Silent Scribbler: Us

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This is a very late update, after a long hiatus (at least for me!). Here are some short updates. Enjoy!

Long absence explained

I went back to Malaysia for a month, we had to settle hubby's scholarship. Alhamdulillah, after patiently waiting for a year, and after applying to numerous school, he finally got a place to continue his doctorate this coming fall. I am so proud of him! We were not planning to go back (wanted to settle things from here), but the management insisted that he attended the BTN to get the scholarship released. I am so glad that everything is settled now, and we are safely settled in our little apartment in Kent.

Going back to Malaysia after not being home for a year brings to me mixed feelings. I hadn't realized how much I would miss home, especially my family and close friends. To be surrounded with things and people familiar, it gave me comfort and secure footing; even after a year, I still feel like a 'tourist' in US., and hence I was glad to be back home! Being in another country that I feel is not my home, I am unbalanced and ambivalent; at times I feel lost, sometimes I relished it, but always I feel out of place. Being back home also surprised me; things have changed so much! It's only been a year, but the price of everything has gone up tremendously! (i.e. food, taxi fare). I also had the 'privilege' of using the public transportation (e.g. LRT) and I was amazed by the changes that I see in KL Sentral and also Masjid Jamek. Finally, I relished the food that I wanted to eat; it's amazing how much you take for granted! You don't realize it, and miss it when it's gone! Indeed it was good to be home. I also felt bittersweet when leaving; I did not feel like going back to the US, my temporary home for the next three years. Tapi nak buat macam mana, perjuangan masih belum selesai...

To all my friends (i.e. HSI clan, i.e. Jabs, Wani, Kak Sue, Emee, Mariya, Ben, Pak Lan and Meden, and also my office colleagues) thank you for taking the time to see me. I really appreciate your effort and time! I felt really recharged after the short gossip sessions at the mamak stall, my house and the cozy bukak puasa I had with a few people I missed.

Facebooking no more

To those of you who realized, I've quit FB. It just felt intrusive, and extremely distracting. That's all I can say. It was a huge relief to click that deactivate button!

Flying back adventures

This was the worst time flying back EVER. We booked the ticket late, so we didn't have a choice with the route. We stopped in Beijing, arriving at 6am and waiting there for 10 hours before boarding to Chicago. It was bad because I couldn't understand the language (and therefore felt that the staff there was quite brusque!) and of course because of the long waiting time. We also had to pass through several security checks despite transiting only. I remembered in Narita last year we did not have to fill in any arrival forms or go through repeated security checks because we were only transiting. I spent a bulk of the time sleeping in Starbucks (they had comfy sofas!). But the airport was new, and pleasant enough for you to walk around in. The flight to Chicago was even more tiring. We had seats near the exit so I could hardly sleep; a lot of people were walking back and forth to go to the restroom near my seat. I was relieved upon touching down to Chicago after 13 hours and we had to wait around for 5 more hours before boarding to Akron-Canton. Lessons learned: book your ticket early, avoid the Asian route if you can (i.e. Middle East is a much better option if you had to transit!), and don't buy mineral water anywhere you go (we had to dispose at least 4-5 bottles, due to the 'no liquid allowed' rule). Oh, another plus point this time was we didn't have much trouble passing by the US Customs, because there were so many people waiting in line (it took us about an hour) and also maybe because we were returning students. I also managed to get my bags in without any trouble. Selamat rempah2 aku. He he he he.

Tapi memang penat. Rasa berhari2 nak hilang penat ni!

Ramadhan wishes

To all my Muslim friends and readers, have a splendid Ramadhan... It's one week till class starts, so I'm going to spend the time cleaning and resting. And oh! cooking too sbb mana ada bazaar ramadhan kat sini. Enjoy the weekend, people!

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Tag: My Dream Wedding

1st year anniversary!

About him

OK, since Syigim tagged me a couple of days ago, here I am. By the way, I had to reformat the whole blog; I was playing around with it, and suddenly clicked paste in the editing tab. And I forgot to save the old template! Nasib baik takde kerja... He he he he he. Here's the tag, Syigim. Enjoy!

Rule number 1: Sila upload gambar kawen. Here it is!

1. First time you met him - when and where?

First time I met him in 2004 (but cannot lawan Syigim lah, sorry I cannot remember the date!) while reporting for duty as a lecturer at the management building. We only met for five minutes when we were filling in the employment form together and he asked me where his department was (he was not a former student!). Hence, our staff number is 4621 and 4622 respectively. :-P

2. Love at first sight?

For me, it wasn't love at first sight, but I did find him very attractive (a fact which I did not of course admit to him until much later!). As for him, I am not sure, but he did remember my face (after only meeting me for five minutes) and when we met at the Edu canteen a couple of months later he asked for my telephone number!

