Or how I tried, failed and eventually gave up installing Ubuntu on my notebook.
An update, yes!
Ever since I installed Ubuntu on Afi’s desktop I had been meaning to do the same on my notebook. Now that my notebook is almost a year old and its warranty about to expire, I thought that it was as good a time as any to finally do it. Windows 8, and now Windows 8.1, is fine but every morning I still get annoyed at looking at Afi already reading and replying her emails on her Ubuntu desktop while I wait for Windows to load.
From the beginning, I knew that installing Ubuntu on my notebook would not be as straightforward as installing it on the desktop previously. The source of the complication is the new, “secure” way Windows 8 handles the way the computer starts. Making things more complicated, it also appears that different notebook manufacturers configure the system differently. I installed the conservative, “long-term support” Ubuntu 12.04 on Afi’s desktop but after some reading around, I decided to install the latest version 13.10 on the notebook. By choosing the latest release I was hoping that any hardware incompatibility issues to have been addressed.
True enough, installation was quite a breeze. I had Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu 13.10 on my notebook, YAY! However the next morning, the notebook while running Ubuntu would not connect to the university wireless network. It kept asking for my password again and again. The university IT people tried to help, but eventually simply told me that the network does not support Linux, or at least Ubuntu. I was very disappointed, as the very reason I installed Ubuntu was so that I could get online quicker. Now I couldn’t connect at all!
Turning online for a solution, I finally discovered that there was actually a known problem in the previous version 13.04 of Ubuntu, carried over to the latest version 13.10, when connecting to wireless networks as configured at the university. There are some workarounds suggested but none worked for me. My Ubuntu experiment had turned into a disaster. As a last resort, I even replaced Ubuntu 13.10 with 12.04 on the notebook, but then it failed to load at all.
I finally decided that the whole affair, which from the beginning was totally beyond my admittedly very limited technical comfort zone, was taking too much time I could not spare. So I deleted my Ubuntu partition, fixed the master boot record, and restored my Inspiron 7420 into a full Windows 8.1 machine.
Thus ended my Ubuntu experiment. For now. Perhaps later I will find the time to learn more about the whole thing and try it again, or even try a different Linux distribution.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Monday, November 04, 2013
More Chicken Pox
It’s official: October was chicken pox month!
Just as Afi was recovering, Omar started to show symptoms. He came home from day care two weeks ago vigorously scratching some spots on his neck. There were more spots on his body too. At the clinic, the locum doctor told us that evening that it was too early to tell if it was chicken pox. By the next day, however, it was unmistakable.
Perhaps due to the prescribed antiviral medication and his earlier vaccination, Omar’s chicken pox was really mild and mostly confined to the area around his neck. He didn’t show any sign of discomfort at all but thoroughly enjoyed his week-long home quarantine. Between his toys (jigsaw puzzles, Duplo bricks and figures) and favourite movie (Finding Nemo), he was fully occupied. Omar being Omar, I actually had to make him take his daily nap. The only drama was when he cried as I applied calamine lotion on his body after every shower. When asked, he said that he didn’t miss his friends but he did say that he missed his grandparents.
As the doctor predicted, the chicken pox was gone after only five days, but we kept Omar home for a whole week just to be safe.
Then, just as Omar recovered, we found spots on Imran’s chest and back. We were hoping that he would be protected from the disease by antibodies in Afi’s breast milk but evidently it wasn’t the case. Unlike Omar, Imran developed spots all over his body. Perhaps due to his lack of vaccination, the chicken pox certainly appeared more severe than Omar’s. The varicella vaccine is only offered to babies above twelve months old. Imran also showed signs of discomfort by being more clingy than usual, demanding more frequent feeds and having interrupted sleeps. It was heartbreaking for both of us, but there simply wasn’t much we could do than giving him his medication on time, applying calamine lotion, and praying for a speedy recovery.
Most of the time, though, Imran remained as active and curious as usual. He seemed most comfortable after his baths, which we gave him a few times a day. He began to feel better after the third day, and the chicken pox disappeared within a week.
So there it was, our three weeks with chicken pox.
Thankfully, I was spared. I had chicken pox before, so long ago I’m not even sure it was during primary or secondary school. We learned that it is actually more dangerous for those who have had chicken pox previously to be exposed again as adults to the varicella virus. The virus from the previous encounter could have remained dormant in sensory ganglia, only to reemerge as the more painful shingles.
The frustrating part in all this is when Afi told the staff at the nursery that Omar was not coming due to chicken pox, they laughed while saying that they had expected it. They saw that Omar was scratching on Friday and didn’t say anything to us when we picked him up. Even when some of his classmates were already absent from chicken pox since Thursday. And when Afi asked around, she found out that children had been going absent from chicken pox for about a month. They should have notified all parents the moment one child contracted the disease!
