Dua Sentral

We spent a night at Best Western Premier Dua Sentral recently.

It was very much a last minute decision. Our neighbours two doors down the street were having a wedding on Sunday. As is typical for a Malay wedding, rows of tents were erected on the street past our house gate. The neighbours also requested use of our porch. The tents would come up on Saturday. We didn’t like the idea of being holed up inside our own house while there’s a wedding going on, so decided to be somewhere else for the weekend.

The original plan was to flee to Afi’s parents’ house. The boys always love to see their grandparents, and their cousins were coming too. However, Afi needed a little time off so proposed that we stay overnight at a hotel instead.

Although the hotel was just thirty minutes away, we didn’t check in till about 4 p.m. We booked a one-bedroom Deluxe Room, again through Agoda.com, and was assigned one on the fifteenth floor. The room was impressively large with plenty of floor space for the boys to play around. It was stated both in the hotel website as well as its Agoda.com listing that there would be two queen-size beds. However, the beds we found were really doubles rather than proper queens. It was quite a let down, but we just wanted to have a good rest so didn’t bother complaining about it.

Afi had not been feeling well since Friday, so we decided to have our dinner at the hotel. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be the best dining experience. The menu was rather limited so we ordered a plate of fried rice and a “premier ½ roasted chicken”, which we were going to share between us and with the boys. When our order arrived, however, the half chicken turned out to be half a quail.

We were quite starved, and a plate of fried rice and one half of a quail were definitely not enough, so we ordered a piece of Oreo cheesecake. I actually went to the cake display and told the person manning the place that I wanted a piece of Oreo cheesecake while pointing at it. Unbelievably, a different cake arrived at our table later! When we asked, the server confirmed that it was a piece of Oreo cheesecake. We sat puzzled for two seconds before Afi stood up and went to the cake display. They later brought us a piece of Oreo cheesecake, the right one, and apologised for the mix up. The cake turned out dry and hard.

The buffet breakfast the next morning didn’t leave much of an impression as well.

However none of those prevented the boys from enjoying themselves, especially Omar. Almost as soon as we arrived on Saturday, he started asking for “Ayah’s robot”—a Lego Hero Factory Evo XL Machine. I only managed to assemble the toy late that evening though, so he could only play with it the next morning. As always whenever we stayed at a hotel, the boys had the best time soaking in the bathtub—a total of four times!

KL Bird Park

We have been planning to visit the KL Bird Park for quite some time. However, something always came up that made us postpone our trip: Imran catching a fever, the haze, school holidays, KJ’s Fit Malaysia, etc. Omar wanted to see ostriches, and merak (peacock), and bangau (stork). He actually asked to go to the zoo, but we have already visited the National Zoo last December. We thought we’d wait till Imran is a little bigger before taking the boys to the zoo again and see the pandas. Last Sunday morning, the sky was clear, nobody was sick, and nothing was going on at the city centre. So off we went to the KL Bird Park.

There were still plenty of parking spaces at the park entrance when we arrived, but the crowd was definitely building up. There seemed to be as many locals as were foreign tourists. There was also a group of kindergartners. The ticket price was RM25 for adults and RM12 for children below twelve. The ticketing staff asked how old the boys were and at first quoted RM62, but then had one look at Omar and declared that he could enter for free. I paid the RM50 with my credit card.

Entering the park felt almost like walking into another world with so many birds roaming around freely on the ground and in the sky. It reminded me of a scene from Jurassic Park, but with birds instead of dinosaurs. After all, aren’t birds supposed to have evolved from dinosaurs? It was feeding time, and the birds were flocking to the nearest feeding stations. Before long, Omar delightedly saw his first stock, followed by a peacock, wondering carelessly amongst the crowd. The birds were all over the place. Even Imran was excited, calling out, “Bird!”—one of the few words in his budding vocabulary. We let Omar hold a copy of the park map, which he put to good use immediately by telling us where he wanted to go and which bird he wanted to see next.

The bird park was very well designed and maintained. Overall it was simply beautiful, like being in the middle of a rainforest. We didn’t bring a stroller with us, but the wide tracks and facilities were definitely stroller and wheelchair friendly. The most impressive feature at the bird park must be the 10-metre high artificial waterfall. Just like in the rainforest, however, the rising temperature combined with the high humidity made it quite uncomfortable as the day wore on.

