My 5-day break

Today is my first day at work after a 5-day off (2 weekends + 3 days leave). It feels really good after a long break since I hadn't had one in a lo~ng time. So it feels really good~ Although I must admit it was quite a tiring break..but fun at the same time. Plus, I got to settle quite a lot of things that I had postponed for quite some time.

So, what did I do during my 5-day break?

Thursday - Had brunch at home (my mom made fried rice). Went to the bank to settle some things at about noon. Then headed to the office to take some documents to submit to JPA, but later realized that I left a document at home. Postponed it to Monday. Then headed straight to my bf's late-grandmother's place in Rembau. Bought some smoked fish to bring Rembau (in addition to a plastic bag full of rambutan picked from a tree at my house). Reached Rembau, helped here and there, ate dinner, helped around (again), then went to bed at around 1am.

Friday - Woke up early--very early--at about 430am. Accompanied my bf to pick his brother up from Seremban (he took a night bus from penang). The journey took 45 minutes one way! I was planning on sleeping on the way back, but since my bf was too sleepy, I had to stay awake to make sure he didn't fall asleep behind the wheel! Reached Rembau at 6am, my bf went back to sleep but I didn't, and took a shower instead (not fair! >.<). I mean, how could I go to sleep when my bf's mother was wide awake and busy preparing breakfast, right? So after shower I helped around before preparing to go to the town for the big event (my bf's eldest sister was getting married). I was able to watch the whole ceremony (videos and photos later). Then came back to the house and helped around with the preparation for the next-day reception. But ended up not helping a whole lot due to headache and fatigue. So, I rested a lot instead. Like my bf said, "You've already helped a lot..although you slept 40-50% of the time." huhuhu. Later in the day, I found out that it's that time of the month already, so that explained the fatigue. After helping with the goodie bag, my bf forced me to go to bed at 1230am, although I later found out the next day that other people went to bed at 3am+, and some at 5am. They must have been mad at me for going to bed early. Haha.

Saturday - The reception day--the busiest day. After taking a shower at around 7am, I helped around with the cooking and other preparations. By 11am, I was sweating a lot and decided to take a shower again before dressing up for the event, which started at 12pm. My fatigue was still there, so most of the time during the event, I was inside the house, resting and waiting for my parents to come. The groom arrived at about 130pm. I got to see the whole ceremony done the Negeri Sembilan way. It was my first time seeing it, and I was excited. I filmed part of the ceremony (will post later). Not too long after that, my parents arrived, and my bf and I ate our lunch with them. Got to introduce my parents to my bf's moms and relatives (yeay!). After my parents left, our friends arrived, and they left just before the event ended at 3pm. After the event, everyone was just sitting around and chatting while listening to whoever was brave enough to sing at the open-mic. My bf and his cousin sang a Negeri Sembilan song, and I filmed it (of course!). Although it's very temping to post the video here, I was already warned not to post it. Huhu. Anyway, the house was a disaster after the event. Trash and dirty dishes was everywhere. So we started cleaning at about 5pm+. I helped with the dishes, but after that I was too tired to do anything else. We managed to get most of the cleaning done by dinner, so that's good. And since everyone didn't get enough sleep the night before, the house was already quite by 10pm. However, me, my bf, and some of his cousins were watching the tv till 12am before going to bed.

Sunday - Woke up at 6am, but ended up falling asleep again on the couch until 7am. Took shower, packed, had breakfast, sat around and left home at about 1pm. Had lunch at 315pm and went back home before going out again to send my bf's brother to KL central (he had to go back to Penang). After sending him off, we went to the cinema to watch Night at the Museum 2, using the free tickets that I got for my birthday. It was a funny movie, but I guess I was too tired that I almost fall asleep when watching it. Huhu. After the movie, we headed straight home since it's already 1030pm.

Monday - Day off! Whee~! Woke up pretty late at around 9am. Left the house at around 11am. Change the engine oil on the way to Putrajaya. Had lunch at Alamanda while waiting for the office to open at 215pm. Since Alamanda is a mall, I ended up buying a hand cream for my bf (he didn't want it, of course, but I knew he needed one) and an eye cream for me (hopefully it works!). Handed in the documents to JPA, but ended up having to write letters to ask for permission to postpone the contract (Haish, lagi baik buat bodo. Skrg dah banyak keje). Then headed for Shah Alam to get my bf's watch and ring that he left at Rembau from his cousin. After that we headed to Gombak, before I decided to bring my sick kitten to see the vet. Drove around to find a vet and failed. After doing some search on the internet we found one which was cheap and quite close. So we headed there after bringing the kitten along. The kitten had to get an injection which costs me rm25 and he needed another one in 2 weeks time (owh duitku~). After dropping the kitten off at the house, we went to Jusco Setiawangsa for dinner, but the restaurant was closed. We tried a new restaurant instead and watched a real-life 'drama' of a couple. The girl didn't even look at the guy and they ended up not eating anything! I bet the guy had done something really bad. Hohoho. Anyway, after dinner we got something from the supermarket--insect repellent for the car, rat trap for my bf's place, hair gel for my bf, and a hot-patch (salonpas) for my bf's stiffed shoulders. Then we had a nice talk at our favorite eating place near our home before he sent me home..

