Alif

I finished reading Alif the Unseen Friday morning, most likely the last book I will read in 2012. I have exam coming so will most probably not start another book till into the new year.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it. Alif the Unseen is the first novel by G Willow Wilson. The book reads like a cross between Cory Doctorow (Little Brother) and Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere), which translates to awesome!

The setting is a fictional Arab emirate. Our hero, Alif, is a half-Arab half-Indian hacker who has just got dumped by his pure-blood aristocrat girlfriend. When she tells him that she doesn’t want to see him anymore, he writes a program that makes him invisible to her online. As sort of a parting gift, the ex-girlfriend passes him a mysterious old book. What follows is an adventure that takes Alif and his friends to the world on the unseen, the jinn, as they are pursued by State security agents.

Of note too is the Islamic setting. Islam plays a big role in the book, which makes it refreshing as well. We definitely don’t see too many of that.

Breakfast Picnic

It has been a while since we last went to a park for a picnic. It has been a while too since we talked about taking Omar to a park so he could enjoy the green and the sun.

Finally, last Saturday we did it. Afi cooked nasi lemak and we—along with Mak and Abah—went to the nearby Kepong Metropolitan Park for a short picnic. We had breakfast under a tree, and Omar had a great time running around playing with his ball and making Atuk chase after him.

We definitely must do this more often.

50 Photographs

I used to stick (using Blu-Tack) photo prints on our Summertown House apartment wall. We really loved how it looked. The prints were (mostly) free from when we signed up on Snapfish and PhotoBox. Looking at our bare living room wall (see Family Pictures), I had the idea of doing the same again. We need more recent photos, though, so recently we bought a Foto-ZZoom deal from Groupon for fifty prints.

The pictures, variously taken with our mobile phones, my PowerShot and Afi’s D40X, were from last December to October.

Movies

The last time we watched a movie at a cinema was The Dark Knight in July. We would love to go to the cinemas more often, but simply couldn’t find the time. Last month, we finally saw The Avengers—on HyppTV VOD.

I used to go to the cinema every week but surprisingly I am not missing it all that much. I was always annoyed at the terrible subtitles on the screen here anyway. Most of the time now I don’t even now what’s showing.

Once in a while though, we would come across trailers or promos of movies we find interesting, like Rise of the Guardians, now showing, and Epic coming out next May. Having enjoyed the book I would also love to watch The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey coming soon.

Chances are we are going to miss all the above movies... and we are just fine with it.

Reading Again

Having bought more books in September to add to my existing pile of unread books, I finally got around to reading them. So, over the last three weeks I have managed to finish three books compared to only two books before that through 2012.

The release of Midst Toil and Tribulation by David Weber was the trigger for that last book order, so I started on the book practically as soon as I received it. At over 600 pages, the book was a brick, and took me almost two weeks to finish. This is book #6 of the epic Safehold series, and as soon as I finished reading it I couldn’t wait for book #7. Unfortunately, that will have to wait till next September. :P

Next, I read Redshirts, John Scalzi’s latest yarn. As always, he never failed to entertain. Scalzi served as creative consultant for the short-lived Stargate Universe television show. Not that it matters far as the book is concerned—not directly at least—but the book, which takes a jab at popular science fiction shows like Star Trek, reads very much like an episode of Stargate SG-1. Oh, I also love the book cover art, especially the spine.

Finally, there was Invincible or in full Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Invincible by Jack Campbell/John G Hemry. The only softback of the lot, this is book #2 of the Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier series, which in turn is a follow-on series to the original six-book Lost Fleet series. After eight books I still don’t have enough space battles. Mind you though, the battles are nothing like those in Star Wars or Star Trek. Physics actually apply, and formations play a huge part in the massive fleet-on-fleet actions.

I am currently reading Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson.

Missed

I missed Chicago’s concert in KL on 31 October. So sad, the moment I heard about it on LiteFM, I suddenly got all the adrenaline rush like in those days, :P! Too bad, I knew I wouldn’t make it.

I have enjoyed—in fact, and still do!—listening to Peter Cetera and his friends since I was a teenager. And this song particularly reminds me of my all-time favourite movie, Karate Kid 2.

This one is for you, Sayang!
;)

Ph.D

The Plan @ PHD

It is long overdue, but I finally started my Ph.D programme last month.

I have two semesters of coursework to go through followed by comprehensive written and oral examinations before I have to submit and defend my definitive thesis proposal, hopefully by early 2014. Despite the coursework it is still a three-year programme, so accordingly my scholarship runs through September 2015. I pray that I will be able to complete it in good time.

Things are going all right at the moment. I already have a potential supervisor with a potential thesis topic but at the same time I am also exploring other ideas. There is one that I am quite excited about, being really close to my interest, but may be a bit crazy. Anyway, I do hope to get it settled soon.

