tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74580952024-03-19T07:14:57.908+03:00spread the jamToasting life, spreading love ...elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.comBlogger718125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-30192811583017768072015-05-10T11:58:00.002+03:002015-05-10T11:58:55.737+03:00Have to take your hand, and feel your breath for fear this someday will be over*<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
* Sirens, Pearl Jam<br />
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Izani is 9 years old, but he still holds my hand when we cross the street or walk across the car park.<br />
One day, I decided to ask, "Why do you hold my hand, Izani?"<br />
"Because I want to, " he answered, "Because you're my mom"<br />
"Does it feel nice, to hold my hand?" I asked.<br />"uh huh," he nodded, "it makes me feel safe"<br />
We walked in silence for a bit, then he gave my hand a squeeze and rubbed his side against mine.<br />
"I love you, Bonda"<br />
*melts*<br />
<br />
hu hu hu. Never grow up, Izani.<br />Even if you do grow up, never stop holding my hand. Okay?<br />
Okay.<br />
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Happy Mother's Day, everyone.</div>
elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-41829752469872447032015-05-06T13:35:00.000+03:002015-05-06T13:35:06.970+03:00You can't be neutral on a moving train*<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
*"Down" - Pearl Jam<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in case you don't know what i look like</td></tr>
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I have always loved train stations.</div>
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Perhaps it's due to the promise of a journey, an adventure. Or maybe it's the mystery of what lies ahead (even though the next destination is written clearly there on your ticket).</div>
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To me it symbolizes both a beginning and an end. A starting point, and a destination.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">anis and izani discovering how train switches work</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Nothing delights me more than finding an abandoned train station, like this one in the old part of bandar Gua Musang, Kelantan. Here we can walk and skip safely on the tracks, play with the switches and watch the tracks move, or pretend you're in some remote station in the middle of nowhere where the train only arrives once a week, and there are lions lurking about.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">It reminds me of the quiet and lonely stations in Spirited Away where magical creatures await.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pulau Tioman</td></tr>
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An hour's away we discovered this station in Merapoh, Pahang. This one had a less nostalgic feeling though. I heard that the station is closed due to the devastating flood, but I can't be too sure. We found this train, the Pulau Tioman, dormant on the tracks.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you see the conductor?</td></tr>
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Anis & I decided to climb inside to have a look see. We were shocked to find everything caked in mud. Could the flood have caused this? I wouldn't be surprised if it did, just as I wouldn't be surprised if suddenly an apparition of a daikon shaped ghost in a conductor's uniform were to pop up and ask me for my ticket.</div>
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Before I ran out <i>mencecet</i>, I decided to strike a pose:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">"Asia's Last Top Model: Zombie Apocalypse"</span></td></tr>
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^_^<br />
tee hee</div>
elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-34513873809692047292014-03-05T08:01:00.000+03:002014-03-05T08:01:49.310+03:00The Orang Asli of Kampung Landap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
During the chinese new year holidays, we were given the opportunity to visit an orang asli (indigenous people) settlement in Kampung Landap, Perak. It was really a mind and soul opening experience for us.<br />
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To say that the orang asli are 'uncivilised' would be a misconception. Even though they may appear materially and technologically behind compared to the average citizen living outside of their settlement, socially, they are way more civilized than most of us are.<br />
They survive by living communaly, participating and contributing all that they have and can for the good of the whole community. In the mornings, whoever who has a motorcycle would pick up whichever children that were ready and would send them to the nearest school, about 5kms downriver, through a palm oil plantation, on a bumpy tar road that could fit only one car going either way. They own only one beat up Proton Saga, courtesy of a generous donor who had no use of it longer, and that car is shared by all, not only to send and pick up kids to and from school, but also to send men off to jobs in the plantations, to ferry those who wants to catch the bus to town (and pick them up again when they came home at a promised time), to drive pregnant moms to the nearest health clinic for their check-ups and to run errands that is too far to reach by foot.<br />
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In the middle of the settlement is a huge 'balai', a hut without walls. On one side of the hut is a platform where people could gather around and discuss matters with the tok balai or the penghulu (the chief). This was where were greeted by almost the whole community. Bear in mind, we were not dignitaries, we were merely curious folks, but we were welcomed with open arms and several sweet smelling durians and cempedaks. One the other side of the hut were placed 2 low wood burning stoves, and this is where the women work together to prepare lunch for the whole village. I watched women, children and men cutting fish, trimming vegetables, peeling onions, checking on steaming rice, sauteing simple ingredients and stirring curry, just like during the kenduri kawin (wedding parties) of bygone times before the advent of catering services.<br /><br />