Get your children vaccinated. Get yourself vaccinated too if you have never had chicken pox before. Chicken pox vaccination is standard in some countries but not in Malaysia so you may have to pay for the vaccination yourself, but it will save you a lot of trouble.
Just as Afi was recovering, Omar started to show symptoms. He came home from day care two weeks ago vigorously scratching some spots on his neck. There were more spots on his body too. At the clinic, the locum doctor told us that evening that it was too early to tell if it was chicken pox. By the next day, however, it was unmistakable.
Perhaps due to the prescribed antiviral medication and his earlier vaccination, Omar’s chicken pox was really mild and mostly confined to the area around his neck. He didn’t show any sign of discomfort at all but thoroughly enjoyed his week-long home quarantine. Between his toys (jigsaw puzzles, Duplo bricks and figures) and favourite movie (Finding Nemo), he was fully occupied. Omar being Omar, I actually had to make him take his daily nap. The only drama was when he cried as I applied calamine lotion on his body after every shower. When asked, he said that he didn’t miss his friends but he did say that he missed his grandparents.
As the doctor predicted, the chicken pox was gone after only five days, but we kept Omar home for a whole week just to be safe.
Then, just as Omar recovered, we found spots on Imran’s chest and back. We were hoping that he would be protected from the disease by antibodies in Afi’s breast milk but evidently it wasn’t the case. Unlike Omar, Imran developed spots all over his body. Perhaps due to his lack of vaccination, the chicken pox certainly appeared more severe than Omar’s. The varicella vaccine is only offered to babies above twelve months old. Imran also showed signs of discomfort by being more clingy than usual, demanding more frequent feeds and having interrupted sleeps. It was heartbreaking for both of us, but there simply wasn’t much we could do than giving him his medication on time, applying calamine lotion, and praying for a speedy recovery.
Most of the time, though, Imran remained as active and curious as usual. He seemed most comfortable after his baths, which we gave him a few times a day. He began to feel better after the third day, and the chicken pox disappeared within a week.
So there it was, our three weeks with chicken pox.
Thankfully, I was spared. I had chicken pox before, so long ago I’m not even sure it was during primary or secondary school. We learned that it is actually more dangerous for those who have had chicken pox previously to be exposed again as adults to the varicella virus. The virus from the previous encounter could have remained dormant in sensory ganglia, only to reemerge as the more painful shingles.
The frustrating part in all this is when Afi told the staff at the nursery that Omar was not coming due to chicken pox, they laughed while saying that they had expected it. They saw that Omar was scratching on Friday and didn’t say anything to us when we picked him up. Even when some of his classmates were already absent from chicken pox since Thursday. And when Afi asked around, she found out that children had been going absent from chicken pox for about a month. They should have notified all parents the moment one child contracted the disease!
Get your children vaccinated. Get yourself vaccinated too if you have never had chicken pox before. Chicken pox vaccination is standard in some countries but not in Malaysia so you may have to pay for the vaccination yourself, but it will save you a lot of trouble.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Chicken Pox
And my two boys are still sleeping beautifully.
It’s only on rare occasions that they could sleep this long. I would say an hour is already a miracle to us, especially on a school-off day, when the only thing they could think of is to play, play, play!
I imagined today I will fast with Sayang. Fasting on 9 Zulhijjah is surely not to be missed. When millions of Muslims are preparing to perform their wuquf at Arafah, Allah also offers us to fast on this great day, only for our own benefit. However, to my great disappointment I cannot, as I am having chicken pox. Chicken pox! Surprisingly, I thank Allah and am so grateful for giving me this.
I was swamped by so much work that I at first thought I could manage, on top of finishing my corrections, which is the most important task at the moment. Apparently, I couldn’t, so early this week I broke down to Sayang and said, “I must do something. This won’t work.” My darling responded with his support, “You do what you think works for you.”
And you know, when you are in stress your immunity drops. I remember after Tuesday’s lecture, my spirit was at my lowest and I had a massive headache after dropping by my parents’. I took the next day off as I still had headaches and was not in a good enough shape to work.
True enough, I noticed some spots on my body that day. Sayang guessed that it might be chicken pox. We went to the clinic on Thursday to confirm. When we saw her, our GP smiled and confirmed it. She at first pitied us for not being able to celebrate our usual Raya but after telling her about of my situation, she could feel me and offered her sympathy. However, she advised us not to visit my father especially, as his immunity is also weak.
(I started writing this at around 1 p.m. this afternoon, and the boys woke up 15 minutes later.)
__________
So here I am, now feeling better having almost completed a 5-day, 5 times daily antiviral treatment. It seems that the spots have stopped spreading, but still I have to wait until they all completely dry out.