Anyway, I feel really good that I was able to settle most of the things that I wanted to settle. I don't know why but I feel like wanting to take care of all the things that I kinda neglected all this while--my cats, the cars.. And now that I have settled most of the things on my list, I feel good~ (mcm motto ntv7 tak? hehe).

Now, these are the things that are still on the list:
1) make a new mykad
2) buy conditioner (I have been depending on hair-oil for quite some time now. huhu)
3) change Kancil's engine oil (Hopefully it's not dried up yet!)
4) Kancil needs a bath and a good polish!
5) bring my other cats to the vet too

Not so important:
1) buy new make up sample from lovingminerals. com (ade sape2 nak blanje? :D)

Can't wait for my next paycheck! >.<

too much in a day

It is only 1204pm and I have already discovered two '18sx' materials.

1) Fucking, Austria


2) Korean Penis Fish

Davis, my second home

I have been in Malaysia for almost 11 months now. Wow, I did not notice it at all.

It has been almost a year, but I still miss my second home, Davis, a small town in North California.

official logo of Davis (wikipedia)

Maybe for those who are used to living in the city would not like Davis the first time they go there. No malls, no tall buildings, lots of bicycles and not that many cars..the smell of cows..is that a nightmare or what?

cows eating

lembu-lembu kepanasan?

But no, Davis is actually a paradise. Or like I used to describe it--a fantasy town. A perfect world of their own, secluded from the brutal world outside. You know, kinda like Disneyland, but less extreme.

Davis is known to be as an environmental-friendly town, with recycle bins scattered everywhere, people use their bikes as the main transportation, and not that many street lights so that people can enjoy star-gazing at night. And during the spring time, there will be Whole Earth Festival on campus (open for the public, of course), which is fully environmental friendly. Electricity is generated by solar panels, and no plastics/non-biodegradable items are used.

You can find this everywhere

We used to have this in our apartment

This is located on campus

Crafts sold during Whole Earth Festival

Buy your food, pay deposit for the plates/cutleries/cups, and get it back after returning the dishes

Solar panel

A sign during the Whole Earth Festival. Notice the number of bikes

Being a university town, Davis is populated with mostly educated people from different walks of life. A small town full of educated people is really a very welcoming experience. We can express our opinion about sensitive topics and people are open about that. No one is a majority and everyone is so friendly. People at the grocery stores will ask us if we need help getting the stuffs to our car. The lady at the Asian Market asks about the scarfs that we wear. Once, a stranger on campus said hello to me even though I did not know him.

Also being a university town, UC Davis will organize Picnic Day during spring every year. It is like a open day for the university. Picnic Day is the largest event held on campus, and "is believed to be the largest student-run event in the US" (wikipedia). There will be parade, exhibitions, demonstrations, competitions, booths, and performances on this day. I would say it is the most-waited event every year. Students might also see their professors cow-milking on this day.

Parade on Picnic Day

Dog race (?) on Picnic Day

People always think that a small town usually has nothing. But think again. In Davis, we can plan on eating Thai food for dinner and change the plan at the very last minute to sushi buffet, since the restaurants are just 2-3 minutes apart by foot. Thai food, Chinese food, Mediterranean food, Italian food, Korean food, Japanese food--you name it, Davis has it (although I wish they have Malaysian and Indonesian restaurants in town). And do not worry about entertainment. There are three cinemas and a paintball field in this small town. There are also a bowling alley, and a game archade on campus. And we also have a large theatre hall called Mondavi Center. When there is a need for shopping, there is a GAP store and a Gottschalk about 5 minutes away by bike from the campus. And if you feel like browsing through a larger variety, Vacaville factory outlets is only 30 minutes away by car and Sacramento city is only 20 minutes away by car. No car? Not to worry. Buses are always there to serve you.

Fuji Chef - the most popular sushi buffet in town

University Mall

I used to stop here on my way back to my apartment

Owh, almost forgot about the Farmer's market. A market selling local products. Those cheeses, juicy oranges, strawberries.. And your visit to the Farmer's market on a Saturday morning will usually be welcomed by some live music. Such a peaceful and lively atmosphere.