We paid RM35 to have our family photo taken with as many as six different parrots perched on our arms, lap and shoulders, before heading towards the amphitheatre for a 12.30 p.m. bird show. While thoroughly enjoying themselves, the boys finally declared that they were tired at the end of the 15-minute show. Omar asked to be carried to see the emus and ostriches, our last stop. We had lunch at the Hornbill Restaurant & Café at the park before leaving for home, while being watched by a pair of egrets.

The boys fell soundly asleep in the car soon after we strapped them in their seats. We all had a wonderful time. It was a very good weekend.

11 September 2013

… was the day I passed my DPhil viva, which happened to fall on the same day that most people around the world unite to remember another, tragic event.

Some people may think that it’s just another degree where you just follow some structured programme and finish at the end of it. In my case, it didn’t happen quite as smoothly as I wanted it to be. What does, right? Otherwise, perhaps, it wouldn’t have left such a huge impact on my way of thinking and learning. And guess what, the DPhil very likely may not be my last degree, HAHA!

This one degree I obtained from Oxford came with a big package, both in terms of personal (starting a family of four) and academic experiences (painful but ultimately completely worthwhile drilling and training by my supervisor). Indeed, I am so grateful and very much relieved now, and never once regret to have it done in 5+ years. It has really molded and transformed me to become a better person.

As an academic with a DPhil/PhD certificate, it’s not the material and worldly gain that I am after. If you want to earn a lot of money quickly, don’t ever enter academia. You will get frustrated, especially when you compare what your friends are earning in the private sector. While others have bought this and that property, travelled here and there, etc. we don’t even own a house yet!

Our approach to life is to go with the flow by keeping it simple yet satisfying at the same time. We try to keep our life flexible and not be burdened with a lot of debt. Most importantly, we want to enjoy the present moment Allah has given us. We savour every moment we spend with our children, and relish every opportunity we can sneak out for a date.

That’s why in preparing for life in the Hereafter, everyday, I try to always remind myself to focus in doing the best in preparing the three things that will help us there: beneficial knowledge, righteous offspring, and sincere charity. We may not be rich and able to give big donations, so we give our best effort in teaching and guiding our students, and raise our children to become our “pencen kubur” (quoting Prof. Muhaya).

© Gillman & Soame

I can say I am lucky, alhamdulillah, to be married to an academic, who understands so much about the pains and frustrations in the academic world. One to whom I can relate so much and at the same time count on to give constructive feedback and brilliant ideas to move on and never give up. I am lucky too to be surrounded by supportive parents and friends, who remind me that at the end of the day all the crap just don’t matter. And above all I know that it’s important to always remind myself to count all the blessings Allah has given me.

My DPhil is just the beginning of many good things that Allah will bless upon me and my family, insya-Allah. I know that tests and tribulations in life are inevitable. Insya-Allah, my Oxford experience has taught me so much that I have become a person with the required virtues and firm belief in facing what the world has yet to challenge.

In a book I read the other day, the author wrote that he reads the acknowledgments of any book with curiosity. I can relate to how the author must have felt, as I do the same too. I remember when I wrote the acknowledgments in my thesis, it wasn’t long before I realised tears welling up in my eyes. After thanking Simon and the examiners;

… I must admit that having a strong support group when you are doing your DPhil is really vital. To the administrative staff at Life Sciences Interface DTC, Department of Statistics, Wolfson College and Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, thank you so much for all the assistance. Indeed, I have learnt a lot when dealing with them. Not to forget, to the MMM (McVean-Myers-Marchini) group, my family and Oxford friends who had been very supportive, thank you too.

A special thanks to both my parents, for all the assistance and motivating words, for never giving up hope on me and most importantly, for the endless prayers and unconditional love. Finally, to my dearest Nazri, I couldn’t thank you enough for the sacrifice during the long process of working on this research and writing the thesis. I wish things will be much easier for your PhD and I am sure you will get it through too. To both my DPhil thesis babies, Omar and Imran, I dedicate this thesis to you and may this thesis inspire both of you to always be thirst for knowledge.

Whenever Omar sometimes says that he wants to go to Oxford, or that he misses Oxford, I tell him that I do too. Hopefully, he will do PPE there, ;) I pray that my children, and all our future generations will have the same love and thirst for knowledge as their ancestors (cannot help slipping some genetics language, HAHA!).

Wow, this post has really grown very long! I must stop. Remember everyone, to always count your blessings.

Once in a Lifetime

If anything, a DPhil graduation counts as a once in a lifetime event.

Afi received her leave to supplicate from the University of Oxford last December, which formally notified her of the successful completion of her DPhil. After that, the only thing left to do was to attend the graduation ceremony, either in person or in absentia. Obviously, she chose the former.