The clock has started. Three years is definitely not a long time.

Grateful

I cannot find the closest English word to “syukur” and I don’t think “grateful” really represents what I am feeling now. Indeed, Allah says:

And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: “If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily! My Punishment is indeed severe.”

(Ibrahim 14:7, Dr. Mohsin Khan translation)

Besides saying syukur, doing your best in the things you have been made responsible with is also the way to express your syukur. Also, be consistent in performing solat dhuha and don’t forget to give sadaqah to the needy.

I know it is going to be challenging in some years ahead, but insha-Allah, we have chosen this path and this is it! No turning back and we are all behind you, Sayang!

On another note, if you have free time between 6.05 to 6.55 p.m. everyday, do tune in to TV AlHijrah and please watch an Indonesian comedy series titled Islam KTP. It is packed with life lessons and the best thing is they have made it into jokes. We both like watching it while relaxing after work, cooking and playing with Omar. Whenever we suddenly burst into laughter, he usually joins too!

The Book Depository

The Book Depository (TBP), now an Amazon subsidiary, claims to offer free worldwide delivery. It is stated on the company’s website FAQ:

Delivery is FREE on all orders. This applies irrespective of your location as long as we ship to your country.

Of course, the delivery costs are actually already embedded in the price. To illustrate, I recently purchased these six totally non-academic books from TBP:

• Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson
• Year Zero by Rob Reid
• Redshirts by John Scalzi
• The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Invincible by Jack Campbell
• Midst Toil and Tribulation by David Weber
• Alif the Unseen by G Willow Wildson

It is known that the price quoted depends on your IP address, which tells your geographical location. On my PC at home with our UniFi connection the books cost £81.30. However, Afi still has access to her UK university network via VPN. On her PC, the same books cost only £69.41. Try guessing which price I paid. Translated into our local currency the difference is almost RM60! Was I cheating? I don’t think so; I was just taking the company for its words.

By the way, Amazon UK, which offers free UK deliveries, sells the same books for £67.34 for delivery within the UK and £90.77 for delivery to Malaysia. So it is still cheaper buying from TBP. I didn’t check how much the books will cost from Amazon USA.

All About Blogger

Got this from Blogger Buster:

The original is 1600×600px large so click above for full size.

When They Insult Our Prophet

I thought about writing about it, but here Nouman Ali Khan says it better.

Smartphone

I have been asked why I don’t have a smartphone*. The short answer is I don’t need one. I was then told that I only said that because I don’t currently have a smartphone, and that I would realize the “need” if I have one. HUH? Not needing a smartphone doesn’t mean that I don’t want one. It’s just that there are many other things that I need and want to buy before I’ll even seriously think of buying a smartphone. Besides, my two-year-old not-so-smart mobile phone works just fine at the moment.

I know that a smartphone can do a lot of wonderful things. But that’s the thing—I don’t need my phone to do a lot of things, wonderful or otherwise. I just don’t like the idea of having a multitude of functions crammed into one handheld device. The idea is by having a smartphone that can take pictures, record movies and navigate you don’t need to have dedicated still and video cameras and GPS navigator. While convenient, you are also creating a situation where you have a single point of failure.

Perhaps it’s also worth noting that I don’t always carry my mobile around with me. At home and at work, for example, unless I’m expecting an important call my mobile phone is usually left in a drawer in silent mode. I don’t imagine it will be any different if I had a smartphone. On the other hand, there’s almost always a PC on in the house for getting onto the Internet. We also have a tablet.

So again and again we return to the question of need. I don’t need a smartphone at the moment. For that matter I doubt that I’ll ever really need a smartphone. Having said that, if my mobile phone were to die on me tomorrow and I have the extra cash, I just might buy one. But I’ll keep my compact camera, video camera and GPS navigator.

* My current mobile phone is a black Sony Ericsson Elm. Afi has one in pink.

Family Pictures

Among the things we wanted to do during Raya was to take pictures of the whole family. Of course, it was easier said than done. Getting everybody at the same place at the same time seemed almost impossible.

Nevertheless, we managed to take this picture on 26 August at Seri Kembangan with everybody present! There is another picture with everybody all prim and proper looking at the camera but we like this not-so-ready one better.

On the other hand, my brother-in-law was absent in this picture taken on 1 September in our bare living room. That is Omar looking sleepy from missing his afternoon nap.

Eid Mubarak

Time flies. It’s 13 Syawal already and I haven’t started my puasa enam. Life has been a bit demanding these days, so waking up early before Subuh is really a challenge. To be honest, I am missing Ramadan.

Eid celebration was great to us, although I had no official leave actually. However, meeting some close relatives reminds me that how short our lives in this world. I remember in one of Raihan’s songs, about grabbing five things before five things happen: “Muda sebelum tua, lapang sebelum sibuk, kaya sebelum miskin, sihat sebelum sakit, hidup sebelum mati”. May Allah accept our little deeds during Ramadan and bless us with many more Ramadan.