Farmers Market..love the free samples. hehe

musicians performing at Farmers Market

Ahh~ I do not care what other people say. I just love Davis.

Owh, did I mention UCD still use those red double-decker buses from London? Yup, with the driver seat on the right.

Red double decker Unitrans bus. This is on campus

Owh, and did I mention about the Arboretum and the ducks? A LOT of ducks..

The main entrance to the UCD Arboretum

Part of Arboretum. (Arboretum is a long lake..this is the middle part of it)

Ducks at the arboretum, although sometimes they fly to the downtown area. Wait for the spring to come. You could see 'duck rape' almost everywhere. haha

Ahh..~ how I wish I could go back to Davis with my bf and walk the Arboretum with him...

(Most of the pictures are taken from DavisWiki. The logo is from Wikipedia)

Grad school application - APPROVED!

I got a text from a colleague this evening telling me to check my grad school application status online. So, I checked it right away, and it was approved. Yeay! Finally.

So I will be starting off my new life as a student again this July. July 3, 2009 to be exact. I will be doing Master of Science (Environmental Biotechnology) with thesis program under the Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences for 1-3 years.

Hmm..what do I need to do before the semester started? Register, pay the tuition fee (RM1600, urgh), and register for classes I suppose? I should better confirm about that soon.

Anyway, I am excited. Finally I have something to do. But when I think about the messy lab..I guess I am not that excited anymore. Huhuhu.

We seriously need a Lab Assistant, urgent.

Change and will power

"Just be yourself."

That is one of the common phrases that we usually hear people say. Or maybe one that we usually use. I know I use it a lot, for I believe that trying to be someone else would not make us happy.

However, no matter how much we need to be ourselves, there are always some things about ourselves that need to be changed. For example bad habits, shopaholics, etc.

I need to change something too. It's not a big thing, really, but I know it's not good, and so I want to change it.

So, what do I want to change about me?

Jeng jeng jeng...~! (suspense tak?)

I want to stop consuming coffee.

I am a coffee addict. I love coffee for its taste and its smell. And maybe sometimes for its effect on my appear-to-be-always-sleepy brain. The stronger the coffee, the better. Not too strong though; I cannot really take espresso shots. I love to sip a cup of coffee till its last drop. My favorite coffee is Starbucks low-fat Caramel Macchiato, but I also enjoy strong Nescafe and kopi Muar 434. Although I love coffee, I can only consume 1 cup of coffee per day since I cannot really tolerate its caffeine.

However, despite my love for coffee, I want to stop consuming it because it causes bad effects on me. Three bad effects, actually. One is, despite giving me instant caffeine boost after drinking it, I will start shaking and shivering once the effect goes away. It usually happens about 3-4 hours after drinking it. And following that (bad effect #2), I will feel very, very hungry. And if I consume more than a cup per day (bad effect #3), I will feel nausea. The same feeling also happens after a period of constant one-cup-per-day coffee consumption.

So, given the bad effects, I want to stop drinking coffee. Plus, I have read some articles somewhere saying that caffeine would make you fat (or at least, not helping in making you lose weight). Since I have fat genes in my genome, coffee is not helping in keeping the gene inactive. So, that's it. Byebye coffee.

But, no effort comes without challenges. Same goes with this. This morning I heard a coffee advertisement in the radio. Damn, didn't the advertisement describe coffee as something that is really good? Urgh~ I felt like having coffee right away. But no-no. I have made up my mind. I know I can do this. Byebye coffee.

The temptation reminded me of the movie The Confession of a Shopaholic. How the main character sees all the manneqiuns talk to her into buying all the clothes, shoes, accesories... And it also reminded me of the reality tv show The Biggest Loser. The contestants have to follow a strict diet while still having to see all the cakes, fried chicken, etc. everyday. Wow~ haven't we all fall for a temptation at least once in ourlives.. And when temptations are in front of our eyes, the only thing that could stop it is our will power. Will power, kick in! Wacchaa!

Anyway~~ I hope my will power is strong enough to fight the temptation. I can do this. I know I can. I have succeeded once; in 2003/04 I didn't had a single sip of coffee for a whole year. So I can do this!

Cheers for will power!

A new blog and Pushie

Pheewww~

There, six posts from my previous blog that i copied and pasted here. Those are the only six worth reading (or so I think) entries that I have written for the last five months. So, if you are lazy to go here, you can just read those.

Anyway, as I look at my profile name and description, I feel like I have just created a new name for me.

Fiza Pushie.

First name: Fiza.

Last name: Pushie.

Uuu..can I use that name in official forms and stuffs? Like, bank transactions, grad school application.. haha

Anyway, I was wondering if there is such name as Pushie. Like, if it is a real family name. Is there any other Pushies?