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We tried to find out as much as we could about their life. Even though language was a slight barrier (they speak the temiar dialect/language, and we don't), fortunately we had the help of a man who calls himself Tuan Speaker, to translate and explain things to us. Tuan Speaker and his team of volunteers have been working with the orang asli, and not just in Kampung Landap, for a long time. They have managed to diplomatically 'teach' the orang asli about the importance of proper hygiene, about pre and post natal check-ups in tackling infant mortality and they have managed to start a fish rearing pond, and a duck rearing pen.<br /><br />
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Most importantly though, they have also managed to teach the orang asli about proper nutrition. The orang asli's diet consists mainly of tubers, especially tapioca and sweet potatoes. Lack of protein and essential vitamins and minerals have left most of them malnourished. This was most evident with the children. We met a boy whom we thought were the same age as Izani, who is 7 years old, based on his size, but who turned out to be 12. The effects of malnutrition is also evident in the children's performence in school. It's not a surprise, since if your brain does not get the fuel it needs, how would you expect it to perform. We're not saying these children are stupid, we just feel that they have the potential to be smarter if given what other children normally gets.<br />
At the moment the orang asli are already eating a more balanced meal, but having access to ingredients is not as easy as walking to your neighbourhood grocery store. There is not even a neighbourhood grocery store. Currently there are generous folks that donate weekly groceries, but how long can they (or should they) survive on hand outs? The fish&duck rearing projects will be one source of income (and protein), but they have expressed their desire to be able to do more farming. <br /><br />
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Here, I was struck by a moral dillema. (I now say 'I', because it won't be right for me to assume the others in my party share my prejudices, presumptions and ignorance).<br />
I see the orang asli as happy, contented people. They have lived this way of life for generations. They have lived as one with nature, taking care of it just as it takes care of them. They have absolutely no concept, dependence or value of money and therefore they have a sense of freedom that some of us dream of. So why do we need to introduce them to our expectations of civilization? Would it bring them any good, or would it just put them into harms way?<br />
On the other hand, no matter how hard they try, our brand of 'civilization' will and has crept into their lives. More of the orang asli children are exposed and want to move outside of their village, and more of the parents are encouraging their children to do so. More 'civilised' people are also reaching their village, and not all of them are good (for example, the guy who bought a truck-full of durians from the orang asli and paid a mere RM30 for it). They need the knowledge to protect their rights.<br />
The more romantic side of me also reminded me of all the feelgood movies I have watched throughout my life, where the weak dare to reach for the stars and eventually triumph over circumstances and fulfill their dream. I look into the eyes of the orang asli children and think, what if one of them wants to be a doctor, a scientist, an astronaut? Or maybe even a mechanic, or a tech-savvy farmer? Why shouldn't we give them, at least, a fighting chance? <br /><br />
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So here's what we've been thinking (yes, it's back to 'we'):<br />
The children needs proper nutrition so that they have equal opportunity as anyone else in this country to excell in school (and eventually reach their dreams). To be able to provide this to the children, the parents need to have the ability and access to nutritious food, either by growing/rearing their own, or having a steady income to be able to afford them.<br />
<nr>Therefore, we propose to:<br />1. To donate a chainsaw and a weed-whacker, to be used to clear plots of land for farming and to be used to provide income generating services to the nearby plantations. Estimated cost RM3000. <br />2. To teach how to make tapioca, sweet potato and/or banana chips, which they can package and sell. (We have been blessed with a volunteer instructor for this, alhamdulillah!) <br />3. To teach how to make banana&cempedak fritters and to donate necessary equipments, for some of them to start up a stall by the amazingly clear and cooling riverside that is frequented by nearby villagers to swim in. Estimated cost RM500. <br />
<br />If any of you would like to help us out, or if you have any other ideas to add to this, please do contact me via the comment box below, or via elisa_taufik@yahoo.com <br /><br />
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elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-62553802129220152982013-03-05T06:52:00.002+03:002013-03-05T06:52:40.541+03:00Conversation with Izani 04 march 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Scene: Me ironing while Izani is doing his Lughatul Arabiyah homework.<br />
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Izani: Why can't we say "Wa-alaikumsalam" then "Assalamu-alaikum"?<br />
Me: Because "Assalamu-alaikum" means "Peace upon you" and "Wa-alaikumsalam" means "AND, peace upon you too". The "Wa" means "And". It'd be weird if you say "and peace upon you" first. It's like saying "You're welcome" before someone says "Thankyou" to you. Wouldn't that sound weird? "I am fine", "How are you?"<br />
Izani: Ha ha ha you 're right, that *is*weird!!<br />
Me: Izani, you know how you say "Assalamu-'alaikum" after you solat?<br />
Izani: yeah, I say "assalamu-'alaikum" 2 times.<br />
Me: Who do you say it to?<br />
Izani: To Allah!<br />
Me: no...<br />
Izani: To ... Prophet Muhammad!<br />
Me: Nope... you're giving salam to the two angels on your right and your left. Do you know who they are?<br />
Izani: Oh, I know I know! One of them is an angel , all white, and the other is a devil, all red, with a pointy tail.<br />
Me: eh no lah... That's only in cartoons lah! Actually, both of them are angels. The one on the right writes down all your good deeds, and the one on the left ...<br />