3. Who is he when the first time you met him?

A stranger, of course! And someone who happened to work at the same place. :-P

4. How long does it take for him to ask you out for a date?

A long, long time. What you have to know about Sad is that he takes his time. He's not a guy that you can hurry. However, I should say he had great instincts. I was with someone else at the time, so maybe that's why he sensed that it was not the right time to ask me to go out on a date. We remained friends for two years before we dated, although we did meet up once or twice when he kindly offered to send me home. (I didn't have a car and he said he stayed 'on the way' to my house which I later found out was actually really OUT of the way!).

5. First place you went for a date?

Our first official date was to watch a Yasmin Ahmad movie at Mid Valley Mega Mall. I count that as the first date even though we did go out as friends before that. We both just love watching movies!

6. How did he proposed?

Hmm... nothing romantic here I think. We were dating for a long time so both of us knew that we were going to get married eventually. So no romantic stories with regards to wedding proposals. :-)

7. Special date with him?

Lots and lots and lots. We rarely had time to go out as both of us were very busy with work in the last couple of years so each time we go out, it's special to me. But the best time I had with him had to be during his convocation. It was also the first time I met his family, and I was so happy and proud to support him!

8. Changes that he asked you to do?

To think positive. I tend to be err....rather paranoid. The glass is always half empty to me! Sorry yang, I'm trying to improve on that.

9. What is it about him that you love so much?

This is an interesting question because the answers have changed pre and post marriage.

Pre-marriage: I loved that he was technically gifted; he always seemed to know how to explain technical things in a simple way and not everybody can do that. I often ask for his input when I need to lecture about anything Internet-related. I also loved that he was very laid back, and he was a phenomenal listener. He is also very rational and can calm down my irrational fears.

Post-marriage: I have found that my husband is the most caring person I know. He is also so self-less, he is always putting me ahead of his own needs. I also think he is wonderful because he takes his responsibilities as a husband so seriously, and he takes great care with religious matters. Add to that, he is a great cook and he cleans the toilet too! What more do you need? :-)

10. What is about him that you wish he would change?

Similarly with Syigim and Mr. K, I wish he would stop smoking. But I won't force him to do it; he has to do it when he is ready to quit and I know he will stop soon. Betul kan, yang?

11. You lose your mind and crack your head when he?

He really rarely drives me crazy. :-) But the time that he does is when he refuses to sleep early and forgoes eating or drinking when he gets wrapped up in front of the lap-top. You need to rest and eat, OK! Add to that, we have both developed very seriously bad sleeping habits since arriving in the States. I blame the gloomy weather. He he he.

12. You will smile through your eyes for the whole day when he?

Pujuk me when I am feeling down. Nothing else can beat that!

13. Complete below sentence : "My love towards my husband is as big as...?

China! Isn't that a big-assed country?! He he he he.

* * *

In turn, I am also tagging these lovebirds:

Junida, supaya anda ada alasan untuk berblog
La Signora, supaya anda berblog sebelum pulang kampong!
Ziah, supaya anda berblog walaupun sibuk bukak restoran
Kak Nuwal, supaya anda berblog sebab blog anda sudah bersawang!
Kak Amy, supaya boleh pressure anda lagi supaya berblog!
Puan Dino, kerana saya nak dengar kesah chenta anda :-P
Kak Hana, pun sebab blog dah bersawang! :-P

Have fun writing, y'all!

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Spousal sacrifice

I subscribe to the Malaysian students in the US e-group. There have been some interesting discussions there lately. I am mostly a lurker; I enjoy the read but I rarely comment. The author of the recent post was commenting on sacrifices husbands make when accompanying their spouse the the US. He went on to list down several husbands who left well paying jobs to become a house husband. Kudos to them!

I felt like commenting because I related so well to the post! It was not an easy decision for us to come here. We gave up a lot to come here. Family, cars, opportunity to settle down and buy a house, and other job offers. For my husband, the sacrifice was even bigger as he had to go on unpaid leave. Scholarship was up for grabs and we knew that we could not wait anymore. Since I got the placing first, he decided to follow me and apply for his PhD program later once we got here. I can't tell you how much that meant to me. Not all husbands would sacrifice themselves for their wives and everyday I am thankful for that. At one point, I even contemplated of continuing in Singapore (which was still overseas :-P) but he stopped me because he knew how much I wanted to continue in the US, as the exposure here would benefit me so much because of the way the program is structured. And now, I can truly say that the only reason I am able to be here is because of my husband.

And he has been constantly supportive since we got here. Everyday when I come back, dinner's ready on the stove. He also stayed up to accompany me if I had to finish my assignments. When I am feeling down, he will always encourage me. He lets me have the TV after class because he knows that it relaxes me. In the morning, if he gets up early, he tries to make as little noise as possible because he knows I need the rest. And recently, for my birthday with the money that he kept stashed away from doing some part time work (without me knowing) he bought me a lap top because he knew mine was about to crash. I know it sounds really corny, but I really teared up at the time because I am touched by how selfless he is.