This is a sacrifice the four of us have to make, which is to stay indoor while people are enjoying good company, good food! Sayang plans to bring Omar along to Eid prayer, so hopefully it’ll be a memorable one for them tomorrow! Anyway, I am still thankful to Allah, for I always believe that with every hardship, there is a relief. Indeed, I feel a great relief, despite having to be quarantined.
Eid mubarak, everyone!
The picture above was taken during our first Aidiladha in Malaysia, last year. Imran was still small inside my tummy while Omar, wearing his first jubah given by his Pak Ngah, was feverish.
It’s only on rare occasions that they could sleep this long. I would say an hour is already a miracle to us, especially on a school-off day, when the only thing they could think of is to play, play, play!
I imagined today I will fast with Sayang. Fasting on 9 Zulhijjah is surely not to be missed. When millions of Muslims are preparing to perform their wuquf at Arafah, Allah also offers us to fast on this great day, only for our own benefit. However, to my great disappointment I cannot, as I am having chicken pox. Chicken pox! Surprisingly, I thank Allah and am so grateful for giving me this.
I was swamped by so much work that I at first thought I could manage, on top of finishing my corrections, which is the most important task at the moment. Apparently, I couldn’t, so early this week I broke down to Sayang and said, “I must do something. This won’t work.” My darling responded with his support, “You do what you think works for you.”
And you know, when you are in stress your immunity drops. I remember after Tuesday’s lecture, my spirit was at my lowest and I had a massive headache after dropping by my parents’. I took the next day off as I still had headaches and was not in a good enough shape to work.
True enough, I noticed some spots on my body that day. Sayang guessed that it might be chicken pox. We went to the clinic on Thursday to confirm. When we saw her, our GP smiled and confirmed it. She at first pitied us for not being able to celebrate our usual Raya but after telling her about of my situation, she could feel me and offered her sympathy. However, she advised us not to visit my father especially, as his immunity is also weak.
(I started writing this at around 1 p.m. this afternoon, and the boys woke up 15 minutes later.)
__________
So here I am, now feeling better having almost completed a 5-day, 5 times daily antiviral treatment. It seems that the spots have stopped spreading, but still I have to wait until they all completely dry out.
This is a sacrifice the four of us have to make, which is to stay indoor while people are enjoying good company, good food! Sayang plans to bring Omar along to Eid prayer, so hopefully it’ll be a memorable one for them tomorrow! Anyway, I am still thankful to Allah, for I always believe that with every hardship, there is a relief. Indeed, I feel a great relief, despite having to be quarantined.
Eid mubarak, everyone!
The picture above was taken during our first Aidiladha in Malaysia, last year. Imran was still small inside my tummy while Omar, wearing his first jubah given by his Pak Ngah, was feverish.
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
September
We totally missed September, but the blog is still here. Sometimes I do wonder if anyone actually reads what we put on this blog but then I remember that it doesn’t matter.
Of course, September was basically all about our trip to the UK for Afi’s viva. We flew on Malaysia Airlines, in one of those huge A380 super jumbos. Up close, I’ve always thought that airliners don’t look that big at all, even when it’s the largest in the world.
To say that our flight was uneventful would be a huge understatement. Travelling to the airport we were caught in a massive traffic jam due to a road accident which along with the poor weather, which very likely had role in the said accident, then contributed towards delaying our flight by more than an hour. We were already on board in our seats, so by the time the aeroplane taxied towards the runway for takeoff the boys were restless and wanted to be anywhere but in their seats. Or in the case of Imran, anywhere but on Afi’s lap. Thus began our 12-hour flight, with both boys screaming their lungs out.
Thankfully, things generally went well once we arrived. We took a bus to Oxford, and two friends picked us up at the Park & Ride and took us to where we were staying. Here, we would like to record our deepest appreciation to Nazri for hosting us the eleven days we were there. We had quite a few items on our to-do list while we were in Oxford, which we’re happy to say that we managed to tick most of them off. Omar had a really great time throughout, though he took his time to warm up to Pakcik Nazri and started to miss his friends and grandparents towards the end. Besides, he came home with six new jigsaw puzzles.
Most importantly, of course, was Afi’s DPhil viva on September 11. Alhamdulillah, it went well and she’s now working on her final corrections. She missed her celebratory dinner, though, as I had a really bad stomach ache that evening. Since she forgot to take pictures with her examiners in the morning, there goes that as well.
Our return flight was better. It was an evening flight which Omar slept through. Once back at home, it took us the whole of the next week to recover from the journey.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Changes
Changes are good, especially if it can elevate your iman and push you towards becoming a better person in all aspects.
Changes are required, especially when your life commitments are expanding.
Changes are essential, especially when you face challenges, and you need to make adjustments here and there.