Izani: tells you to do bad things!!<br />
Me: No. He (?) doesn't tell you anything. He just writes down your bad deeds. But you know what?<br />
Izani: what?<br />
Me: The one on the right, writes it down when you do good deeds, and also even when you're just thinking of doing good deeds. If you really do the good deed, he writes it down AGAIN.<br />
The one on the left, writes it down when you do bad deeds, but doesn't write anything when you're just thinking of doing bad deeds. He will only write bad deeds down when you really do it.<br />
And get this - If you thought of doing bad deeds, and then decide NOT to do it, guess who writes it down?<br />
Ilham shouts from the other room: The good one!<br />
Izani: the good one?<br />
Me: Yup. If you thought of doing something bad, but you fight it and decide not to it, it's considered as a good deed!<br />
Izani: *Phew* I wanted to get a star wars tattoo when I grow up, but now I decide not too. I will get pahala!! But Oh no! Arif's going to hell!<br />
Me: hah? Why?<br />
Izani: Because during the carnival he got a butterfly tattoo.. you know the one they rub with soap and water?<br />
Me: Aiyahhhhh... those tattoos are okay lah.. coz they come off.<br />
Izani: But tattoos are haram, bonda.<br />
Me: The permanent ones, the ones where you get poked by a needle and it wont come off. Those are haram.<br />
Izani: Oh cool!! Coz I have been saving my Star Wars Tattoo! (he got from a cereal box). And I'm not going to hell!!<br />
Me: You can't say who's going to heaven or hell. Only Allah can decide who goes to heaven or to hell. That's why you need to always make du'a and ask Allah to place you in heaven. That's why you have to behave and do good deeds all the time.<br />
Izani: Okay Bonda, I will behave, so that I can go to heaven and get a tattoo and play PS3!!!! yippeeeee!!<br />
Me: PS3???? itu je?<br />
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Aiyoh penat lah layan budak ni.</div>
elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-47912270356577229522012-04-13T07:00:00.003+03:002012-04-13T08:07:17.867+03:00Malaysian Education: Need for Change?I've recently become a part of the Parent Support Group of my children's school. Parent Support Group is another name for the PTA or the PIBG, the group of parents who work with the school on behalf of all the other parents.<br />We are having the kick-off meeting on Saturday and one of the items on the agenda is "Delivery of School Lessons", so I took this opportunity to ask my own kids what they thought about the lesson delivery in their current school compared to what they have experienced in Saudi and Dubai.<br /><br />"Over here, only the teachers are allowed to talk. They never ask your opinion. In Dubai, we were the ones doing most of the talking. There were more discussions".<br />"Homework was fun! I was so excited to do my homework when I was in school in Saudi/Dubai. Homework here feels like a chore.. it's all writing and more writing"<br />"You know that's not really true ... you did get a few assignments to make movies and diagrams"<br />"yeah, that's true ... but for subjects like Math, they gave us assignments like 'Build your own Amusement Park' and you were taught how to keep track of cost and revenue and how to calculate your profit and loss, how to estimate how many workers, rides, and food stalls you need. That was FUN. Over here it's all exercises."<br />"Yeah and there was that enterprise week where I got to create my own island resort and wore a suit and I gave a presentation"<br />"And remember that Rainforest concert? We got to sing or act out what we learnt about the rainforest in class, to the whole school! And we made an aboriginal masks during art. That was fun."<br />"Why can't they do these things over here?"<br /><br />Having experienced 'Malaysian Schooling' for roughly 6 months now, I think I now know why.<br />This has probably been said before, but our education system is too exam oriented. Worse, it is geared to reward students who can answer questions in a fixed format. Interprate the question differently or answer it a little differently, or perhaps use different or the wrong or unfamiliar word, and you lose points. So students have no choice but to learn how to interprate the question and how to answer the questions in a specific way, to maximize the points you receive.<br />Compound that with a public that sizes up schools based on exam results alone, you get schools that are forced to spend more time training students on how to answer questions to maximize points, instead of teaching them how to learn and apply the knowledge. Teachers have no time to make learning fun, because they are too restricted by this system. <br />Our children are being taught how to swallow facts and figures whole and spew it out in neat little packages that conform to the examiners format. They are being judged on how well they do that. The judges are the local 'good schools', the colleges, the universities, the employers.<br /><br />In my opinion, our students need to learn more about how to GAIN AND APPLY knowledge than how to RETAIN knowledge. <br /><br />In this day an age, what you are learning today is probably obsolete yesterday. The advent of technology has made it easy for you to extract information. There is really no need for us to test our students on how much they know and can remember, because that skill is no longer required. What is more important is to test them on their skill in getting information, on mining data, on deducting facts and figures and how logically and creatively they can apply that knowledge. <br /><br />Want to know when the Portugese invaded Melaka? Just google it. Want to know why? Wiki. Want to know what the Melakans could've done to prevent the invasion? Now, *that* is something worth spending time pondering, discussing and concluding about.<br /><br />You think questions like that is waaay to advanced for our young students? Think again.<br />At 11 years old, the students in Ilham's Year 7 class in Jumeirah College Dubai were talking about the Battle of Hastings (go wiki it). They were asked, why do you think the Normans won, taking into account not only the size of the battling forces, but also the demographic of the forces, the tools and weapons they had, the geography of the area and other extenuating circumstances. They were also asked, what could the Engish have done to win it? <br />With this one question (eh, two), they were not only able to apply their power of deduction and assumption, they also applied their skill in clear and persuasive writing.