Maybe if I have some free time (God knows!), I will write about our Eid celebration. Anyway, this song has been on my head since yesterday. In the meantime before my next entry, I share you the lyrics.

Di hati kulakarkan sebuah impian
Yang aku namakan harapan
Apabila kutentukan arah serta tujuan
Rela kuhadapi cabaran

Jalan ke puncak itu beronak dan berliku
Menyukarkan pendakianku
Namun tetap kugagahi hati yang rapuh ini
Demi hasrat yang suci

Aku sangkakan harapan selembut impian
Yang menguliti tidur insan
Kiranya kehidupan tidak sedemikian
Goyah hatiku oleh kenyataan

Tak harus kuturuti kelemahan diri
Tak daya bertahan diuji
Lalu aku mengumpulkan semula kekuatan
Berlandaskan keimanan

EFF: Apple v. Samsung

The Electronic Frontier Foundation on the recent Apple vs. Samsung ruling:

AUGUST 27, 2012 | BY JULIE SAMUELS
Apple v. Samsung: What Does a $1 Billion Verdict Really Mean?:

We wrote last week that Apple and Samsung would be better off — and their consumers would be better served — if the tech giants took their epic patent battle out of the courtroom and into the marketplace. On Friday, the jury found that Samsung infringed a host of Apple’s patents and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages. That's more than a billion less than Apple had demanded and a small drop for Samsung in the grand scheme of things. But it's real money nonetheless, and that's before the injunctions.

The way the press reported the verdict, one would think the outcome was unexpected or unusual. But really, this case is just the latest in a long line of high-stakes patent litigation, each an instance of a patent system fundamentally unmoored from its constitutional goal. Sure, this case had some interesting elements: patents allegedly covering 3G technology, Apple’s ability to protect the functional designs of its products, and so on. In that regard, Apple v. Samsung is nothing new.

Since Friday, there has been no shortage of news and commentary surrounding the jury’s verdict. So what’s left to say? We can talk about whether a user interface should be covered by a patent (it should not), whether the law should protect the “look and feel” of a product (again, it should not, whether under patent or copyright law), or Apple’s own storied history of finding inspiration from those who came before (just a different way of saying “copying”). But what it comes down to is simple: it is time for this to stop.

The Constitution is clear on why the government grants monopolies: to “promote the progress of science and the useful arts.” Apple would have released the iPhone without a patent covering the rounded edges of its devices or the “rubber band” effect — the way a screen bounces when you scroll to the bottom. These patents, and the resulting lawsuits, do not promote the progress of science and the useful arts. They do not benefit the consumer. Instead, they are just another tool that businesses use to squelch competition and extract money from each other. The answer to competition is, or should be, more innovation, not courtroom battles that cost millions upon millions of dollars and drain judicial resources.

Apple v. Samsung demonstrates so much of what ails our patent system. But it's not all bad. This case made big news; people are paying attention. Now is the time to talk about the many ways that software patents hinder innovation instead of helping it. It is the time to talk about the public interest and how taking Galaxy products off the market would harm consumers. It is the time to talk about how we can find a system that makes sense for how people use, create, and develop software. We are having these conversations at defendinnovation.org and hope you will join us. The system must be fixed. Let’s make it happen.

Read more about the failed patent system here.

Perspective

Via David Ruccio, here is Fertiliser by cartoonist Dwayne Booth a.k.a. Mr. Fish:

Read: Bringing Up Bébé

Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman was the first book on parenting I have ever read cover to cover.

When American journalist Pamela Druckerman has a baby in Paris, she doesn’t aspire to become a ”French parent.” French parenting isn’t a known thing, like French fashion or French cheese. Even French parents themselves insist they aren’t doing anything special.

Yet, the French children Druckerman knows sleep through the night at two or three months old while those of her American friends take a year or more. French kids eat well-rounded meals that are more likely to include braised leeks than chicken nuggets. And while her American friends spend their visits resolving spats between their kids, her French friends sip coffee while the kids play.

The book gave me a fresh, different perspective to parenting. While the somewhat confused English-speaking world moves from one parenting philosophy-of-the-season to the next, it seems that the French has a singular universal parenting culture inspired by Rousseau and deeply rooted in science.

It also helps that the French state also provides generous support to families and women, from subsidized state-run healthcare, crèches (daycare centers) and maternelles (nursery schools) to ”perineal re-education”.

Since Afi is super busy with her thesis, I read the book first and then narrated her all the interesting points. I enjoyed the book very much, and would really recommend it to any parents of young children.