Upon my return to work after a long period of study leave followed by maternity leave, quite a number of people I met said that I've changed. I am pretty sure what they meant was the physical aspect—Hey, I'm now a proud mother of two kids!
Yes, I admit I have changed a lot after all these years. In fact, I felt numb on the first day I returned to the department. I thought something must had been wrong that I almost felt like in the state of denial.
Thinking back, I don't deny that having nearly completed my DPhil studies and now in a family of four, I constantly need to change to meet the life challenges.
And ultimately, I hang on to the things that please Allah.
May Allah directs us to make the right decision at any situation and eases the path that leads us to Him. May Allah saves our soul from the things that deviate us from Him. May Allah helps us to change for the better.
Selamat Hari Raya everyone, God bless!
Changes are required, especially when your life commitments are expanding.
Changes are essential, especially when you face challenges, and you need to make adjustments here and there.
Upon my return to work after a long period of study leave followed by maternity leave, quite a number of people I met said that I've changed. I am pretty sure what they meant was the physical aspect—Hey, I'm now a proud mother of two kids!
Yes, I admit I have changed a lot after all these years. In fact, I felt numb on the first day I returned to the department. I thought something must had been wrong that I almost felt like in the state of denial.
Thinking back, I don't deny that having nearly completed my DPhil studies and now in a family of four, I constantly need to change to meet the life challenges.
And ultimately, I hang on to the things that please Allah.
May Allah directs us to make the right decision at any situation and eases the path that leads us to Him. May Allah saves our soul from the things that deviate us from Him. May Allah helps us to change for the better.
Selamat Hari Raya everyone, God bless!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
The Great Passports Misadventure
One weekend last month, we bought flight tickets for Afi’s viva in September. The whole family is going. However, Imran didn’t yet have a passport, Omar’s passport photo needed updating, and my passport expires in February, so we had to visit the immigration office.
We planned to visit the immigration office at UTC Kuala Lumpur/Pudu Sentral the next Monday. The last time I was at the old Puduraya could be 10-15 years ago. Omar was excited to go as he sang, “UTC... UTC...” from that advertisement on television. Imran was indifferent.
The night before our visit, Afi prepared the necessary documents while I looked up the directions as we don’t drive into the city very often. In the morning, we dropped by a local photo studio to have our pictures taken. The immigration department has implemented a new passport design with polycarbonate laser engraved biodata page, with new photo specifications. At the studio, the shop assistants confirmed that they knew of the new specifications when we asked. So we took our photographs against a white painted board.
With our heavily photoshopped photographs ready, we drove to UTC Kuala Lumpur. The main reason we decided to go there instead of the nearer Wangsa Maju immigration office at Setapak was for the indoor parking. Despite the cosmetic upgrades, the old Puduraya building’s low ceiling remained. There were even warning signs put up against high-roofed MPVs and SUVs. Thankfully, our car barely passed through.
We parked on the third floor, and took an elevator ride one level down to the immigration office on the second floor. When asking for our queue number, however, we were told that we could not update Omar’s passport photo at the office. “Anywhere else but here,” said the officer at the counter. Up to that point, our day was almost perfect.
So we sat down to discuss our next move while Omar had a drink of water. Our immediate options were Jalan Duta or Setapak, and at that point we were indifferent between the two. Neither of us had been to the Jalan Duta office, but since it was on our way home we decided to drive there next. Suffice to say that we realized that it was a mistake when we saw the endless line of cars parked along the roadside around the Jalan Duta government office complex. We drove straight past heading towards Setapak.
Previously in April, Afi had her passport renewed there at the Wangsa Maju immigration office. Since the Wisma Rampai building houses the immigration and national registration offices next to one another, we had to circle a few times to find an empty parking spot. Thankfully, that Monday we found a spot immediately.
When we walked into the immigration office, we were told that we needed pictures with blue background for Omar. They also asked for his birth certificate, even though it was just for a picture update. So, I took Omar to one of the nearby mini photo studios. He was not in the mood to pose for a photo and needed quite some time to persuade, but eventually did manage to get his picture taken. However, when I reached into our bag to photocopy his birth certificate (or really his registration of birth Form W), I found that Afi had mistakenly put the wrong file into the bag and left Omar’s file at home.
So we’d need to do Omar’s passport the next day.
Back at the immigration office, the officer at the counter asked where we took our photos—the ones with white background. “Why?” I asked. Holding them against a clear plastic template, she showed me that they were not to specifications. Our faces were too big. It was really frustrating, especially since we were just back from having Omar’s picture taken. But none of the pictures were usable, so off we went to have our photos taken, again. Finally afterwards, we were able to apply for my and Imran’s passports. The passports would be ready in one hour or so, but since we were all already tired and were coming again tomorrow anyway for Omar’s passport, we decided not to wait.