And so, I googled 'Pushie last name,' and found this.

O wow, I have family crest and all. Korang ade ke?? Hahahaha.

So, try google your name people! What do you find?

Tangkap khalwat

(written on May 14, 2009)

I just watched video on tangkapan khalwat and also read about it in a forum..

(Just in case you all wonder why I searched for those stuffs in the internet..it all started with a conversation I had with my friends during breakfast this morning..anyway~~)

Watching the video, uneasiness started crawling in my vein. Not really with the doers, but with the people catching these couples..who I assumed were from Jabatan Agama Islam, somewhere. I am not saying that it is okay for couples to do those things, especially in public, but the way they were caught and humiliated the couples after that is, I think, violating their rights.

These people who caught them, record a video of them doing whatever that they do, then ask them in a raised voice "Dah kawin?!" and still keep on recording the video--focusing on their faces and all. If they say it is for proving purposes, fine. But how did these videos end up on youtube? Plus, without blurring the faces whatsoever?

Firstly, I think recording a video is quite unnecessary, since even in Islam, 4 witnesses is enough to prove that they did what they did. However, some people say that the video is to strengthen the eye-witnesses say. Okay, fine. But it shouldn't be made public. It is humiliating. And it is not Islamic at all to humiliate someone in front of other people, what more to the whole world. Plus, sometimes the couples did nothing. Some couples were just sitting, with gap in between and not touching, and still got caught! Some people are not even Muslims, and they weren't even kissing or hugging! I mean, seriously..they were humiliated for no reason, and it's not cool to do that. However, some people say it is to remind other people not to do it. Okay, fine. But they could have blurred their faces first, before putting it on youtube, right?

Secondly, the way they ask is inappropriate (i think there's another word for it, but I cannot think of any). They raise their voice and asked, "dah kawin?!" They cannot be sure that those couples aren't married yet, can they? What if the couples are married? Free humiliation, again, to both the couples and them. And plus, the way they ask makes the couples startle, and thus the couples would answer to whatever that they ask. Okay, that's not really a big deal, but what if they were actually criminals pretending to be the people from Jabatan Agama Islam and asking for these couples' identity card? How can these couples be sure that they really are from JAI? My mom once said, even if a person dressed like a policeman comes to us and asks for our IC, asks for their police batch first. They could be criminals. Same goes to these people who claim that they are from JAI. So I think, instead, they could have introduced themselves (and show their staff card, if necessary) and asked politely, "kami dari blablabla, encik dah kawin?" so that if the couples are married, they can ask for kad nikah and apologize and go away without being humiliated, and if the couples are not, then they can proceed with the right procedure. Kata berbudi bahasa amalan kita, kan?

(owh, suddenly my chain-of-thoughts was distracted and I cannot find the other half!)

......

Anyway, most people commented that these couples should have gotten married and not be doing all those things in the first place. Basically, they blame the couples 100%. But I say it's not 100% the couples' fault. Again, I am not saying what they did was right, but, think again, how much does it cost to get married?(Thanks to our society, we need to invite everyone--satu kampung, 2,3,4 pupu--to our wedding, or else people will say things) How complicated it is to get married? (Also thanks to our society, the older sister needs to get married first, or the guy needs to support his family first, or they need to be engaged first for at least a year, or the hantaran cannot be too low or else people will say things). Although I agree that most probably most of these couples do not have the intention of marrying each other, but I believe at least some of them do, but due to these reasons, they cannot. Some people might argue that if the guy really wanted to marry the girl, he should've protected her and not be doing all those things to her, but I would say, they are just human. For someone to be wanting to marry someone else proves that there is attraction between them, and thus all these things happen. To err is human, and thus, not everyone is strong enough to keep the boundaries..

(okay, I've lost my chain-of-thoughts again..)

So anyway, I think, one way to reduce this social problem (other than strengthening the way religion is taught in class and at home) is by the society to not be too strict on the marriage and wedding process. If both the guy and the girl have met the requirements and they want to get married, the parents should just let them. Put the what-other-people-would-say thinking aside. It's better to get humiliated for not inviting everyone to the wedding, or for not having the highest hantaran than get humiliated for doing inappropriate things..but then again, the people who still have this kind of thinking are mostly from the older generations, who, will most probably, not be reading this entry.

ps: Some people said that sometimes these people who catch couples punch/hit the couples first (including the girls) before bringing them in for justice. I mean, hello?

pss: Someone in the forum wrote that he and his wife got caught a lot of times by these Jabatan Agama people. Then another person wrote that her husband got pissed and hit the person who caught them. That's hardcore. haha