<br />Budak darjah lima hokay.<br />Now, don't you dare say Mat Salleh kids are better than Malaysian kids. I think Malaysian kids were just never given the opportunity.<br /><br />And that's only the subject of Sejarah (History). I am sure there are many other ways where we could encourage our students to be creative in applying the knowledge that they have learnt in all the other subjects.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the local 'good schools', universities, colleges and employers do not look at or for these skills when they are evaluating applicants. The first thing they look at are the results on paper. That is such a shame. Perhaps that is why you find that most successful people in the world nowadays are those that did not do so well in school or go to the best schools. Perhaps these organizations need to stop looking at only the exam results and look deeper into the applicants' skills instead, if they want truly the best people in their institution.<br /><br />I know changing the school system would be an arduous long-winded process that will probably take years of writing and presenting working papers, cabinet debates, minister slanderings, illicit videos, handbag purchases and what not. So, I am not hoping much.<br />I do hope that we, as parents, could do little-little things within our own school, or even within our own household, to make not just learning, but the the application of knowledge, more fun and exciting for our children.<br /><br />Insya-Allah!elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-35650739030112382672012-04-03T06:05:00.003+03:002012-04-03T07:28:55.975+03:00Getting my eye pokedAs I mentioned <a href="http://elisataufik.blogspot.com/2012/03/world-through-my-eyes-recently.html">before</a>, I needed an injection in my right eye to fix the lesion/macular degeneration on my retina.<br />I chose the drug Avastin, which is 12 times cheaper than Lucentis (google it if you want), and the doctor only does the procedure for this drug on Wednesdays and Thursdays. <br />My original appointment was on Thursday, but earlier in the week, one of Taufik's drill bits broke apart while drilling granite formation and that meant he could not miss the early morning meetings with customers, and on top of that he had another mid morning meeting on Thursday which he could not miss. He requested that I change the appointment to Wednesday instead, because or else, he would not be able to go to the hospital with me.<br />So I called the hospital asking if it was possible for me to change the appointment, but unfortunately wednesday's appointment was full. I asked them to just put me on a waiting list if there is any, <i>Manalah tahu ada orang kensel </i> ke..<br />But they didnt call me back.<br />Upon Taufik's insistence, I called up the hospital again on Tuesday 6pm, not hoping too high for a positive response, since it was after office hours. Surprisingly, the nurse said, "There is a place for you, you can come tomorrow morning". Yay!<br /><br />After dropping off Taufik at the LRT station (he could not miss the early morning meeting) and my kids at school, I again parked my car, rode the LRT to Asia Jaya, walked to THONEH and got registered by 8:30am. By 9a.m. I was brought to the DayCare Centre where I was asked to put on a robe over my clothes, take off my tudung to put on a hair net (ini kira darurat lah kan?) and was bought into this huge waiting room with comfortable lounge chairs. <br />The nurses tested my blood sugar and blood pressure, and gave me the OK to go. They put an X over my right eyebrow, cleaned my eyes and served me kaya toast and milo (coz I didnt have time to grab breakfast). Only then did I find out how close I was to not getting my injection that day. There was another lady that had failed her blood pressure test and could not go through the procedure today, and I was taking her place. Subhanallah, I was *this* (gap between thumb and forefinger) close to being sent home empty handed. Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah.<br />While waiting for my turn, i received an sms that Taufik had arrived and was waiting outside. I was relieved and felt comfort in knowing he was out there even though he was not allowed to come inside the operating theatre with me.<br />My turn came just as I had finished eating my toast and had 2 sips of Milo. I followed the blue blob I identified as the nurse (coz I was almost blind without my glasses on) into the operating theatre and she asked me to lie down on a gurney. <br />On my right, Dr. Gayatri was administering the injection on another patient and as I lay there reciting all the Qur'anic verses I knew, I was also eavesdropping. I overheard the word "slight hemorrhage" and heard Dr. Gayatri telling the patient to sit up without opening his eyes. A vision of bleeding eyes came into my mind.<br />Yikes.<br />Robbi Yasser walatu 'Asser, Ya Kareeem!!!<br />Oh Allah Please make it easy!<br />It was then my turn.<br />The nurse put a piece of paper, with a hole to expose only my right eye, over my face. She asked me to close my eyes and swabbed around my right eye. She then asked me to open my eyes to administer the local anesthetic, but some of the liquid she had swabbed with went into my eye and it stung, so I couldn't open it. <i>Panic lah kejap</i>. The doctor suggested that I blink rapidly while the nurse put the anesthetic drops, and alhamdulillah that worked. She administered a second drop, just in case.<br />The doctor than asked me to look straight ahead, as she put a clamp over my eyelids to stop it from closing up while she does the injection. She then told me to look to the top left. Good thing I had impaired vision on that eye, coz I couldn't really see whatever she was holding. She said, "Okay now you are going to feel a slight pressure on your eye ya..." and so I felt a slight pressure, and "Okay all done!" she said.<br />"What??? That's it??" I asked.<br />"Yup! And you were all anxious for nothing", She laughed at me.<br />When I got up from the gurney, I noticed a block spot at the bottom of my vision, but otherwise, everything else felt fine, Alhamdulillah :)<br />After the nurses checked that I was okay, they let me take off the robe and put on my tudung, and I went out to meet Taufik. I was told to wait in front of the doctor's office for a post-op consultation, but Taufik and I went to have some breakfast at the canteen first before we went to see the doctor.