Omar is One

Omar turned one year old last 4 July and they had fireworks all across the United States! We all took the day off and went on a family outing. First, we dropped by the nearest photo studio and had the picture above taken for posterity. That’s Omar looking half-confused and sleepy.

We wish all the best for Omar. We pray that Allah protects him from evil and harm. May he grows to be a person with taqwā and strong akhlāq, who loves knowledge and contributes to the Ummah. May Allah also grants us the patience, strength and wisdom to be the best parents for our son.

Happy Ramadan!

It’s the third day of Ramadan and alhamdulillah we’re enjoying our first Ramadan in Malaysia. We are also excited to see many good programmes lining up on TV AlHijrah.

Anyway, let’s not make this holy month as just another Ramadan. Who knows this might be our last Ramadan? Even if it’s not so, think about how we can make full use of our time to increase our amal and Islamic knowledge. Think about how we can enjoy Ramadan with our family. What a waste if we don’t make full use of the benefits of this month that Allah has promised.

I’m sure the way we experience Ramadan is not the same every year. We must put an extra effort to gain insight on each Ramadan and make a plan on how to improve our weak selves. The choice is ours.

Masya-Allah, Sayang has just shared a very meaningful tazkirah that he heard after zuhr congregation today, about the circumstances of the revelation of the last three surat, or in Arabic we call it as asbāb al-nuzūl. Mak has just bought a good book on asbāb al-nuzūl published by PTS. It’s time to check out mine too!

Oh, I just stumbled upon this great article (as usual!) by Prof Tariq Ramadan. We missed his lecture at ISTAC recently but hopefully there’ll be more to come. But thanks to YouTube, you can listen to any great talks, if you want to.

And I never fail to enjoy this clip. It always makes me ponder on how to educate Omar about Ramadan when the time comes, insha-Allah.

Fernando Torres

Recently I received an email from Fernando Torres! Though I don’t follow football I do know that he is a famous football player. I do know that he is Spanish but I have no idea which club he plays with. Oh, he is, however, Afi’s favorite football player (for now).

Anyway, I received an email from one Fernando Torres at work. Of course, in this day and age I immediately thought that it was spam. Then, I saw the title: “soal selidik”. Fernando Torres writes Malay!

The email was really from a graduate student at a local university asking me to fill an online research survey. And no, the student’s name was definitely not Fernando Torres. I did not qualify for the survey but I did reply to the email to tell that nobody would take an email from Fernando Torres seriously.

Seriously, when it comes to school or work matters you should always use your own name.

The Dark Knight Rises

After missing The Avengers earlier this year, I took yesterday off and we went on a date to watch The Dark Knight Rises at Pavilion KL. We thoroughly enjoyed the movie; Afi hasn’t stopped saying that it is “Superb!”.

Too bad that it is supposed to be the last of a trilogy. We certainly do not mind more.

Cartoon

London (bankers) calling by Dan Wasserman at Boston Globe

__________
HT: David F. Ruccio

To Read

It is already July and I have only managed to read only one book this year! I do not want to make any excuse. Hopefully I will be able to catch up by the year’s end. These are books-to-read currently on my shelf:

Perangai Bergantung Pada Diri Sendiri by Za’ba. It has been referred to as a book “every Malay should read.” I had been looking for this one book for a long time before I finally found it online at KKUM’s Pekanbuku Online. As a DBP publication it is also available from Dawama.

Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman. We read about the book in a magazine and thought that it is cool. An American journalist in Paris writes about her observation of French parenting. Afi bought it at Borders The Curve.

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey. A space opera. To be honest I was first drawn by the cover art which reminded me of Macross. Though a 2011 publication, the book was already out of stock by the time I wanted to buy it last year so it remained on my wishlist until recently. And there is already a sequel out. Bought from The Book Depository (TBD).

Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu & James Robinson. Institutions, institutions, institutions. The authors are economics professors at MIT and Harvard. Following the footsteps of Freakonomics, there is now a companion website too. Bought from TBD.

Papa, PhD. This book is one of the things Afi brought home for me from her recent US trip. It is a collection of essays on parenting, particularly fatherhood, by men in academia. Afi also bought herself its companion book Mama, PhD.

In the Footsteps of the Prophet by Tariq Ramadan. This biography of the Prophet is an updated version of the earlier The Messenger. Afi asked to buy this book, which we saw at the Oxford University Press (OUP) shop. However, we eventually got it from TBD.

The Qur’an by M. A. Abdel Haleem. This is another book I first saw at the OUP shop. It is a new translation of the holy Qur’an. I had never owned a Qur’an translation before but found this one particularly interesting in its use of modern English. Again, I eventually got it from TBD.

The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett
The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow
I also still have not read these two books we picked up at Blackwell’s in November. The Spirit Level is about how the world would be a much better place if our society is more equal, i.e. the gap between the rich and the poor is closer.

