’s always obstacle waiting to be conquered.

So, there you are. Starting 15th July, I might have to quit my evening work shift – to spend more time on my research and to look after Hazeeq since he will start his school holiday until September. Starting from October, I will have 2 jobs again.. morning shifts.. weekdays and weekends. But at least it will not interfere my research time. I ought to be more serious with my study now.. it’s been 6 months and only 5 times today, it will be 3 years after all.

Pray for my success, please

All documents for visa January 3, 2007

These docs may be needed if you’re applying for Visa.  Pls visit www.vfs.com.my for updates.

1. Tenancy agreement
2. Important notice -
3. Student survey -
4. Student questionnaires -
5. VAF1 Form (has to be filled for student & dependants) -

Freaking out December 28, 2006

Latest update :

1. IELTS – got the results on 8/12/2006. Listening : 7.0, Reading : 7.5, Writing : 6.0, Speaking : 7.0. Overall band : 7.0. Alhamdulillah.. And since then, time flies faster to me.

2. Bengkel Pemantapan Jabatan – the next weekend, the whole department went for a workshop – to enhance the subjects taught. The location – Tiara Beach Resort. Everything went fine – another week flies by.

3. Offer letter – Received the offer letter from University of Sheffield by DHL. Takes them 2 days only – arrived on Tuesday, 12/12/2006.

4. Scholarship from JPA – I sent all the necessary docs to the registrar so that they can proceed my application and advance. But I was told KPT closed their account from 15/12/2006 – 25/01/2007! So I’ll be going to Sheffield without allowances. After some calculations, I understand that KPT will pay all the allowances related to the student(me) and all others related to my family will be bound by UKM. So, all in all, will have around GBP1,900 with me (3 mths advance salary, 1/2 of relocation allowance, housing allowance and family allowance).

5. Visa – I should apply earlier. But I was waiting for some letters from KPT and UKM as well. So, the waiting was long – like 5 working days. When I was applying, it was already 21/12/2006. They sent me back because the stupid offer letter was dated 11 Dec 2006 and the start date is foolishly 01 Dec 2006! So, I have to go back to my office.. rushing e-mail to UK and asked them to fax a new offer letter with necessary amendments. When the fax arrived, the dean office which locate the fax machine already closed(5 pm KL = 9 am UK). So the next day I have to rush again to the office, pick up the faxed new offer letter, make some photocopies and ask Mizi to go to the VFS centre to resubmit – while I was going to another Workshop held at Equatorial Hotel. Man.. so tiring!.. Anyway, the University of Sheffield will be closed from the day they faxed the offer letter to 2nd January 2007. I asked the officer to courier the offer letter to me immediately to avoid problem with immigration. Then, the VFS will be closed the 3 days on the following week for Christmas and will only reopens on Thursday. Thursday is already 28/12/2006. And they still insist for the University of Sheffield to fax the damn offer letter directly to British High Commission(even I have the original copy with me by then). Man.. I hate this! Even it seems a week I have sent the application, but to them it’s just been 1 day- the last Friday. The 2-5 working days promised to process the visa application will drag my visa app to 05/01/07(minus the long Christmas & New Year holidays) .. the day I should fly to Sheffield! and all these because of that damn offer letter! Man.. I should apply earlier, isn’t it? When it should take 5 days for most people.. mine will be 2 weeks..

On Winter Clothes December 5, 2006

Travel for All Vs Kok Kong Winter Clothes

I would say Travel for All has the best price items. I’ve been around shops selling winter clothes – Universal Traveller, Sharafali’s, Winter Time etc, but Travel For All is the best. They have lots in Leisure Mall, Cheras; Lot 10 and Mines Wonderland. Shop whatever you can at the shop when they are on sale, particularly in December. Only if you look for rare sizes(too small, too big), then go to Kok Kong Winter Clothes. The shop located on the left side at Jalan Loke Yew, if you’re from Cheras/Kajang; just before the big Chinese school near DBP. The price is not bad.

Hot IELTS material ever October 31, 2006

I’ve got some useful tips from this one forum site. It’s no harm if you want to register – it’s free. Check this out: http://www.rxpgonline.com/

Anyway.. I have a big doubt, especially on trusting information on internet – because of the expanding info and data on the net, no doubt that most of it will be lost someday. Or maybe the server went down when you really want to access it. So, I’m going to blog it anyway..

Thanks to Kuttu007 which quote his course plan on IELTS :

2 Weeks :

• An hour of Grammar Brush up and IELTS Listening(insight and insight extra)

3rd Week :

• IELTS Listening (Insight Full Test and IELTS 1)

4th Week :

• Listening Test from Preparation and Practice / IELTS to
• Success
• Reading from Insight, Extra, IELTS 1, Prepare for IELTS ,
• Preparation & Practice (General Training)

5th Week :

• Listening from IELTS 1, 2, 3, IELTS Plus.
• Reading from IELTS 1, 2 – (General and Academic)
• Writing Sessions (off class hours) and mainly as home
• work.
• Informal Speaking Sessions

6th Week :

• Listening from IELTS 1, 2, 3, IELTS Plus.
• Reading from IELTS 1, 2, 3 – (Academic Mainly),
• Reading from Preparation and Practice, IELTS to
• Success, Prepare for IELTS(mainly homework)

7th Week :

• Formal Speaking Sessions (off class hours)
• Writing Revisions
• Reading Sessions (from any material that may have been leftover)
• Listening Sessions (from IELTS Plus and IELTS Pratice Tests 1)

8th Week :

• Practice Tests (whatever is left across all books)
• Listening and Reading from Passport to IELTS .