<br />The anesthesia was starting to wear off by then and my eyes felt a little sore. Not unlike the feeling of an eye infection, or if it were to be poked by something, which it had been.<br />This was the first time Taufik (or someone other than me) talked to the doctor about my case, so Dr. Gayatri took the time to explain what's going on and how this medicine is going to help me. I was to see her again on Monday for a follow up, and after a month she'll do another OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) and decide whether I need more treatments. I were to continue putting on eyedrops till monday.<br /><br />After meeting the doctor, one of the nurses explained to me about post-op care for my eyes. I cannot get water or soap into my eyes for 2 days, so that means no washing my face or shampooing my hair. I were to put antibiotic drops every 2 hours that day and every four hours the following days till monday. I were to call the hospital immediately if my eye get really irritated or red, if I start to suddenly see a lot of 'floaters' (black spots) in my vision, or if my vision gets worse.<br /><i>haiyo so meng-kancheong-kan</i>.<br />I seek protection and healing from Allah.<br /><br />After settling the bills, Taufik and I walked to the AsiaJaya LRT Station. He asked me, "Erm, are you okay to drive?"<br />"I can drive as well as a one-eyed man can", I said.<br />"Coz I have to get back to work lah... ", he said.<br />"Hm... okay", I was a bit dejected, but what to do.<br />"You're gonna be driving dalam taman tu je from SS3/43 to SS3/44 aje kan?", I think he was trying to assure himself more than he was trying to assure me.<br />"Ok, see you at home lah nanti". :P<br />"Erm, you come pick me up at the LRT station ya?"<br />ces.<br /><br />So I did as I was told (you don't fool around with your eyes) and took my wudhu musafir-style (i.e. wet my hands and spread water around my face, as opposed to the malaysian-stye, splash macam nak mandi), making sure no water or soap gets into my eyes. Good thing I had washed my hair on Wednesday morning, so it wasnt that bad when I finally got to shampoo on Friday.<br /><br />By Saturday I was actually seing improvement in my vision. There was still that gray blob, but it was getting lighter grey, and more transluscent. I could almost see the outline of my hand when I waved it in front of my face, when previously it would dissapear behind the blob. Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah.<br /><br />When I went to see the doctor yesterday (monday), I told the nurse that did the eye chart test that even though I still could not read the letters, at least now I could see that there is a chart there. Dr. Gayatri scoped my eye and said she sees a fading of the lesion and that is very encouraging. Alhamdulillah!<br />So she made me an appointment for Wednesday 25th April (3 more weeks). I am to administer the antibiotic drops into my right eye 3 days prior to the appointment. If the OCT results show that I require another dose of Avastin, she will give me the injection straight away.<br />She also asked me to monitor the vision in my left eye and to come right away if I see deteriotarion in its quality. I know now to do so, and not wait till I see the grey blob.<br /><br />Alhamdulillah, I am happy.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-12448987986532964512012-03-24T12:17:00.015+03:002012-03-24T13:42:18.959+03:00The world through my eyes recentlyDuring the beginning of the school holidays (around 10th of March) recently, I discovered that my vision was a little different. I started seeing things like this:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVskOXit9XUwOygcImZWiiHhFfdAt3NiEFO4bEXj1zYNMDgVej9P1f2VmYD9WUSztO_d99t7L12_Nt0bPfYIE5WlQuoAgGA8ldNSxVRFwRJgC-1-EQaayA28gnny9aMuVdJl6/s1600/vision1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVskOXit9XUwOygcImZWiiHhFfdAt3NiEFO4bEXj1zYNMDgVej9P1f2VmYD9WUSztO_d99t7L12_Nt0bPfYIE5WlQuoAgGA8ldNSxVRFwRJgC-1-EQaayA28gnny9aMuVdJl6/s400/vision1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723390930592317538" /></a><br />At first I thought perhaps my contact lenses were just dirty, so I took it off and made sure I cleaned it properly. But when I woke up the next morning, it was still slightly blurry. So I opened up a fresh pair of contact lenses, but my vision still did not improve. <br />So I decided to do a simple experiment, by closing one eye and looking only through the other. This was what I discovered:<br />Vision through my left eye looked like this-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzrw8GiT7SHRRG2CHl2yO-I0I_mCXdQc0nfDA4IygzkHQUgcZsEomf9wRe9q8TLmKldTm7ryHbfhPNqFLH0n8Ji8Q9DDcHPBzQnjHcxMv6XM1Pxd4uP9wec-Wc4rpVYwlN02t/s1600/vision+left.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzrw8GiT7SHRRG2CHl2yO-I0I_mCXdQc0nfDA4IygzkHQUgcZsEomf9wRe9q8TLmKldTm7ryHbfhPNqFLH0n8Ji8Q9DDcHPBzQnjHcxMv6XM1Pxd4uP9wec-Wc4rpVYwlN02t/s400/vision+left.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723406046892552482" /></a><br />Vision through my right eye looked like this:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYh3pokGZx_tY1BuDEvo5QtLWzEVc6dsx6QTdzOMpKEuBJ3gkYRVPDgUGLUoOoP2hlPcMOw4iR-K4OfaWYMmambydL6PmU38dk2altzKVgFyzQ23Hb4CJa2ZvjNKJo3MbNhlB/s1600/vision+right.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYh3pokGZx_tY1BuDEvo5QtLWzEVc6dsx6QTdzOMpKEuBJ3gkYRVPDgUGLUoOoP2hlPcMOw4iR-K4OfaWYMmambydL6PmU38dk2altzKVgFyzQ23Hb4CJa2ZvjNKJo3MbNhlB/s400/vision+right.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723406146648837778" /></a><br /><br><br />I had a blind spot on my right eye. <br /><br />It wasn't a completely blind spot, coz through it I could still see colors, but of course it still alarmed me. If I blink my eye really rapidly, I could actually see the shape of the 'spot', like a paint splatter in my eye. One night I even spent almost half an hour closing my left eye and moving my index finger across my right eye like a windshield wiper to see its shape more clearly and also to watch my finger 'dissapear'. tee hee.<br /><br />I wanted to get it checked, but it being a school holiday, it was impossible to leave the kids home alone while I go to the hospital, plus there were that 2 days that we were supposed to not have water.