Keynes: A Very Short Introduction by Robert Skidelsky
Marx: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Singer
Economics: A Very Short Introduction by Partha Dasgupta
These three books are part of the Very Short Introductions series published by OUP. And yes, we bought it at the OUP shop in Oxford. How I wish we could have the whole series in our library.

Habibi by Craig Thompson.
Anathem by Neal Stephenson.

Finally, Habibi and Anathem, and to think Anathem has been in my possession since 2009! I really need to get around to finally reading the book.

There, fourteen books (for now) to last me till the end of the year.

Major Reconstruction

As much as we’re busy making our physical world look perfect, we tend to forget to mend our sick soul. We’d rather masquerade behind a mask to hide the Mr-Hyde side of us. In truth, what’s portrayed outside is a manifestation of what’s inside.

As Ramadhan draws nearer, we aim to have a major reconstruction of our soul. We are ready to embark on a soul-cleansing journey in hope to become among those most loved by Him. May Allah bless this journey and show us the way to Him.

May we remain steadfast until the day we meet Him. Oh Jahiliyyah, please stay away from us. Oh Hidayah, don’t leave us as we desperately need you.
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IMAGE: Happy Ramadan by Ranoush@Flickr

Pictures

I. Drones

SOURCE: Drones for Chavez

The comic is by Matt Bors. Hugo Chavez is the anti-America dictator President of Venezuela. He wants to develop drones, or remote controlled planes, with help from Iran. The three people in the lower panels are US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. America routinely uses drones to assassinate “terrorists” in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and God-knows-where else in the world. So now Chavez wants to catch up.

II. Billionaires

SOURCE: The billionaires list

Total net worth of nine billionaires in Malaysia equals 18.3 percent of the country’s total output (GDP. Note though that total net worth (wealth) is a stock while GDP is a flow measure.

III. Television

SOURCE: The Old and Uneducated Watch the Most TV

So much about children watching TV all the time. At least in the US, old people actually watch more TV than young people. However, I imagine our senior citizens having more active lifestyles than their US counterparts. Ours spend time taking care of their homes and gardens and pets or grandchildren. Then, they go to the mosque every night to pray and listen to the ceramah.

Exams

I invigilated three examinations recently. The first paper, I was only there to satisfy the required staff-student ratio. I filled in for a colleague for the second, and was asked to do the same for another for the third paper. The first examination was uneventful while the second and third were more “interesting”, particularly the second.

It was a three-hour paper on a Sunday afternoon. Previously, all our papers were at most two-and-a-half hours long. Now they are three hours long. Apparently, they decided that all papers should last the same (three hours) so not to disturb students sitting for examinations for different papers in big venues. Accounting typically had three-hour papers.

Anyway, with less than an hour left on the clock on, we had a suspected cheating case. I’ll spare you the details. The student, as only to be expected, profusely swore that he was not cheating. Regardless, in such situations we were bound by procedures, so we followed them as best as we could. The student was from one of the sections I was responsible for, so I had to fill up some forms for the legal unit and might later be called to a hearing.

It was obvious from the confiscated answer script that the student was failing the paper. Less than half of the multiple choice questions were answered while the answer booklet only had three partially written pages. Perhaps it was an act of desperation, which in no way justifies trying to cheat through an examination.

Later I learned that the student, an international, was taking the course for the third and final attempt. I feel sorry for him. It troubles me that we could admit a student from halfway across the globe, make him sit through two years of pre-sessional language preparation, and let him fail on the first year. It just doesn’t seem right. I think we failed him at least as much as he failed himself. Either he should not have been admitted in the first place or we should have done a better job, our job, at preparing him.

During the third examination on a Saturday, a student walked into the examination hall at 0940 when the paper started at 0900. The rule says that a student cannot come later than 30 minutes after the start of an exam, so we had to ask her to leave. We also turned away another student who came at 1015. The first student claimed that she was not aware of the rule. The second owned up that he overslept.

11 months

My baby turned 11 months old last Monday, alhamdulillah! We’re left with less than one month to mark our first year of parenthood.

Since the moment I held him in my arms, I have been looking forward to each day watching him grow. He’s now obsessed with the flash cards I bought for him. He’s more keen in books rather than the TV (alhamdulillah, hope it lasts!). He makes some funny head movements when listening to any catchy music, which can be as simple as TV Alhijrah’s montage.

Oh my son, may you continue to develop a strong personality like Saiyidina Umar and Umar Abdul Aziz. Ibu and Ayah will do our best to raise you to become an asset for Ummah. Like Prof Muhaya said, we are raising a syurga potential. Amin.

Orange Juice

For the record, we love to be back here in Malaysia. This is home. There is nowhere else in the world that we want to be. However, from time to time we cannot avoid missing some small aspects of our brief life in the UK. Orange juice is one of them.