It meant so much to Afi to attend her DPhil graduation ceremony at the iconic Sheldonian Theatre. She left for Oxford in 2006, but whenever asked she’ll always quick to add that she only started on her research proper in 2008. Getting a PhD is tough, as everybody says, and it wasn’t easy for her as well. She made plenty of sacrifices, and shed a lot of tears, such that attending the graduation ceremony meant so much more than dressing up in a fancy robe and shaking the hand of the Vice Chancellor.

Now she has got her DPhil, along with all the honours, confidence and skills that come with it. She is also a wife and a mother of two. Omar was born in Oxford in July 2010 while Imran was born just days after she submitted her thesis in April last year. Her DPhil work was on genetics, after a master’s degree in medical imaging, and a bachelor’s degree in computers before that. Perhaps it would have been easier if she did all her degrees in the same field, though perhaps it wouldn’t be half as interesting.

The graduation ceremony, or degree ceremony as it is properly called at the University of Oxford, was held on Saturday, 2 August at 2.30 p.m. While the ceremony proper at the Sheldonian Theatre was only about 1.5 hours, there were also events held earlier in the day at her college, Wolfson College, making it really a whole day affair.

But before that, I have to write about the small scare Afi had with her DPhil robe. When she went to the shop to pick up her robe on Friday, the day before the ceremony, they couldn’t find her order. And the person with whom she corresponded with was away on vacation! Thankfully, they had one—an only one—of her size at the store, though of a different material to the one she ordered. It still needed to be altered, however, which they promised to do overnight.

So we went out to town the first thing Saturday morning to collect the robe before heading to Wolfson for the morning’s events. First, we had our pictures taken by an official photographer—one of Afi on her own, one of the four of us, and one of us four plus Afi’s Mak. It rained lightly that whole morning but the rain paused just for the few minutes when our pictures were taken. We then waited while Afi attended a small Signing of the Graces ceremony with the Dean of Degrees.

This was followed by a formal lunch hosted again by the Dean of Degrees representing the college President. We were treated to a nice and simple poached salmon and green beans dish (during which “someone” didn’t finish her greens!). Just as Prof. Sykes rose to deliver his speech towards the end of the meal, Imran started to become restless and agitated that I had to take him out of the hall.

After lunch we went straight to the Sheldonian Theatre for the degree ceremony. There was very limited parking at the city centre, so I dropped everybody off in front of the building on Broad Street before finding a place to the car near the Oxford University Club on Mansfield Road. When I arrived, Mak and the boys were the only people outside the Sheldonian Theatre. Afi had already joined the other graduands in preparation of the degree ceremony.

Considering our two young boys and Mak’s weak knees, we were allowed to sit at the ground level by the door while other guests occupy the upper gallery area. Magnificent pipe organ music filled the air inside the Sheldonian Theatre. We could see the graduands in their gowns sitting near the centre of the hall, but couldn’t make out where Afi was.

The ceremony started with the entry of the Vice Chancellor, who proceeded to give a speech. I thought that it was a very good and well delivered speech, even though it could be because he had given the same speech many times. Prof. Hamilton talked about the values, history and tradition of the university, and congratulated the graduands for their accomplishments. My favourite part of the speech was when he asked the guests to join him in giving the graduands a round of applause, and then asked the graduands to rise, look at their loved ones, and return the applause.

Prof. Hamilton also said that unlike the festive air at some other universities, it was long decided at Oxford that a solemn mood was best for the degree ceremony. I agree. That, and the fact the fact that the rest of the ceremony was conducted in Latin, added up to an almost mystical air. They could, however, make it even cooler by holding the degree ceremony at night in candlelight with everybody wearing a hood.

The University of Oxford degree ceremony was at the same time simpler and more complicated compared to other universities. It was simpler in the sense that the whole ceremony took less than 1.5 hours, yet more complicated in having that bit more ceremony involved, which you can read all about here. Basically, the names of the graduands were first read out. They were then presented to the Vice Chancellor and Proctors, who would “admit” them. The admitted graduands then left the hall before returning wearing the gowns of their new degrees. One by one, each new doctor shook the hand of the Vice Chancellor before taking a seat in a semi-circle behind the Vice Chancellor and Proctors.

Where we were seated, we could barely see Afi when she was presented and admitted, but she walked right past us when she exited the hall with a huge smile. We also had an excellent view of her shaking the Vice Chancellor’s hand afterwards. Amazingly, Imran slept soundly through the whole ceremony. After the ceremony we took some pictures around the Sheldonian Theatre. We would have liked to take some more, around Bodleian Library, Radcliffe Camera, etc. but the boys were already tired.