<br /><br />I can't remember what I did on the monday, the first day school started, but I only managed to go to the Tun Hussein Onn National Eye Hospital (THONEH) on Tuesday morning. Not knowing what tests they were gonna do, and not liking to drive to unfamiliar places (especially with impaired eyesight), I drove to SS3/43, parked my car, walked to the LRT station to catch the train to Asia Jaya station and from there it was short walk to THONEH.<br /><br />They did the usual pre-limenary eye test with the chart and when they closed my left eye, all I could see was a grey spot and I told them. Dr. Pavina showed me a paper with square grids on them and asked me to draw the 'spot' and I did. <br />She asked me questions about my eyesight. How shortsighted am I (-5.0 on both eyes). How long have I been wearing glasses (since I was 17). How long have I been wearing contact lenses (since I was 20). When did I last have my eyes checked (I think the last time we came home, which was 2 years ago?). Was my vision distorted then (I have always had astigmatism, so if it was, I wouldn't have noticed it was this bad till last week). <br />She then put my head into this contraption and took a really close look into my eyes. She told me she saw what the problem was. I asked whether it was external or internal, realy hoping it was just something growing on my cornea and it could be scraped or lasered off somehow. Unfortunately, she said it was internal.<br />She brought me to see a more experienced Dr. Saras for a second opinion. Dr Saras scoped, prodded and examined my eye and gave me the same verdict. (note: Dr. Pavina is waaaay gentler than Dr. Saras. omg.)<br /><br />They gave me eyedrops to dilate my pupils and sent me for Opthalmic Photography and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). <br />Opthamlmic Photography takes pictures of my retina, the inside wall of my eyes.<br />OCT is this really cool machine that actually takes a cross-sectional picture of the layers of the retina. I distracted myself from the grim possibilities of my ailment by asking the technician to explain how the machine works. You can google it if you want. It's pretty cool. :)<br />The only hard part with both procedures is trying to keep your eyes open without blinking and having blinding bright light flashing in your eyes. Not comfortable at all. The technicians were pretty nice though. They told me ,"don't blink, ya, don't blink" while taking pictures, then "okay blink now! blink, blink!" in between pictures. <br /><br />The pictures showed that I have a lesion on my right retina, in a shape that matches what I had been tracing with my fingers one night a week ago. What is more alarming is, they see signs that it might also occur in my left eye. So they sent me to see another doctor, a retina specialist, Dr. Gayatri.<br />Dr. Gayatri looked at my case and decided to do an FFA (urm not sure what it's short for), but basically they inject a dye in my bloodstream and take pictures of my eye to see how the blood is flowing around the lesion. I were to come the next morning for the FFA.<br /><br />So the next morning after sending the kids to school (yes, I still had to drive them to school. How?), I parked and rode the LRT again to THONEH.<br />They administered the pupil dialating eyedrops, put an IV on my left hand, and brought me to the Opthalmic Photography room. The test was pretty simple - I sat in front of the contraption that holds my head still and a camera points directly at my eye. The moment they inject the dye via the IV, they start taking pictures of the inside of my eye. My retina was like America's Next Top Retina. It was like flash flash flash. I felt like it took forever to finish, even though it was actually only about 5-7 minutes.<br />I was told to drink lots of water to flush out the dye and not to be suprised to find my pee bright yellow.<br /><br />Dr. Gayatri examined the FFA results for a bit and then gave me the prognosis. <br />My retina is damaged and 'leaking' due to the stress from my extreme shortsightedness. I asked her if Lasik would help to reduce the stress, she said not really, because it's actually my mis-shapen eyeball that it causing my shortsightedness and stretching my retina and thus causing it to strain and damage it. <br />Fortunately, there is treatment for it. The medicine is, however, administered by injection of the eyeball.<br />Here's where I started to freak out in my head a bit.<br /><br /><blockquote>"You're gonna inject. my. eyeball??" I asked.<br />"It's actually a relatively painless procedure" (relative to what? poking your eye with a fork??)<br />"We are going to numb your eyes before the injection and really, all you would feel is something similar to an ant bite" she tried to assure me.<br />"Like an ant bite. on. my. eyes!!", I was NOT assured.</blockquote><br /><br />I wasn't about to dwell on the horrible images it brought up, so I decided to change the subject to cost.<br />I have the choice between 2 drugs - one that is extremely expensive, and another that is just expensive. The former was designed specifically for this ailment (aha! So I wasn't the only one with this problem) and therefore has had a lot of money pumped into its research and development, hence the cost. The latter, however was accidently discovered to have the same effect with the same effectiveness, without having to go through all the R&D costs. I consulted my financier a.k.a. husband and we decided on the latter. <br />I have an appointment to get my eyes poked next Thursday. Taufik will be taking the day off to hold my hand, Insya-Allah.<br /><br />Make du'a for me!elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-28105521905298034832012-02-22T04:31:00.002+03:002012-02-22T07:00:23.505+03:00Am Are IIf you want to do the MRI, you have to be prepared to wait.<br />Because if your case is not urgent, read: if your head is not going to explode or something, then you would have to wait till after everyone who has made an appointment before you or whose head was going to explode to go through the test before it gets to your turn.<br />The doctor requested for my MRI at around noon, and my turn only came almost 7 hours later. Good thing I was admitted into a room, so at least I could lie down and watch Amazing Race while I wait.