On the way home, we dropped by the first photo studio that gave us the rejected photos to ask for a refund. They refused to acknowledge their mistake, claiming that nobody ever complained before. Dehydrated and tired, I was definitely not in the mood to be nice, so after shouting first at the shop assistants and then again over the phone at the shop owner, I finally got our money back.
On Tuesday, we went again to get Omar’s passport photo updated. The immigration office looked significantly less busy than it was on Monday. Apart from his birth registration document submitted along with the application form, the officer actually asked to see Omar in person. There was no payment required. We then drove to Alpha Angle so Omar could have his lunch while his passport was processed, before returning after lunchtime to collect all our passports.
YAY!
Not yet, unfortunately.
Later that evening, Afi noticed a mistake on Imran’s passport while admiring its cuteness. My name was spelled with an extra A. It was such a critical mistake that none of us noticed earlier. I just couldn’t believe that I’d have to visit the immigration office yet again. Early the next morning I called the immigration office to ask, among other things, if we would have to bring Imran in again. Thankfully we didn’t have to, so that Wednesday morning, I went to the immigration office at Wisma Rampai again where Imran was issued a new, new passport.
Finally, we were truly done.
We planned to visit the immigration office at UTC Kuala Lumpur/Pudu Sentral the next Monday. The last time I was at the old Puduraya could be 10-15 years ago. Omar was excited to go as he sang, “UTC... UTC...” from that advertisement on television. Imran was indifferent.
The night before our visit, Afi prepared the necessary documents while I looked up the directions as we don’t drive into the city very often. In the morning, we dropped by a local photo studio to have our pictures taken. The immigration department has implemented a new passport design with polycarbonate laser engraved biodata page, with new photo specifications. At the studio, the shop assistants confirmed that they knew of the new specifications when we asked. So we took our photographs against a white painted board.
With our heavily photoshopped photographs ready, we drove to UTC Kuala Lumpur. The main reason we decided to go there instead of the nearer Wangsa Maju immigration office at Setapak was for the indoor parking. Despite the cosmetic upgrades, the old Puduraya building’s low ceiling remained. There were even warning signs put up against high-roofed MPVs and SUVs. Thankfully, our car barely passed through.
We parked on the third floor, and took an elevator ride one level down to the immigration office on the second floor. When asking for our queue number, however, we were told that we could not update Omar’s passport photo at the office. “Anywhere else but here,” said the officer at the counter. Up to that point, our day was almost perfect.
So we sat down to discuss our next move while Omar had a drink of water. Our immediate options were Jalan Duta or Setapak, and at that point we were indifferent between the two. Neither of us had been to the Jalan Duta office, but since it was on our way home we decided to drive there next. Suffice to say that we realized that it was a mistake when we saw the endless line of cars parked along the roadside around the Jalan Duta government office complex. We drove straight past heading towards Setapak.
Previously in April, Afi had her passport renewed there at the Wangsa Maju immigration office. Since the Wisma Rampai building houses the immigration and national registration offices next to one another, we had to circle a few times to find an empty parking spot. Thankfully, that Monday we found a spot immediately.
When we walked into the immigration office, we were told that we needed pictures with blue background for Omar. They also asked for his birth certificate, even though it was just for a picture update. So, I took Omar to one of the nearby mini photo studios. He was not in the mood to pose for a photo and needed quite some time to persuade, but eventually did manage to get his picture taken. However, when I reached into our bag to photocopy his birth certificate (or really his registration of birth Form W), I found that Afi had mistakenly put the wrong file into the bag and left Omar’s file at home.
So we’d need to do Omar’s passport the next day.
Back at the immigration office, the officer at the counter asked where we took our photos—the ones with white background. “Why?” I asked. Holding them against a clear plastic template, she showed me that they were not to specifications. Our faces were too big. It was really frustrating, especially since we were just back from having Omar’s picture taken. But none of the pictures were usable, so off we went to have our photos taken, again. Finally afterwards, we were able to apply for my and Imran’s passports. The passports would be ready in one hour or so, but since we were all already tired and were coming again tomorrow anyway for Omar’s passport, we decided not to wait.
On the way home, we dropped by the first photo studio that gave us the rejected photos to ask for a refund. They refused to acknowledge their mistake, claiming that nobody ever complained before. Dehydrated and tired, I was definitely not in the mood to be nice, so after shouting first at the shop assistants and then again over the phone at the shop owner, I finally got our money back.
On Tuesday, we went again to get Omar’s passport photo updated. The immigration office looked significantly less busy than it was on Monday. Apart from his birth registration document submitted along with the application form, the officer actually asked to see Omar in person. There was no payment required. We then drove to Alpha Angle so Omar could have his lunch while his passport was processed, before returning after lunchtime to collect all our passports.
YAY!