9th Week :

• GT students practice from 101 hints Practice tests
• AM students practice from IELTS Practice Now, Prep &
• prac, IELTS to success (sumthing is always there that they have not solved)
• More intensive speaking sessions.
• Writing Tasks as Homework everyday.

10th Week :

• Final Preparation, Doubts Clearing.
• FULL TEST : IELTS Specimen (‘97 and ‘03 Version)
• FULL TEST : IELTSHELPNOW.com versions.

Then, can go for the real IELTS exam

Books he used for teaching (yes, he’s a part-time IELTS teacher in Phillipine):

• Insight into IELTS , Insight into IELTS EXTRA
• IELTS 1, 2, 3 (Cambridge)
• Preparation & Pratice
• Practice Now
• Prepare for IELTS
• IELTS to Success
• Practice Tests Plus
• Practice Tests 1
• Tests from IELTSHELPNOW.com

The above mentioned books can be downloaded from below mentioned websites: (Were it not for Russians, we would have been buying very very expensive books, Thanks to them)

1. Vast Resource – Most Practical Books. Look at the bottom for IELTS Downloads Section.
http://artefact.lib.ru/languages/english/

2. Similar – Has more or less the same books – Can use it as a mirror in case you are having problems downloading
http://sandheap.var.ru/data/IELTS /

On how to download from the Russian website :
Scroll down to “1. Cambridge Practice Tests for IELTS 1″.There you can see everything in English.

Click on the file name you wish to download.Now you will see a window pop up.

All what you’ve got to do is you have to click on a number which has been asked in the “Russian text” in the pop up window.

Don’t worry! Just look at the “LAST (RUSSIAN) WORD” in the pop up window.
How to know what number should be clicked on?

In the “last RUSSIAN word”,

“один” means 1, “два”—2, “три”—3, “четыре”—4, “пять”—5.

Anyway guys, pls let me know if you found these as useful. Enjoy!

IELTS preparation & preparing for UK October 30, 2006

Dah confirm date to sit for IELTS – it will be on 25/11/2006. So kenalah ammend the previous date as stated :

26/10/2006 – register IELTS, RM510 (done on time)
25/11/2006 – sit for IELTS exam, aim for at least band 6.5 with 6.0 in writing
08/12/2006 – obtain IELTS results, decide on Sheffield or Southampton, inform UK ppl my resullts, pindah rumah AU5, start shopping
11/12/2006 – ask for offer letter by fax for visa application, start the process with UKM’s registrar, JPA bla.. bla..
27/12/2006 – flying to UK (boleh ke nih?.. i’m thinking of going before x’mas)

During Eid’s long holiday, I did some shopping. I bought few things -

For Hazeeq :
2 gloves(RM10/each), 1 scarf(RM10), 1 cap(RM15), 1 sweater(RM49), 1 down jacket(RM80)

For Myself :
1 gloves(RM19), 1 scarf(RM10), 1 sweater(RM50), 1 down jacket(RM85), 2 pair of long johns(RM29/each)

For Mizi:
1 gloves(RM19), 1 scarf(RM10)

So – tinggal long johns utk Hazeeq, sweater & down jackets utk Mizi akan tgk kat bundle. Jimat sket. And ada a friend pun nak jual sweaters & jackets kat I. Family dia some time ago pernah dok kat US.. so banyaklah reta bende sebegitu nak dijual – kat Msia pun tak pakai. I nak tgk dulu apa yg boleh rembat, pastu nak offer gak kat few other friends going for further study abroad – especially yg bawa ramai anak tu.. mesti depa nak beli few. My friends kata beli serba satu je apa yg perlu, selebihnya beli kat car boot sale kat sana. Ohh .. after dah usha few places, I rasa yg termurah kat “Travel for All” – kat Leisure Mall –> cheaper dari Winter House atau Universal Traveller kat mana-mana branch pun.

Ohh.. also nak beli satu laptop & satu digital camera. Dah usha harga terendah – Dell, Dual Core processor, 12.1″ screen, weight around 1.9 kg, RM3,900 = nak beli online. Digital camera – Nikon Coolpix S7c, Wifi capability, Anti-shock, 7.1 mg pixel, RM1,380 = kat FS Photo, Lot LG159, Sungei Wang Plaza, Jalan Bukit Bintang. Tel 03-2141 1893.

Well, this blog is meant for reference to the others pursuing their studies as well. I really hope it will do a lot of help.

Anyway.. Wish me luck!