So we called it a day. A day unlike any other. As Omar would say, it was the day we saw Afi became a doctor.

Oxford 2014

So we returned to Oxford recently for Afi’s graduation.

The University of Oxford holds graduation ceremonies all the time that one basically needs only to decide when to have hers. Afi only booked her graduation date after she had completed her corrections early this year, but thankfully managed to secure a nice summer graduation date after Ramadan but before the semester starts at IIUM.

We only booked our Malaysia Airlines flight tickets in May, however, as Afi wanted to wait for a sale. Despite everything that has happened, I would like to state on record that I never feel any less safe travelling with the national carrier than any other airline. All four of us went, of course, plus Afi’s Mak. Afi would have loved for her Abah to come too, but unfortunately he was too frail to travel. We finally secured our accommodation in June; a weekly rental two-bedroom apartment so close to where we used to live in Summertown that we would use the same bus stops! Rounding up our travel preparations, the week before the trip we also bought travel insurance, booked a minibus to take us from Heathrow to Oxford, and a rental car for the graduation weekend.

We left for the UK on the third day of Raya. After last time when we were delayed to the airport by a huge traffic jam, we opted to travel to KLIA by KLIA Ekspres. Omar was really looking forward to fly, and was just as excited to be riding a train. He kept calling at us to have a look at all the things he saw along the way. Having checked in our luggage at the KL City Air Terminal at KL Sentral, we leisurely had our breakfast at the airport before proceeding to the departure gate.

The flight from KLIA to Heathrow was uneventful, making it a great one. When he was not sleeping, Omar kept himself occupied watching cartoons on the in-flight entertainment. Though he was restless, Imran behaved much better than we feared. We were greeted at Heathrow by Afi’s best friend, who came to see us at the airport because she was leaving for the US the next day and would not make it to the graduation. Though he was visibly tired from the long flight, Omar was still excited by the minibus ride to Oxford, recounting to us that we had travelled by train, Aerotrain, aeroplane, and now minibus. It was already 9 p.m. when we finally arrived at our apartment but being in summer there was still plenty of daylight.

The apartment on Hernes Road was lovely. It was warm, comfortable, and fully furnished to a high standard including an oven, a dishwasher and a washer-dryer in the kitchen. In fact, Omar’s first reaction when we entered the apartment was to comment that it was beautiful—“Wah, cantiknya rumah ni, Ayah!” We only used the dishwasher once or twice, though, but really made full use of the washer-dryer. Having a fully equipped kitchen also allowed Mak to cook as she wanted.

Apart from Afi’s graduation, we really didn’t do much of anything other than what we used to do when we were there before. Other than buying souvenirs for people back home, we didn’t do any touristy stuff at all. I still haven’t visited many of the famous Oxford landmarks and colleges I have always wanted to. There’s always next time, we keep saying. Rather, we spent the time meeting old friends and refreshing old memories. For the most part, we were just happy to enjoy the fresh clean air and the peace and quiet. Six days were just too short, but then again, there’s always next time.

“Omar rindu Oxford, Ayah!”

Love Is in the Air

My best friend just got hitched today! She is one of the people who left a special mark in my Oxford experience. No words can ever describe how happy I am for her, and I wish her all the best things in life for being such a wonderful person and a very dear friend to me. So I dedicate my all-time favorite song to her:

At the Beginning
as performed by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx, from Anastasia OST

We were strangers, starting out on a journey
Never dreaming, what we’d have to go through
Now here we are, I’m suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected, what you did to my heart
When I lost hope, you were there to remind me
This is the start

And life is a road that I wanna keep going
Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey
I’ll be there when the world stops turning
I’ll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

We were strangers, on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand, unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

Knew there was somebody, somewhere
A new love in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I’ve been waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart

In the end I want to be standing
At the beginning with you

She met her soul mate in a bit similar way to mine. So I can relate this song so much.

To you, Sayang, thank you for always being there for me and the kids. You’re the best father and husband that one could wish for, and I wish for the best things to happen for you too. I want to be with you now and forever until Jannah.

Too many things had happened since our last post, and we had just returned from a short yet memorable Oxford trip. I think I will let Sayang to share our experience (if time permits). Our work is mounting and awaiting, so stay tuned till the next post!

Oh, Selamat Hari Raya, everyone. Hopefully yours was a blast!