Not yet, unfortunately.
Later that evening, Afi noticed a mistake on Imran’s passport while admiring its cuteness. My name was spelled with an extra A. It was such a critical mistake that none of us noticed earlier. I just couldn’t believe that I’d have to visit the immigration office yet again. Early the next morning I called the immigration office to ask, among other things, if we would have to bring Imran in again. Thankfully we didn’t have to, so that Wednesday morning, I went to the immigration office at Wisma Rampai again where Imran was issued a new, new passport.
Finally, we were truly done.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Our New Hero, Part 2
Meet Imran.
Since early on the doctors were concerned about the weight/size of the fetus for normal delivery. We were told that it was lucky that Omar was delivered normally. Omar tipped the scales at 3.63kg at birth. The obstetrician then set a fetal size target of 3.4kg and asked Afi to watch her diet.
We went to see the obstetrician on the expected due date, April 22. Afi did not feel a thing, but the CTG showed two contractions over 30 minutes. Bearing in mind that the baby was already at full term (and will only grow bigger) and Omar was 11 days late, we proceeded with an induction the next day as recommended by the obstetrician.
Our new hero was delivered safely at 0437 MST on April 24. Imran weighed 3.35kg at birth.
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Special Wishes
To my darling,
Happy Birthday Sayang. Thank you for keeping me sane, when the world drives me crazy. I pray to Allah to reward you with His Protection and The Best Gifts in this life and in the Hereafter. Looking forward to celebrating it with you soon!
Happy Birthday Sayang. Thank you for keeping me sane, when the world drives me crazy. I pray to Allah to reward you with His Protection and The Best Gifts in this life and in the Hereafter. Looking forward to celebrating it with you soon!
You are the love of my life, I knew it right from the start
The moment I looked at you, you found a place in my heart
You are the love of my life, you give me reason to live
You taught me how to be strong, with you is where I belong
No one's ever touched me, quite the way you've touched me
People search a lifetime to find what we have
You are the love of my life, one thing that's good in this life
I'll spend the rest of my days just loving you
You are the love of my life, the heart and soul of my life
Once I was lost and alone, with you, at last, I am home
You give me so much of you and leave me room to be free
No one's ever touched me, quite the way you've touched me
People search a lifetime to find what we have
You are the love of my life, one thing that's good in this life
And in a world full of change, one thing I'm sure of
You are the love of my life
One thing that makes sense in this life
I'll spend the rest of my days just loving you
You are the love of my life and I thank God I'm alive
To spend my lifetime with you, you are the love of my life
xox
Your wife
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Format
So here’s a pet peeve of mine: date display format.
Since early on using the computer I have started using the YYYY-MM-DD format to display dates, and especially on file names. It is particularly useful when organizing my photo collection. I never knew of the ISO 8601 standard. As files by default are sorted by file name, I figured this way the files will always be displayed in chronological order. Telling the computer to sort the files by date doesn’t always work.
Basically, it is one of those small things that make your life easier.
Most people I know [... EHEM], however, use DD-MM-YY. While arguably more “natural”, it is confusing when you open a folder and the files are all over the place. So you have to go through each file one by one to find the one you are looking for. Worse, some people don’t even have a consistent way of displaying dates and naming files, and don’t even know how to use CTRL-F!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Poster Size
I keep finding myself having to search for poster and print size measurements so I’m posting it here for future reference.
There are a few 20×30-inch posters I want to frame and mount, plus some other prints, but finding the right frames have been very difficult so far. Previously, I sent a poster to a professional frame shop. The result was great but the price was quite expensive, especially as I chose to use non-reflective glass. The glass also made the frame heavy.
So now I am looking for something made of plastic. I like the trade standard Flexiframe range by Mark Bric, but I haven’t seen them sold in a shop. Most likely then, I will buy either the RIBBA or STRÖMBY frames from IKEA. Their sizes (about 70×100cm) will be larger than I need but at least I can buy them conveniently.
There are a few 20×30-inch posters I want to frame and mount, plus some other prints, but finding the right frames have been very difficult so far. Previously, I sent a poster to a professional frame shop. The result was great but the price was quite expensive, especially as I chose to use non-reflective glass. The glass also made the frame heavy.
So now I am looking for something made of plastic. I like the trade standard Flexiframe range by Mark Bric, but I haven’t seen them sold in a shop. Most likely then, I will buy either the RIBBA or STRÖMBY frames from IKEA. Their sizes (about 70×100cm) will be larger than I need but at least I can buy them conveniently.
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Social Network
A few months ago Afi and I deleted our joint Facebook (FB) account.
