A Right Move?.......Perhaps

Well, I guessed I have a little time today and decided to visit my own blog which has been neglected for quite some time. Yes, as per my last entry, I am now in Dundee slaving myself with classes, books & lectures - perhaps it's a good way to re-start a new beginning (Well,if it's true that Life begins at 40, then I guessed I've made the right move ???)

Anyway, we arrived Dundee after quite an "adventurous" journey. Our journey started very early - I woke up at 3.00 a.m. worried if I missed the 5.45 a.m. hired-car which we have booked while we're still in Shah Alam. I packed and re-packed everything to fit our 2 hold-alls, 1 knapsack and 2 sling bags - we're flying to Glasgow Prestwick with Ryanair and the carrier has a strict policy of luggage allowance - each passenger can carry three luggages for check-in but the weight of all three must not be more than 15kg. So, though we have only three "luggages" but they are heavy as they carried some papers and documents I have collected for my dissertation. So, you can imagine how I worked out the formula in order not to be charged with extra weight... until finally I gave up and decided to just pay for whatever the excess going to be.

Our hired-car arrived at 6.00 a.m. and after asking us if we have everything in including the children, whisked us off to Stanstead Airport. And of course! As I predicted we were "Overweight" and though I've made up my mind to pay, I was not prepared when the total excess was 7kg which cost us £105. But, somehow the guy at the counter kindly told me in a whisper he'll only charge me £90. Well, OK. After paying my penalty, we were given our boarding passes. And we relaxed a little and trying to enjoy the flight.

Now, when we reached Prestwick, we found out that the Buchanan Bus Station where the Bus which will bring us to Dundee is located, is in the city of Glasgow - and that's about 40 minutes by bus or 30 minutes by train. So, we made our way to the train station after buying some snacks - actually it was quite embarrassing when your children kept on coming to you with different snack at a time asking "Is this halal, Ibu?".


And guess what? The train which supposed to bring us to Glasgow City Centre did not turn up on time. So, we missed the bus that will take us to Dundee Seagate Bus Station. We ended paying another £47 for new tickets. The one that we missed cost us only £18(on-line price - actually everything here is very much cheaper through on-line transaction including electricity bill).

Our bus journey from Glasgow to Dundee was a very pleasant one. The scenery is awesome and the children, tired by this time sat quietly. And as I turned my head to the seat beside me, I met a very peculiar scene.... Yes!!!!After all these years, during our travels other than by car, I finally saw my husband reading!!! Hmmm...Amazing!

When we arrived at Dundee Seagate Bus Station we were almost immediately met by Taufik (we have been in contact with him & his wife since we're still in Malaysia, thanks to Mahzan of "Ini Jalan Yang Kupilih" - Taufik was also responsible in finding our flat and ensuring that we can immediately occupy the house - Thank you Very Much Taufik & Aeni and of course the Kommuniti Melayu Dundee (Ustaz Amin, Ustaz Lutfi, Zaquan, Mahadi, Shi, Khamshah, Ika(2), Nor, Ina, Zul, Mahmud, Fa, Alia, Liana(2)and so many others - sorry kalau nama tak tersebut but you know who you are, right?) who have been very kind and friendly and welcoming. Thank you so very much. Hopefully all of us will make our journey here a success.

Oh yes, let me just leave you guys with the view from my kitchen window. Till then (:-D

Happy Eid Everyone! & Goodbye... (sort of...)

Salam Everyone (:-D

In this entry I would like to wish my Moslem blogger friends a Very Happy 'Eid - a celebrating of us winning the test of Ramadhan so let us not be extravagant in the celebration - we should be thankful instead for being given the opportunity to go through this Ramadhan and going through it better than the previous and let's hope that we will be given this opportunity again next year. For my non-Moslem blogger friends, do join in the celebration too - you are Most Welcome!

And in this entry I would also like to (sort of) say goodbye. Well, Alhamdulillah and InsyaAllah I will be leaving for Scotland this coming 21st September to pursue my further education (the jihad I am talking about earlier). At this age I am not so sure of my "level of absorption" but I hope I can go through it successfully though may not be as smoothly as when I was much younger. Do wish that I can go through it well, ya? (:-D

So, if anyone of you planning to visit Scotland and Dundee is in your itinerary, do drop me a mail, ya? Perhaps we can meet in between classes. Till then...

Both images in this entry are from www.visitourscotland.co.uk.

Ramadhan Mubarak (:-D

Salam to Everyone (:-D

Wishing you Ramadhan Mubarak. May this Ramadhan brings us more Blessings and May we be a much much better person. Hopefully we can perform more Ibadah and the Al-Mighty gives us the Strength, Energy & Patience to go through His "Test" with Grace.

And of course, I will leave all of you with some flowers - this time the iceberg roses. Enjoy ya!




Source of image : Iceberg roses from www.ehow.com. The other image is from my own collection.

Water... oh Water....

It has been quite some time before I add a new entry to this blog. And my son has finally managed to try his hand at blogging. Thank you for the comments - Trust me! He is soo... looking forward for comments made to his debut. And thank you so much for asking how I am doing. Well, I'm alive though not kicking - I have yet to have the energy to do any back-flip and triple somersaults but yes! I am happily regaining my health. Though the reason why I was hospitalised is quite embarrassing for me to mention, let me just say that I was badly dehydrated.