Omar is Three

Omar is three. He is now bigger, taller, stronger, and smarter than ever, and we couldn’t be prouder of him. And he has been a wonderful big brother to Imran.

Since Omar’s birthday this year falls within the fasting month, we decided to celebrate it a little early. Afi had actually asked him earlier if he would like a cake to celebrate with his friends at school. He said yes to the cake—a blue-coloured, chocolate cake—but no to the party. He would only eat the cake with Ayah, Ibu, and Adik. So instead, last week we took him to his first movie at a cinema. Since he liked the first movie, we decided to treat him to How to Train Your Dragon 2. To be honest, perhaps Afi and I were more excited about the movie than Omar was. We both loved the first Dragon.

So last week on Wednesday we gave Omar a day off from school. We already informed his teachers of the plan the day before. We still sent Imran to nursery, however, to which Omar later told us more than once throughout the day that he missed his little brother. Afi dressed him in his new “I Am 3” T-shirt she bought him last month, and Omar asked if he could bring along his new toy dinosaur.

We should have expected it, but stepping into the cinema hall Omar was frightened by the pitch-darkness and near-deafening loud sound. Rather than taking his seat, Omar insisted on sitting on my lap while clutching his dinosaur. He started to ease when the movie started, however, and went on to enjoy it right till the end. We all loved How to Train Your Dragon 2, which will definitely find its way into our Blu-ray collection.

We also took some pictures, including the one above, this time with our exciting new camera. Although both of our old cameras are working just fine, we recently decided that it was time to get a better one. After doing a bit of research, I decided to buy the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 compact camera. A compact camera because I want a camera that can easily fit into my pocket, and the large 1-inch sensor of the RX100 is great for taking pictures indoors without a flash.

Tanjung Karang

Last month, we took Omar and Imran to visit Ayah Long at Tanjung Karang. Ayah Long is Ayah’s half-brother. It was the first time we were visiting him as a family. Even Afi had never met Ayah Long in the four years we have been married. In fact, there is a lot of relatives on both sides we have yet to visit.

Since we will be missing much of the coming Raya holiday as well, I thought we should pay Ayah Long a visit before the fasting month begins. We offered to bring Mak and Ayah along, and invited Ami and Farhana to come as well. Apparently, Auni had never been to Tanjung Karang too. Then, Ajen decided that she wanted to join us, so in the end almost the whole family went.

We went in two cars. Mak and Ajen rode with us in the Freed while Ayah went with Ami and Farhana a little behind in the Swift. Ajen showed us how to take the Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor (LATAR) highway. Though I was rather looking forward to it, Afi was not keen on taking the winding, if relatively scenic, old road. The new highway took us to Kuala Selangor in virtually no time.

The town of Kuala Selangor has definitely changed a lot. I joked to Mak that since the town has practicably everything she should consider moving to Kuala Selangor. She was not amused.

We had to make a small detour when our “usual” KFC outlet were closed for renovations, so Ayah, Ami, and Farhana were already there when we arrived. Along the way, I promised Omar that he would get to see some fish in a small pool Ayah Long has in front of his house. Unfortunately, according to Ayah Long, most of his fish had been eaten by otters. However, Omar quickly warmed up to Ayah Long and sat on his lap while trying to catch a glimpse of the few remaining fish in hiding. He was also very excited when Ayah Long offered to pick some fresh passion fruits, though quite the opposite when it came to tasting them.

It would be great if we could spend more time at Kuala Selangor some day; maybe an overnight stay over a weekend to climb up Bukit Melawati to see the old fort, enjoy some seafood, and watch the famous fireflies.

PS: Click on picture for “full” size.

Telemarketer

My phone rang a few weeks ago. I didn’t recognize the number. I usually ignore calls from unrecognized numbers as nine times out of ten they are from telemarketers. Very rarely do I receive such calls, when I was caught off guard or when my curiosity got the better of me. I answered the phone. It was a telemarketer.

Good afternoon, may I speak to Mr Ahmad Nazri?
[Already regretting answering the phone] Speaking.
Oh, hello Mr Ahmad Nazri! My name is [missed it, don’t care], calling on behalf of [insurance company I have nothing to do with] in cooperation with [some other company I actually do business with] ...
What is this about?
We would like to offer you …
Not interested.
Would you at least let me explain it to you?
No, I am really not interested.
It will only take two minutes.
Instead of you spending your precious time explaining it to me, after which I will still say no, wouldn’t it better for both of us that we end this conversation now?
[Brief silence]
Would you provide me with contact numbers of your friends or relatives who might be interested in our product?
[Unbelievable!] No. Bye.