<br /><br />The attendant wheeled me down to the Imaging room and I was interviewed first. The nurse asked me if I knew what an MRI is, and I said I've seen it on TV ;) I was asked if I was claustrophobic and if I have had any kind of implants, did I work with metal grinders etc. Basically they just wanted to know if I had anything metal in my body that would affect the magnetic resonance. I had taken out anything metal on my body, including the pin that was holding my headscarf. Good thing I was wearing a lycra Selendang Saudah, so it was easy to wrap it around my head and keep it in place without a pin. I was told to change into the gown provided and to remove everything else except my underwear.<br /><br />Okay, here I would like to digress a bit and complain.<br />Why is it that someone does not design a muslimah-friendly hospital gown? The one I had to wear had short sleeves and it reached only a little below the knee. I had to ask for a blanket to wear like a sarong to hide my legs. And what's with the ties? How in the world was I supposed to tie it anyways? I think there are things called 'velcro' nowadays.<br /><br />So after I have figured out how to wear my gown, I went into the Imaging room to face this behemoth of a machine. It looked like a really huge pencil sharpener. I was asked to lie down and the imaging guy explained to me how I shouldnt move, how long it'd take and gave me a button to push in case I wanted the test to stop for any reason. I prayed to god I would not need to use it, coz wouldn't that mean I'd have to repeat the test again? He gave me ear plugs to dull the noise, told me to lie down, wedged sponges on the side of my head to reduce movement and closed this star wars-like visor over my face. <br /><br />I closed my eyes and imagined just that - that I was going on a trip to the outerspace. I tried not to think about the enclosed space and put pictures of wide open sky in my head instead. It also helped that the first sound I heard after I had stopped moving inside was like a single note from a electric bass guitar. Just like the sound the spaceship in Close Encounters of the Third Kind made. It helped feed my planetary trip fantasy I had going on. That single note was repeated for a few minutes before it stopped and changed rythm.<br /><br />After what felt like quite a while, I realized that I was breathing very shallowly. Maybe I had forgotten how to breathe!? I tried hard to not panic and concentrate on my breathing. I almost wanted to press the button, but the thought of having to do the test over kept me from doing so. If I back out now, who knows whether I'd have the courage to do it again? So I braved myself and recited all the surahs that I memorized. Unfortunately it didn't take too long to go through all of them (*hangs head in shame*). Alhamdulillah, though, after several rounds of surahs and Robbi Yasser walatu asser (God is the Great Giver of Ease and will make it easy) I calmed down and decided to just enjoy the rock show.<br /><br />Coz it was just like a rock show! There wasn't much variety in the notes, but the rythm was there. Some bits sounded like drum beats, some sounded like feedback, some sounded like the "paa paa paa" of an electric guitar. Towards the end of the test was quite entertaining, coz it went "tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap" then "paa paa paa paa paa paa paa paa", over and over. I almost tapped my feet. I even got the courage to open my eyes a bit to take a peek at the inside of the pencil sharpener. All I could see was the frames of my visor and white, white, white. I closed my eyes and didn't think much about it anymore coz my nose was starting to itch. <br /><br />So there I was. stuck in this hole and my nose was itching and I really really really wanted to scratch it but was too scared that I'd move too much and would have to do everything all over again and as much as I had enjoyed the 'rock concert', I don't think I could stand another 30 minutes of it. With the grace of God, everything stopped and they took me out and I was told the test was done! Alhamdulillah, I could now scratch my nose! lol<br /><br />So I changed and went back to my room. The whole thing took about 45minutes. About 2 hours later the doctor came to tell me my MRI looks clear, so there's really nothing to worry about. Next time I have a headache I should just take a panadol and sleep it off. Next time I have a cold, just take it easy and don't work too hard (heh. Easier said than done). She suggested a blood test to rule out anything else. <br /><br />I was glad they didn't find anything in the MRI. I was prepared for all possibilities, but I was glad it was all clear, just so that I didn't have to go through the pencil sharpener again. ;)elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-31066287347346690342012-02-21T05:53:00.005+03:002012-02-21T10:20:33.179+03:00What went down on Sunday?Me. <br />Literally.<br /><br />For the past few years I have been getting headaches that coincides with the crimson tide. So last Saturday was no different, except that towards the evening I also developed a cold. So I took Claratyne, and closer to my bedtime I took a panadol, with hopes that the next morning I'd have slept it all off.<br />Woke up, still with a headache and a runny nose, teary eyes and all. After taking a shower did not alleviate the pain, I knew that breakfast was gonna be a little slow today. So I ate an apple before starting on the sausages, beans and eggs. Ilham and Ihsan came home from their sleepover at nenek's asking whether they could go with MakLong to KL, I said no. Still nursing my headache, I got the boys to help me out with breakfast. Ihsan was cooking sausages while I was peeling some shallots and garlic for the baked beans. One minute I was rinsing the knife, next minute it was like the end of a silent movie, where the bright circle in the middle of the dark screen got smaller and smaller until everything was black. Next thing I knew, Taufik was repeatingly calling out my name and I was lying on the floor.<br /><br />Taufik then brought me to the hospital with Anis, leaving the older boys at home to watch over Izani and his cousins (who came for a sleepover the night before). Riding up and down the elevator made me so woozy that by the time we got to the emergency room and Taufik got me registered, I had puked out bits of apple all over the floor.