Yes, orange juice, of all the wonderful things the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has to offer.

Of course, we can buy orange juice here too from just about any shop anywhere. However, simply said, orange juice here is too sweet. They are full of sugar.

So let’s speculate. I have two stories. One is that since Malaysia does not produce orange, orange juice producers have to import. To sell the orange juice cheap enough so people can actually buy them, they reduce the actual juice content and add loads and loads of sugar and colouring and other “permitted” stuff to make them taste good.

I saw one brand of orange juice at a hypermarket that promises no sugar added selling for twice the price of other sugar-loaded brands.

The second story is that Malaysians in general simply like everything sweet. The sweeter the better. Teh tarik is full of sugar. We are addicted to sugar. That is why it is such a scandal for the government to even think about reducing the subsidy for sugar.

Hmmm... whatever.

Anyway, our favourite brand was The Co-operative 100% pure squeezed orange juice with bits. Yes, that is its full name. We tried a few other brands, including Tropicana, before settling on the Co-op brand. Apparently, it ranked a close second in a Which? survey after an Aldi offering.

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IMAGE CREDIT: Which?

The Smartest

..among you is the one who remembers death the most.

When a good friend lost her husband on their way to work (at that time she was in her 4th week of pregnancy), I know that is the best reminder to me as a person who is always absorbed with worldly matters, and lacking of self accountability.

From that moment until now, I quietly pray for that friend to have the ultimate courage and strength to go on with life, raising a 6-year old daughter and a baby to be delivered insya-Allah.

And yesterday, Mak told me about their good friend who had seizure last Monday and is currently in the special care unit in a hospital. He had stroke two years ago and now his condition is very critical. Considering Abah’s condition, Mak decided not to visit him, although I know they really wanted to.

So, everyday I tell myself, while I’m still alive, I must make the best for the day, for I won’t know if my time will come in the next second. I want to do my best in what I am being responsible for, i.e. taking care of my husband, my son and the household, finishing up the thesis, and most importantly remember Allah at every moment. I know I’m still lacking of preparation to meet Him but at least I try my best to make sure every doing is considered as an Ibadah.

Appreciate what you have now. You won’t know when it is going to be taken from you as it is not entirely yours to begin with.

Live from NY

Well, I’m not exactly in New York City. I’m in Long Island, which is some miles away from NYC, attending a great conference, meeting up my supervisor and presenting some of my work here.

I haven’t taken even a single picture. We’ve had the occasional rain since the day I arrived. However, today we are blessed with much more sunny spells. I missed the walking tour of the research institution where the conference is held, but I did enjoy the view during the ride to the centre’s daycare. The driver did give a bit of a tour around, well let’s see if I have the time to do a bit of walking.

Anyway, things are not the same without my other half and Omar. They are coping well, alhamdulillah, and I am really looking forward to be back in their arms. I cannot imagine enjoying myself in NYC without them. To me, that I could do later, when the opportunity permits. I can’t bear the idea of enjoying myself while my Sayang is having his hands full. Maybe others have the guts to do it, but definitely not me. I think I largely owe that to my maternal genetic contribution, as my mother shares the same sentiment too.

Of course, I am enjoying the conference, keeping up with an enormous amount of new findings and information by others, and exchanging ideas as well. Most importantly, I thank Allah for this great opportunity and will surely benefit a lot from it.

Afi
Long Island, NY, Thursday 10 May 2012, 1645 EST

102 Days

Our boxes arrived on Friday, 4 May, 102 days after they were picked up from our Summertown House apartment. We were told earlier by the shipping company Allfreight that the boxes will arrive at Port Klang on 2 May. I have been keeping my mobile close at all times since then.

However, when Afi called me on my office phone on Friday to tell that the boxes were arriving that afternoon, I was a little surprised. I gave my mobile number as the primary contact but I didn’t receive any call. Anyway, they were coming at 1500, so I went home by then.

Most eager to unpack

A lorry stopped in front of our house at about 1520. A man came out and said that he was from Subalipack. There were two of them, and they unloaded all our fifteen boxes, including carrying the six large 6-cubic feet boxes and one tea chest upstairs into the spare room, in just about ten minutes. After taking my signature and having me fill a short customer satisfaction survey, they were gone.

And just like that, after 102 days, we have our stuff back, YAY!

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PS: It turned out I gave my mobile number as 012-xxxxxxx when it should have been 017-xxxxxxx. Earlier we missed our TM Unifi installation appointment because I did exactly the same on the registration form.

Approximations

So I know where to find it later...

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SOURCE: xkcd (DOHH!)

38 years

 

It's my parents' anniversary today! It has been 38 years, alhamdulillah, and the marriage is still going strong. I have a lot to admire how they stay strong despite many challenges and differences.