Yes, I could have just ended the call as soon as I realized it for what it was. However, as much as I hate getting calls from telemarketers I still think that it’s rude to just hang up on people. Besides, I don’t think anybody would dream of growing up to become a telemarketer.

I really hope that we introduce a do-not-call (DNC) registry here. It is a list of phone numbers, usually maintained by a government agency, telemarketers are not allowed to call. If you are like me, you can register your phone number into the list and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, it is not so straight forward.

Read more here.

Me Time

Now that the semester has ended I am so excited that I can have more me time, YEAY!

I can use the time to complete some analyses for my journal paper. This one has been a bit slow going ever since my thesis submission. Now wait no more, I have got some codes running so I need to wait a bit for some preliminary results.

I can also spend some me time to read books that have been waiting in line. Our monthly Kinokuniya visits have indeed produced piles of books in our house. Not that we mind the space that they have taken, we are actually struggling to find the time to read those books.

I need the me time to improve on my teaching skills and to prepare for the new subjects I am teaching next semester. I must admit I miss giving lectures to my students, but I really need the me time to improve on the course contents and assessments. Plus, I am starting to write into my teaching journal. *Excited!*

With Ramadan and the much anticipated graduation trip coming up soon, I am left with very limited time actually. Press panic button, no?!

Looking at the boys sleeping peacefully, here I am enjoying some of that me time.

Rebuild

My computer died on me recently. Well, sort of.

It started a few weeks ago. Afi actually was first to notice my laptop PC turning off randomly and told me. It then started to turn off soon after booting up, just as Windows was loading, such that it took several attempts before I could get the computer up and running every morning. I was extremely annoying, to say the least, and most frustrating when the computer just suddenly shut down without warning, without even the BSOD, in the middle of work.

The problem could be hardware or software related. Honestly I really couldn’t tell either way, but I decided to treat it as a software issue because, as I told Afi, a software problem was something I could do something about. Whether that something was for the better or for the worse was something else altogether. There was nothing I could do if the problem was with hardware.

The timing fitted the now infamous Windows 8.1 Update (KB 2919355). If your PC runs on this latest Microsoft OS and you don’t know what it is, consider yourself lucky. It was a cumulative set of updates Microsoft said you must install by 13 May or your computer will explode. Unfortunately, to a lot of people the update created a whole lot of problems. After spending I-don’t-know-how-many hours scouring the web and doing things some of which I wasn’t sure I should be doing on the computer, I believed that I had isolated the problem to a component update (KB 2959977). However, Windows would not recognize that (KB 2919355) was installed unless it was installed in full, including (KB 2959977). One solution, I decided, was to clean reinstall Windows 8.1.

The university is a member of DreamSpark Premium (formerly MSDN Academic Alliance), which provides all staff and students free access to most of the latest Microsoft software. The university must be paying a lot of money for this, but surprisingly few staff and students actually know and take advantage of the service. Anyway, it provided me with a free, licensed copy of Windows 8.1 Professional.

When I wanted to install the new OS from a USB stick, I was struck by an old problem. My previous attempt to install Ubuntu on the laptop messed up the boot. The computer ran, so I simply forgot about it. So now the computer wouldn’t boot from USB, and as far as I could tell, not from CD as well. Undeterred, further tinkering left the computer unable to boot at all. I was doomed.

Finally, after spending a day dwelling on it, I picked up the phone and called Dell tech support.

I never called before, so had no idea that it was so difficult to get through. The first time I on hold for a full thirty minutes before I gave up. So I looked up the number of the company that actually does the servicing for Dell and called them instead. Apparently, they only accept referrals from Dell. Thankfully, the person who answered gave me another number to call at Dell, which finally connected me with a technical support specialist.

After I gave her a quick narration, the specialist asked me to run hardware diagnostics on the computer. Almost towards the end of the tests, my computer shut down. She asked me to feel the bottom of the laptop. It was hot. She said that it could be a faulty motherboard and/or heat sink, which needed to be replaced. That definitely explained the random shut down.

However, my warranty expired last December. I was given the option of either extending my warranty or ordering the specific parts. She recommended that opt for the warranty extension, which was cheaper and gave me another year’s protection. I went for it.