I don’t remember when exactly I opened my old personal FB account, but it was when you still needed a valid US college email address to do so. I never signed up on a social network before so it was really fun reconnecting with old friends, some really long lost, as the network grew. Most people were then on Myspace, or Friendster. My, I had completely forgotten about Friendster. I did give one of the other sites (was it Friendster?) a brief look but found that it was a mess. Anyway, FB was the real deal. It did what it was supposed to do, there were less junk and the website had a clean design. Afi and I also first got in touch via FB.
A lot has changed since. FB is now the biggest social networking site around, while our lives have grown busier with both study/work and a growing family. We found that we have no time for going through the endless stream of status updates, etc., let alone post our own updates and respond to comments and messages. Any free time we have we would rather spend playing with Omar or catching up on our favorite shows or on our reading. We have a lot of books to read, and have many more on our wishlist.
Earlier on we have also decided to as much as possible keep our private lives out of FB. People tend to forget to use their brains when they are using the computer and on the Internet. So we have emails, blog posts, status updates, comments and tweets better kept in the privacy of people’s heads, that we would rather not read or see. We want none of those.
We started to log into FB less and less. The less we log into FB, the less valuable it became to us. We realized that we could easily do without the near real time updates. Good friends and relatives we can always stay in touch with by other means. So we both closed our personal accounts and opened a joint account at first, before eventually deciding to do away with FB completely.
So now we don’t have a FB account. It is actually quite liberating. No longer we have to resist the urge to check the latest updates every now and then. I can honestly say that I am happier without it.
The annoying bit though, when I attended the briefing for incoming postgraduate students early last semester, we were told to watch for announcements and notices posted on the postgraduate unit’s FB page. Great!
Friday, January 04, 2013
2012, 2013
It’s 2013, happy new year!
2012 was the year we returned home. Afi had not yet finished her work but as our visas were expiring and we were running out of money there simply was no other option. We touched down on Malaysian soil on 9 February, and it was great to be home.
After taking the rest of the month reacclimatizing and getting things in order, I went back to work in March. We discovered that the university wouldn’t allow Afi to return to work before she submits her thesis. Thankfully, Omar found a place at the university childcare centre pretty quickly—Afi had put him on the waiting list since September—so Afi could work on her thesis full-time at home (or in my office at work).
We moved into a house in Sri Gombak. It’s small but we really like the location. Everything we may need is close by and the university is just a stone’s throw away. Aside from the master bedroom, we use one of the other rooms as a study and the other a store. As we wanted to settle down quickly so Afi could get on with her work, we filled the house with furniture from IKEA. We bought everything from IKEA because it is a one-stop shop and we could get all the information we needed from its online catalogue. Indeed, we started planning our purchase from before we returned.
We bought our electricals from my mother-in-law’s favorite local shop and got UniFi installed before we moved in so we’d have Internet access right away. Afi’s parents bought us a new LCD TV as a housewarming gift. It has a very useful USB port that we like very much, and connected to UniFi’s HyppTV means we don’t need to install an antenna or subscribe to Astro.
Just before we returned we ordered a powerful new desktop PC Afi would use for her work, and it was waiting for us when we arrived. It came preinstalled with Windows 7 but I installed Ubuntu alongside so she could run her usual programs. Later in April, we also bought a Galaxy Tab 10.1 for getting online and reading papers when we are not in the study. Finally, last month I bought a new notebook PC as my old 4-year old one was growingly showing worrying signs of age. So there are now five computers in the house. I still use the old notebook for P2P downloading, and am thinking of giving it a fresh Ubuntu or Windows 8 install. We’ll see how it goes.
Perhaps best of all is watching Omar grows. After seven months with just the three of us he had no problem at all adjusting the sudden introduction of relatives, teachers and friends. Now at eighteen months he’s grown more assertive of his preferences and more confident of his growing abilities. He knows exactly what he wants to eat (and where we keep or hide it), and wants to walk on his own when we are out at the malls.
Our living room wall is bare no more!
2013, Afi is submitting her thesis very soon while I will continue with my Ph.D programme. Meanwhile, we’ll keep on making improvements around the house: reorganizing the study, shelves for the storeroom, TROFAST for Omar’s toys, etc. When Afi returns to work we’ll also get to save towards buying a car. Most excitingly though, we will soon welcome a new member into the family.
This year will be a great one!
2012 was the year we returned home. Afi had not yet finished her work but as our visas were expiring and we were running out of money there simply was no other option. We touched down on Malaysian soil on 9 February, and it was great to be home.
After taking the rest of the month reacclimatizing and getting things in order, I went back to work in March. We discovered that the university wouldn’t allow Afi to return to work before she submits her thesis. Thankfully, Omar found a place at the university childcare centre pretty quickly—Afi had put him on the waiting list since September—so Afi could work on her thesis full-time at home (or in my office at work).