We had this picture taken on the first Sunday we came back. It was quite tough to make sure all 15 of us posed well, especially the babies. But alhamdulillah I love the outcome, minus the background! Haha, so the pening! Anyway, what matters most is that we really had fun that day.

LHR-BWN-KUL

This post was stuck in draft-land for far too long.

We flew by Royal Brunei. Since we were paying for our own tickets, we looked for the cheapest around. At the time, the Royal Brunei offering was cheaper by as much as £300 compared to the next cheapest by Singapore Airlines. The catch was we would have to fly first to Bandar Seri Begawan (with a refueling stop at Dubai) before taking a separate flight to Kuala Lumpur. However, flying with Omar we preferred a non-direct flight anyway so we could stretch our legs.

Before we fly, there were a few things we needed to clarify with the airline. We were taking Omar’s stroller and car seat with us so wanted to know how both items would be considered against our baggage allowances. We had to check them both in as baggage. As full ticket paying passengers, Afi and I both received 20kg each while Omar was allocated 10kg, for a combine total of 50kg.

I read that some airlines allow either or both items to be checked in for free. However, Royal Brunei was not one of those airlines. So with the stroller and car seat we were left with only about 25kg for the rest of our stuff. 25kg was definitely not enough, especially when we had planned to dedicate one suitcase just for Omar’s stuff. Thankfully though, I happened to mention to the Royal Brunei staff on the phone that Afi was a fulltime student and that we were returning home for good, and for that she was given an extra 15kg.

So that basically settled our packing arrangement: 15kg for the stroller, 10kg for the car seat, a 20kg suitcase for Omar, and another 20kg suitcase for Afi and I to check in. For the rest of our stuff, I also carried my notebook backpack and a cabin suitcase (and Omar) and Afi her notebook handbag and baby changing bag. Yes, we had really had our hands full! Again, we couldn’t imagine how we would have managed without Zul coming along to the airport and helping us with the baggage. Things were definitely more manageable once we had our baggage checked in.

Omar behaved well during the whole journey, though he was understandably a bit cranky on the last leg from Bandar Seri Begawan to Kuala Lumpur. Between London and Dubai, he spent most of the time trying to take off his shoes. Sitting on my lap, he would rip open the Velcro fasteners and I would fasten them on again.

We were the very last people to reboard the plane at Dubai. It was a 1.5-hour stop, but we underestimated the time we needed to grab some dinner and gave Omar a nappy change, and were slightly confused about the time zone. Thankfully, we were then given a bassinet seat for Omar, so we could all catch some sleep.

However, you would not want to spend four hours in transit at the Brunei International Airport. After travelling for almost 18 hours we were tired so stayed inside the departure hall. There was absolutely nothing to do. We were starving but here was no food at the cafeteria and the Coffee Bean outlet ran out of ice! It was so unfortunate, as otherwise we really enjoyed flying with Royal Brunei.

We finally landed at KLIA at about 1710 on 9 February, after almost one full day of travelling.

It is good to be home.

Kami Tak Pernah Buat

Here’s a quick one.

We went to the nearest NRD (stands for National Registration Office/Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara) recently to apply for a MyKid for Omar.

When we got there, the person at the inquiries counter told us that they have never processed an application for a child born outside of the country. He then turned around and asked another officer, presumably a superior, who told us the same thing.

They told us they have never done it.

“Kami tak pernah buat.” They could have told us they couldn’t or simply don’t process such cases at the branch level. Instead, they just never did it. Then, they helpfully gave us a piece of paper with the telephone number of the NRD headquarters at Putrajaya to call and ask.

So does it mean [1] if you have never done something you cannot do it, and [2] you cannot make a simple telephone call to a colleague at the headquarters on behalf of a client who has shown up at your office?

Just need to let it out of my system.

Bahagia

Kekasihku… Lihatlah…
Telah kau hapus luka di hatiku
Oh Sayangku…
Rasakanlah ini anugerah atas nama cinta

Katakan pada dunia…
Kamu dan aku bahagia
Semoga cinta kan terjaga selamanya
Terima kasih Tuhan…
Kau beri aku seorang yang mendampingiku
Di dalam suka dan duka

Kekasihku… Lihatlah…
Telah kau hapus luka dihatiku
Oh Sayangku…
Rasakanlah ini anugerah atas nama cinta

The first time I heard of the song, it became one of my favourite.
To Sayang, I dedicate the song. I mean every word.
With you, I am stronger in facing what lies ahead.
Love you always.

Video: The Daly Superheroes

Haha!

LHR-BWN-KUL: Prep

We are back in Malaysia, YAY!

We already shipped most of our stuff to Malaysia on 23 January. I booked a 1300 pick up slot for the shipping but the night before I received a text message that the truck would come at between 1000 and 1200. Coincidentally, Omar had his first fever that evening with his body temperature reaching as high as 39 degrees Celsius. So, I was still no where near finished with the packing when the driver called at 0930 that morning to say that he would arrive at 1015.