So last Wednesday a technician came and replaced my laptop’s motherboard and heat sink and restored its operating system—the original Windows 8. My computer is working again. Since then I have upgraded the OS, installed the few missing drivers. I have yet to reinstall all of the old software and reconfigure all of the old favorite settings. Thankfully, I was able to download and reinstall Office 2013 from my Microsoft account. The rest are all open-source/freeware.

This latest episode costed me two weeks. It taught me some valuable lessons, though not all may be learned, LOL. Perhaps I should stop messing with things I don’t fully understand with the computer, but where is the fun in the that, right?

One Year

Imran turned one year old this week!

Our second hero started walking at ten months and has been making us chase after him around the house round the clock ever since. One moment he’ll be rearranging the shoes at the our rack by the front door, and the next he’ll dash to climb up the staircase or inspect the kitchen rubbish bin, while dropping by along the way to mess with whatever his big brother is doing. As long as he is awake Imran is always on the move.

At ten months he also grew his mandibular central incisors (or his two lower front teeth). He now has his maxillary central incisors coming out too. In comparison, Omar only started to walk and grew his teeth at about 13 months. Imran has not started talking yet—nothing intelligible that is—but we hope that he’ll grow to be as chatty as his big brother. He is definitely more adventurous, though and perhaps more contemplative as well. Nenek J calls him Mat Bubur, as he will only eat rice porridge for his meals. Afi used to make all sorts of purées for Omar, but Imran wants none of them. It’s always rice porridge for him.

We are very happy and proud of our two boys.

This week also marked the first anniversary of us receiving delivery of our car, our Freed. The car arrived just two days before Imran was born.

We survived without a car for one year after we returned from the UK. When we finally decided to buy a car, we talked over our requirements and considered our options. It has to be a car that both of us can drive safely and comfortably. Basically, we were looking for the the “smallest” car with the “largest” amount of space to serve and protect our family of four for the next ten years. Consequently, our shortlist consisted of compact and mini MPVs. The Honda Freed lied towards the higher end of the price range, but after we had a chance to have a look at it up close, we didn’t want any other car.

We like most its flat floor with walk-through cabin and automatic sliding doors. The second row captain seats provide Omar and Imran with their own personal spaces, and for now, convenient fitting of child safety seats. Only recently has Afi come to fully appreciate the virtues of leather seat covers when having young children. Since we have never turned it on yet, the boys have not realized that there is a DVD player on the roof. Most of the time, we keep the third row seats folded down for the storage space.

We have only driven the car 16,000km over the past year. After all, we live just about 5km from work and all our parents and relatives live in the Klang Valley. We are very happy with the Freed, and can imagine buying the same car again ten years down the line. The car is neither too big nor too small; just the right size for us. Too bad it doesn’t seem to be selling well in the country, though.

Panic Button

YEAY, the weekend’s here and I’m soon back in the arms of my two babies! My ideal plan for weekends is usually to cook delicious meals, take my children out to play, and spend more time playing and reading to them.

It’s 5.30 p.m. now on Friday and I’m supposed to pick up my children from nursery, but I am so not ready as work is still mounting. With so many deadlines that I need to abide by next Monday: a grant application, mid-term and quiz questions; so I am now pressing my panic button!

Sayang calmed me down and said, “Sayang, you are still settling in.” I answered, “URGH, why do I need longer time to do things nowadays?!” It feels like I have become less efficient. Like I am not planning things properly.

I secretly wish I had clones of myself: a clone to do academic work, a clone to do the cleaning, a clone to do the cooking, and... So what will my real self do? I will spend time with the kids :) HAR! HAR!

All right, I will not stress myself but will enjoy my time with the kids and Sayang. And I plan to find time to complete all the work above.

Enjoy your weekend!

Weekend in Kuala Lumpur

During the last Chinese New Year extended weekend, while most people fled the capital to go back to their hometowns, we spent a night at the city centre.

It was very much a last minute affair. The university was about to start a new semester on Monday, 3 February, but it felt like it was only days ago that the previous semester ended. A few days before the weekend, Afi suggested that we go for a short getaway, even if it was in the city centre. Indeed, we all needed a break, even the boys.

So we scoured the Internet for hotel deals. We looked for the nicest family friendly hotel with the biggest room with a separate bath tub at the cheapest price. We considered Port Dickson at first, but decided that we didn’t want to needlessly tire the boys with the travel. In the end, we booked a room at the Pacific Regency Hotel Suites through Agoda.com. We had friends from overseas who stayed at the hotel last year who praised its large rooms. The hotel sits right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur, opposite the entrance to KL Tower.