So, my advise to everyone is please take at least 8 glasses of water (WATER, ok? Not tea, coffee, cham, ipoh white coffee, etc., but the simple, plain water). It is Ok to have tea or coffee, etc., but please do not forget the good dose of plain water. In my case, I was advised to drink at least a good jug of plain water everyday. Well, to be frank, I am no fan of plain water. But, the pain and discomfort that I endured "those fateful days" made me more than willing to follow the regime day after day. I am just glad that my ultrasound revealed that there is no abnormalities in my liver (no focal lesions), gallbladder (no gallstone or polyp & no GB wall thickening), bile ducts (not dilated), kidneys (no stone, mass or hydronephrosis in either), pancreas and paraaortic areas. Indeed, I am happy (:-D

(Sources of images : water from www.azwater.gov; abdomen from www.the childrenshospital.org)

Just trying a hand at blogging...

Hello, my name is Luqman Hakim.My mother is not well and not strong enough to add yet another entry in this blog. So, I felt like trying my hand on this blogging thing. I am 9 years old. I have a brother who is 11 years old. He is currently at school. I came back early today as I got my asthma attack at school. So, the teacher sent me back to my granny's house. There I called my Dad who took me to the Clinic where I have a 5-minute nebulizer treatment. Then Dad sent me home.
(Picture shows me caught a fish)

Yet Another Visit .... Part 2

Danish, Aqil & Mia absorbing nature. The first night in the wilderness. Though they have been spending most of what is left of the day in the water and by right they should be tired and sleepy by now, but it seemed like they need a little "used-to". As for Mia, she hardly sleep early - doe not matter where she is.

Early in the first morning, my man was already busy "building" a kitchen shelf for me.



The finished shelf. How proud am I of my man (:-D. As you can see, part of our pots and pans, cooking oil and coconut milk.


Among our ration - we hardly go without honey and of course kicap kipas udang. And more importantly the nursing bottle - you can spot it can't you?

Highlight of the day. My man finally caught the King of the River - seen here happily and proudly holding what else but KELAH! (If I am not mistaken it is called Empurau in Sarawak)




A happy moment like this need to be shared. Father and children happily posing with the "golden" catch. Our day went as smoothly as possible. What with the potential of savouring Kelah the next day. Back when I was still a young child, we never thought that Kelah will be scarce to find. I remembered the days when I followed my brother Zaid fishing. More often than not, we will bring back one or two kelah home. Hence when I first met my husband and he told me about his craze over kelah I was quite dumbfounded. In my heart I was like "Craze over Kelah? Something must be wrong" Little that I know then. Kelah is slowly vanishing from our rivers. However, with the steps taken by the Wildlife Department, serious efforts are being taken to ensure the continuity of Kelah existence. Since last year the Dept had set up a Kelah Sanctuary at Lubuk Pertang some 10 minutes boat ride from Lubuk Kaloi where we set camp. I'll tell you more in the next entry.

Love Thy Neighbour, ... Excuse Me

I was just coming back from sending my daughter to her kindi yesterday when my neighbour straight away blurted out her frustration. Guessed she has been dying to let go off her emotion for there's no "muqaddimah". "I was so fed-up with these cats!" started she. Well, that's enough for me to understand her predicament. We are in the same boat. You see, almost everyday we have to clean our backyard or sometimes our porch area for there's always "something" left behind by the feline society. I do not hate cats - in fact when our previous neighbour left their pregnant cat behind and she gave birth to 4 kittens, I climbed the gate to get to them and to ensure that they have enough blanket, milk and water. I did not take them over to my place as I still hope that the neighbour will come back and collect them. So, for a few days we fed them until one day when both my husband and I came back from work (I was still working at that time), the cat and kittens were gone.

Another occasion was when with two other friends we borrowed a ladder to rescue a kitten from falling down Sg Gombak (that time I was working somewhere in Jalan Melaka). No! I do not hate cats. But I do not dare to have any for a pet for its maintenance could be very high. If I have a choice I would love to own one from the Scottish fold or the Ragdoll or even the Maine Coon breed. Anyway, back to my neighbour. Her next statement was "If I can't stand it anymore I think I will poison them." Oh. OK. If at that moment I agree to her problem-solving, I have a feeling that she will just go ahead and I can almost visualize dead cats scattered all over her backyard.

To be frank, at times when I too can't take it anymore, I have the same thought as she but I do not dare to turn it into practical. So I told her (in my attempt to change her decision) "Sometimes I do wish to do the same but it is not really their fault. I guessed their owners do not have a proper tray for them. So, it doesn't help poisoning the cats - they are not the guilty party. Perhaps, it's the owner who deserved to be poisoned... " She laughed. "Perhaps.." she said. "Anyway, with the better technology, better forensic equipments and better trained forensic officers, we couldn't stand a chance if we do. We do not want to end up behind locked bar, do we?" So, our neighbourhood cats and their owners are saved. But I do hope that cat owners be more responsible.

Source of images : Scottish Fold from www.catsofaustralia.com; Ragdoll from www.catpets.org; Maine Coon from www.mainequilts.org