Afi had to take Omar for his GP appointment at 1050. On panic mode, I called Arshad for help. He ended up bringing most of the heavy boxes down all by himself when the delivery truck arrived while I completed all the labelling and paperwork. The shipping company quotes 6-12 weeks for delivery. We pray that everything arrives safely.

Omar finally met Simon on 2 February when we had lunch with him and two other of his students, Marie and Yunli. On 4 February, we had our formal farewell at the Summertown House common room. With our tight finances we didn’t originally plan to organise the event but in the end were glad that we did. The attendance was beyond our expectations and we were deeply touched by the kind gestures and well wishes.

Our flight out of the UK was on 8 February, the very day our visas expire. Since it was a morning flight, we decided to leave Oxford on 7 February and stay overnight in a hotel (Travelodge Heathrow Terminal 5) near the airport. We made an appointment with Chris the caretaker to hand in our apartment keys at 1300. Zul also graciously offered to accompany us to the airport.

As 7 February arrived, we again apparently underestimated how much packing we had to do. There simply was not enough space, both volume and weight wise, to pack everything we wanted to bring home with us. On top of that, we also had to make sure that the apartment was in an acceptable enough condition for the hand-in. Again, Arshad came to our rescue by babysitting Omar while the both of us busied ourselves with the cleaning and packing. Zul also came later to lend a hand. Thankfully, Chris only dropped in after 1500 and after a quick scan of the apartment gave us his thumbs up.

Finally, after packing and repacking at least three times we were ready to go. Arshad, Uyie, and Zul helped bring our luggage down to the waiting cab. Syikin, Azad, and Min were also there to send us off. We left Summertown House for Gloucester Green Bus Station at about 1820.

Scooter

Here is a cool little electric scooter I would really love to have for the short trip to grocery store, from the French company MATRA (not some Taiwanese junk). Being electric it is super quiet and folds for keeping indoor.

The e-MO+ weighs only 53kg. A two-hour charge of its standard 10Ah battery takes you up to 40km, or up to 60km with an optional 15Ah battery. The maximum speed is 45kph. There is also an engine immobiliser with PIN for that extra security.

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HT: Flylyf

Read

When I first started on this post I was somewhere just past halfway through Inheritance. I finished the book last week on Thursday, finally. It took me a long time to finish Inheritance, though at 860 pages it was a brick.

Inheritance was supposed to be my twelfth book for 2011 but now it is my first for 2012. I was quite upset to miss my twelve books target, which means that I have to make up for it with thirteen books this year. Afi said that eleven books was all right because I have Omar to look after. True, between Omar, cooking and other housework I could usually manage only a few pages each day before bedtime.

Back to Inheritance, it was three long years since Brisingr so I was worried that I had forgotten about the most of the characters and events in the previous books. However, thankfully, they all came back as soon as I started reading the book. As usual, I couldn’t wait to find out how the story ends and didn’t mind spoilers so I read it up on Wikipedia. :P

Overall, I liked the book and think Paolini did manage to tie up all lose ends that matter. I really liked the character Roran, our dragon-rider hero Eragon’s ordinary (as in not a magician or having any special powers) cousin. The way Eragon defeats Galbatorix was cool. The romance between Eragon and Arya ends just the way it should be. However, I would love to read more about the mysterious herbalist Angela. Hopefully Paolini will write more about her.

I guess now I can finally read Harry Potter. :D

All my books are now somewhere between here and home so I will not be doing much reading till I finally get them. It’s not that I have a lot of time to read in the first place. Still, in the mean time, I have Evolution.

SOPA/PIPA

Watch this Khan Academy video explaining SOPA/PIPA if you are wondering what they are all about, and why many websites went dark on 18 January. If you go, “Huh?” watch it anyway.

Yesterday

Afi and I were having lunch in the living room yesterday when we heard a bump followed by a cry. We raced into the bedroom. Omar fell off the bed. He is not comfortable in the Moses basket anymore so we have been letting him sleep on the bed, fenced with pillows. It was the first time he fell, and he was all right. After some consoling he went back to sleep.

Then, last night, Omar finished a whole banana, also for the first time. We plan to weigh him this Friday. He should be nearing 8kg now, full of character.

We have slowly started packing. So far we have packed three boxes full of books. Hopefully we have enough boxes for our stuff. Still, there will be a lot that we will simply give away or otherwise dispose of.

As we get closer to leaving, we cannot help talking about things we think we will miss. Little things like Kebab Kid and online shopping. We love shopping online, especially for grocery. I will definitely miss the latter. We will also miss not having to deal with flies, mosquitoes and cockroaches.

Still, overall, we cannot wait to go home.

Welcome, 2012.