The idea was to take things easy. We figured we would take the boys to KL Tower for some sightseeing before checking in on Saturday and later drop by Suria KLCC for dinner and some window shopping. Omar likes fish and animals in general—his current favourites are buffalo, crocodile and tiger, all characters in Les’ Copaque’s Pada Zaman Dahulu—so the night before we bought cheap tickets for the Blue Coral Aquarium (at KL Tower) from Groupon. There were already many people at KL Tower when we arrived at around 1100 that the car park was practically full. However, not many people were visiting the small aquarium, so Omar got to enjoy watching his favourite clown fish and sharks in relative peace.

The bus loads of foreign tourists that arrived were herded straight up to the observation deck. Thankfully, taking the elevator ride 276 metres up was not in our plan. Afi has an aversion to heights and we didn’t think that the boys would appreciate the view. Instead, after the aquarium we had a very nice and quiet lunch at a Northern Indian restaurant at the tower. It reminded us of Rajasthan, our favourite Indian restaurant at Oxford.

When checking in at the hotel, we were delightfully told that we were given an upgrade. I didn’t catch exactly what the receptionist said, but only when we opened our room did we find out that we were given a 603-square foot Premier Suite. The room on the 22nd floor has a small fully equipped kitchen with induction cookers, large bathroom with separate rain shower and free-standing tub, and office area with a large desk and small two-seat table. Very soon, Omar and Imran fell asleep on the huge king-size bed.

After the boys had had their nap, we let them take a long bath in the tub. Imran really enjoyed sharing the tub with his big brother. It took some coercing to get Omar out of the tub afterwards before we could go have our dinner at Suria KLCC. When we returned, the boys had another long hot bath before they went to bed. We requested a cot for Imran, but as usual he didn’t sleep in it long before joining us in the warm bed.

We really had to will ourselves out of bed the next morning in order to catch an early breakfast. I saw people riding bicycles along Jalan Sultan Ismail when I looked out the window after fajr prayer—it was Cycling Day. The plan was to let the boys have their one last time in the tub before checking out. However, they both had a long nap after breakfast that there was only time in the end for a quick shower.

And that was the end of our weekend in Kuala Lumpur.

MacBook Air

We were in the market for a notebook computer. Afi needed a new one for work as her trusty Vaio expired recently due to age, wear, and ultimately a water spillage incident. It was quite horrifying, as we didn’t exactly have spare cash lying around to buy a new computer. Luckily, the University’s new IT policy allows staff to buy any computers of their choice and get reimbursed up to an amount of RM3,000.*

Afi wanted a reliable, lightweight, and highly mobile computer. Those were her most important requirements. She already has a desktop computer for heavy duty research work, so the notebook needed only to be powerful enough for browsing the web, doing class preparation, etc.—the usual office stuff. After a bit of research, we finally decided on a MacBook Air, specifically the 128GB 13-inch variant. The MacBook Air is really light, slim, and has a very long battery life, so Afi wouldn’t have to carry the charging cable with her everywhere. Adjusting to the Mac OS shouldn’t be a problem too. On her part, Afi had grown tired of dealing with efficiency, reliability and security issues in Windows.

Once we had made our decision, Afi was eager to buy the new computer as soon as possible. We visited the Apple Campus Experience Centre here at the University for information on Apple’s education pricing, etc. We could buy the 128GB 13-inch MacBook Air for RM3,149.00, RM150 less than the RM3,299.00 retail price. The University requires that we also take the 3-year AppleCare Protection Plan, which adds RM649 to the total price. However, by then we already knew that Apple was holding its annual sale on 10 January, so we decided to wait a few more days.

Red Friday

We logged into Apple’s online store as soon as it passed midnight on 10 January. The MacBook Air was offered at a RM301 discount, twice the amount of the education discount. We were delighted! Our excitement was dampened a bit when we thought that we would have to pay the full RM799 price for the AppleCare Protection Plan to go along with the computer, before we realized that we could buy it separately later at the previous education price. PHEW!

After placing our order and receiving the confirmation email, I went back to the Apple Online Store website to check the status of our order, out of habit. Surprisingly, our order was listed with a bigger discount. The electronic invoice that was issued later that day showed the same numbers. We thought that it must had been a bug, considered making an inquiry, but in the end decided to wait and see while hoping that it stuck. The computer arrived three days later. Only when the charge finally appeared in my credit card statement did we believe what had happened—bug or no bug we bought the MacBook Air with a RM781.94 discount!

YAY!

And we couldn’t help thinking with that much discount we could have bought a bigger model...

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