We moved into a house in Sri Gombak. It’s small but we really like the location. Everything we may need is close by and the university is just a stone’s throw away. Aside from the master bedroom, we use one of the other rooms as a study and the other a store. As we wanted to settle down quickly so Afi could get on with her work, we filled the house with furniture from IKEA. We bought everything from IKEA because it is a one-stop shop and we could get all the information we needed from its online catalogue. Indeed, we started planning our purchase from before we returned.
We bought our electricals from my mother-in-law’s favorite local shop and got UniFi installed before we moved in so we’d have Internet access right away. Afi’s parents bought us a new LCD TV as a housewarming gift. It has a very useful USB port that we like very much, and connected to UniFi’s HyppTV means we don’t need to install an antenna or subscribe to Astro.
Just before we returned we ordered a powerful new desktop PC Afi would use for her work, and it was waiting for us when we arrived. It came preinstalled with Windows 7 but I installed Ubuntu alongside so she could run her usual programs. Later in April, we also bought a Galaxy Tab 10.1 for getting online and reading papers when we are not in the study. Finally, last month I bought a new notebook PC as my old 4-year old one was growingly showing worrying signs of age. So there are now five computers in the house. I still use the old notebook for P2P downloading, and am thinking of giving it a fresh Ubuntu or Windows 8 install. We’ll see how it goes.
Perhaps best of all is watching Omar grows. After seven months with just the three of us he had no problem at all adjusting the sudden introduction of relatives, teachers and friends. Now at eighteen months he’s grown more assertive of his preferences and more confident of his growing abilities. He knows exactly what he wants to eat (and where we keep or hide it), and wants to walk on his own when we are out at the malls.
Our living room wall is bare no more!
2013, Afi is submitting her thesis very soon while I will continue with my Ph.D programme. Meanwhile, we’ll keep on making improvements around the house: reorganizing the study, shelves for the storeroom, TROFAST for Omar’s toys, etc. When Afi returns to work we’ll also get to save towards buying a car. Most excitingly though, we will soon welcome a new member into the family.
This year will be a great one!
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Another New Year
Today marks another new year. With so many things happening in the year 2012, I am looking forward to a more productive and memorable year ahead, insha-Allah.
About two weeks ago, we had a short vacation in Putrajaya just to accommodate our plan to attend my close friend’s wedding in Kajang. We stayed at the Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside, taking advantage of its 2D1N Family Escapade offer. The three of us really enjoyed it and can’t wait planning for our next holiday.
Omar is only almost 18 months old now, but he has already started acting like an adult. He likes to imitate what we are saying and always wants to be part of whatever we are doing. Watching him grow with his own great personality makes every day of my motherhood worth it. I am sure he’ll be a great abang soon. Oh, did I just say abang? Alhamdulillah, in 4 months’ time, insha-Allah I will become a mother of two. Besides having to ‘burn the midnight oil’, I am doing my best to prepare for the arrival of our second child, physically and mentally.
Pregnancy-wise it has been smooth sailing, alhamdulillah. Most of the time I prefer fish over chicken and prefer curry over any other type of dishes. Am missing coffee, at times. Haven’t gained that much weight compared to when I was with Omar—well, I am trying my best not to—but anyhow I am looking forward to the post-pregnancy fat burning activities lining up ;).
Thesis-wise it has been great too, alhamdulillah. Submission is happening soon, insha-Allah, and hopefully I can quickly move on to the next phase which is to be a full time working mom! Surely life will be even more hectic but hey, life is not a bed of roses!
Here’s to another new year!
About two weeks ago, we had a short vacation in Putrajaya just to accommodate our plan to attend my close friend’s wedding in Kajang. We stayed at the Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside, taking advantage of its 2D1N Family Escapade offer. The three of us really enjoyed it and can’t wait planning for our next holiday.
Omar is only almost 18 months old now, but he has already started acting like an adult. He likes to imitate what we are saying and always wants to be part of whatever we are doing. Watching him grow with his own great personality makes every day of my motherhood worth it. I am sure he’ll be a great abang soon. Oh, did I just say abang? Alhamdulillah, in 4 months’ time, insha-Allah I will become a mother of two. Besides having to ‘burn the midnight oil’, I am doing my best to prepare for the arrival of our second child, physically and mentally.
Pregnancy-wise it has been smooth sailing, alhamdulillah. Most of the time I prefer fish over chicken and prefer curry over any other type of dishes. Am missing coffee, at times. Haven’t gained that much weight compared to when I was with Omar—well, I am trying my best not to—but anyhow I am looking forward to the post-pregnancy fat burning activities lining up ;).
Thesis-wise it has been great too, alhamdulillah. Submission is happening soon, insha-Allah, and hopefully I can quickly move on to the next phase which is to be a full time working mom! Surely life will be even more hectic but hey, life is not a bed of roses!
Here’s to another new year!
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