Jodoh is something that is up to Allah; He always matches you with someone who truly suits you. There may be ups and downs along the way, but it will totally make sense in the end. You just have to stick with it. And I know I don't say this often enough, but it is VERY true: sayang, you are the best husband for me! I am a truly lucky woman. :-)

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The big 3-0!

Down with flu

Boy, have I got the blues!

Stuck in a rut

This is my daily path to school. One of those perfect Autumn days. (P.S: Gambar ini tidak kene mengena dgn post dibawah :-P he he he)

These last few days I've been so lazy!!

There are a ton of things I can do, but I am not doing it. Instead, I am just relaxing, taking my time and watching a lot of telly. Plus, I ordered two new crime fiction book from Amazon, and I actually finished the first book in just three days! (about 670 pages!). I will try to review it later, but seeing that I am very lazy that might not get done in the near future. :-P

On Tuesday, I had taped a teaching session for our teaching video critique. It went alright, I think. The instructor in the class was nice enough to shift her schedule to accommodate me so I could not spoil it as I only had one chance. I was so lucky to have Sad with me to kindly video-tape the session for me, and I must say his presence sort of calmed me down. Thank you, sayang! I really have the best husband ever! :-)

I was antsy because I have not taught in a while, and I was wondering if the change in audience demographic will make any difference. In a way, it was still the same. I had to tailor my examples to American examples, but the students seemed to understand me just fine. There were a few questions, and they look interested enough in what I was saying. We'll see how it goes. The teaching class is really loaded with assignments so if I mess up one assignment, I still have other avenues to make up for it.

After the assignment, we went to see a movie, Zombieland. It was one of those really indulgent movies that you watch that don't require any thinking! But it's a lot of blood and gore, with bodies parts being yanked out so you might want to leave your toddlers out if you want to give it a go. All in all, both of us are still waiting for the premier of "Vampire's assistant" next week. We are so lucky that the cinema is actually just minutes away from our apartment, within walking distance. Sweet!

After that though, I still have this nagging feeling that I still can't shake. It's actually been there after the mid-term. I feel a bit sluggish, demotivated and slightly depressed. I don't know why. There are still tons of things to do! I also felt guilty for resting on my laurels when I should be doing work, but can't seem to get myself to do something useful. Sigh. One classmate was saying that perhaps we spent so much energy on the mid-term that we have gotten to the stage where we feel entitled to some rest, and not wanting to do much. Maybe. I think so. Let's hope I get out of this funk!

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First hurdle

Back!

Tagged by Syigim

The aftermath

A new life journey begins...

A picture by our photographer. Sorry kak, kami memang tak pandai bergaya! :-P

After the akad. Look at hubby's relieved expression! He he he. Yang, jangan marah na...

At the bridal table

With some colleagues and friends

During the akad, after merenjis. Together at last. :-)

With my kids, and my mentor, Dr. S. :-P

Note: This post is specially dedicated to my friends who live in far, far away land such as Mrs. Curmudgeon, Tengku Marini, & Mrs. Khairul who could not be there for my wedding due to 'location problems'. Also dedicated to my colleagues who are on their PhD journey overseas, and whose presence I sorely missed during my wedding, such as Kak Aini, Kak Zeti, Shafizan, Joey Rizal, Mimi Iznita & Bro. Harris. Finally, also dedicated to Wani, who could not make it at the eleventh hour due to family commitments, but nevertheless have been very supportive. :-)

I got married last week on May 10th, 2009. The akad nikah was held in Villa Felda that morning, followed by sarung cincin, merenjis ceremony and a bit of photography session. The reception started on the same day at 12.00 until 4.00 pm.

I just want to thank everyone who made the effort to be there for me, including my relatives, my friends, my students and my colleagues.

I also want to thank my family for doing so much for me, I could not have had such a beautiful ceremony if not for their time, effort and painstaking labor. Especially to my parents, for sponsoring the event and for their constant support. Especially to my siblings, Abang, Adib, Ira, little Naim and Kak Hana for being there every step of the way. Finally, to my aunts and uncles, and my cousins (including this particular cousin he he he he ;-)) for ensuring that the event went smoothly. Alhamdulillah everything went well and there were very few minor glitches.

A lot of people have asked me how I felt and how things are. To be honest, I had no idea that I would feel this peaceful and this contented. My husband is a gift to me; this responsible, funny and sweet man I am going to be with for the rest of my life and I am so happy that he is my jodoh. I look forward to this new chapter in my life and hope that everyone will pray for our happiness.

And what is a wedding without some pictures? Here are some memorable ones, just for those I dedicated this post for. ;-)

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