<br />I felt awful, but it was actually a blessing, coz I caught the nurse's attention and they admitted me into the Resus room straight away. (tee hee)<br /><br />So the doctor came to see me, asked me what happened, I told him. He called the Neurologist and she asked me the same questions, did some tests just like I saw on ER/Grey's/House (follow my finger, touch my finger, touch your nose etc etc). She checked my head for bumps, but there weren't any. I think I fell bum first coz it hurt a bit. (Shows you which part of my body is heaviest... ha ha). She calls my headaches 'migraines' but I am kinda reluctant to call it that, coz I've seen friends with migraines, and I don't think mine are *that* bad. She thinks it's nothing, I fainted most probably coz I was trying to do too much after taking anti-histamines that usually requires resting coz it knocks you out. But if we want to be sure, we can either do a CAT scan or an MRI, the latter being more accurate but it requires me being admitted into the hospital because the test and its results take a while. We decided we might as well do the MRI since we're already there.<br /><br />While waiting for my room to be ready, I managed to take a nap in the ER and woke up feeling a bit better, even though it still felt like there were rocks in my head.<br /><br />Of course when you get admitted into the hospital, things sound more serious than it actually is. The whole family stopped by to visit and all. I hope they were not too dissapointed that I wasn't as sick as they thought I was. ha ha ha.<br /><br />Tomorrow I'll tell you all about my MRI experience. It was quite interesting ;)elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-20667183865848428182011-05-16T18:37:00.002+03:002011-05-16T18:42:31.896+03:00Real MagicI visited Izani's class one day and observed how his teacher managed to lure a group of 5-year-olds to sit on a mat around her in a calm and orderly manner by engaging them in a song about goldilocks and the 3 bears. It was really amazing.<br />So I listened really closely and managed to learn the song by heart.<br />At home I tried to sing the song to Izani, hoping for the same results.<br />It didn't work.<br />I suspect that teachers either have really good skills or have magic powers.<br />I believe that if there's a real Hogwarts, it's a teacher's college.<br /><br />Happy Teacher's Day to all the teachers I know!<br />You are amazing!elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-59238532037498367102011-04-28T11:06:00.005+03:002011-04-28T11:40:38.585+03:00Lost in The Focault's PendulumFor several weeks now I have been reading The Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. It's a diabolical book. I would describe it as The Davinci Code written by/for nerds on crack.<br />The beginning shows promise, drawing you in, then the middle part just throws at you all sorts of stuff about the Templars, the occult, obscure references to secret societies. There is a murder, which led the protagonists (3 editors at a publishing firm that had been looking at works from scholars writing about the Templars, whom they call the Diabolicals. I agree.) to believe there is a secret plan involved and there are people who are making sure the plan remains a secret. So they embark on uncovering The Plan. They researched and consulted and hypothesised, and concluded that The Plan was to control the world (what else) by controlling telluric currents, which controls how the earth behaves. To control the current, the 'King of The World' needs to find out where the Umbilicus Telluris, the command centre of the earth. The Plan, is elaborate, it spans 600 hundred years involving 36 'invisible' agents every 120 years which they suspect is disguised as the Templars quest to find the Holy Grail, which is actually to finally locate the Umbilicus. But how do they locate it, and how do they keep it a secret from everyone else? They must use some kind of secret map and secret way to identify the location. That's where it get's interesting. <br /><br />From Chapter 82:<i><br />"A map? But a map would be marked with an X at the point of the Umbilicus. Whoever held the peace with the X would know everything and not need the other pieces. No; it had to be more involved. We racked our brains for several days, until Blbo decided to resort to Abulafia [their computer]. And the reply was:<br /><br /></i>Guillaume Postel dies in 1581. Bacon is Viscount St. Albans. In the Conservatoire is Focault's Pendulum. <i><br /><br />The time had come to find a function for the Pendulum.<br /><br />[they read texts about Templars and the church and Galileo etc]<br /><br />"All right, let's assume the Templars used the Pendulum to indicate the Umbilicus. Instead of the labyrinth, which is after all, an absttract scheme, on the floor you put the map of the world. The point marked by the tip of the pendulum at a given hour is the point that marks the Umbilicus. But which Pendulum?"<br />"The place is beyond discussion: Saint-Martin-des-Champs, the Refuge"<br />"Yes," Belbo replied, " but let's supposed that at the stroke of midnight the Pendulum swings from Copenhagen to Capetown. Where is the Umbilicus? In Denmark or in South Africa?"<br />"A good observation," I said. "But our Diabolical tells us also that in Chartres there is a fissure in a stained-glass window of the choir, and at a given hour of the day a sunbeam enters through the crack and always hits the same place, always the same stone on the floor. I don't remember the conclusion he draws fro this, but in any event it's a great secret. So here's the mechanism: in the choir of Saint-Martin there is a window that has an uncolored spot near the juncture of two lead cames. It was carefully calculated, and probably for 600 years someone has always taken care to keep it as is. At sunrise on a given day of the year ..."<br />"... which can only be the dawn of June 24, Saint John's day, feast of the summer solstice ..."<br />"... yes, on that day and at that hour, the first pure ray of sun that comes through the windows strikes the floor beneath the Pendulum, and the pendulum's intersection of the ray at that instant is the precise point on the map where the Umbilicus is to be found!"</i><br /><br />When I read this part, the first image that came into my mind was this one:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfO7Ye6lj1pfxUpS0YUOKLei9TzVehx4hdSKPfMpYMsB-sRuOuyDnZAalL_1zwljw94sCWIK1h9-Vv-knqkVVsHMtj6QXVn6aoY6tfZh_gghd83cfo9My3TbmR4ux_S7Cqt2Yf/s1600/5-pendulum.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfO7Ye6lj1pfxUpS0YUOKLei9TzVehx4hdSKPfMpYMsB-sRuOuyDnZAalL_1zwljw94sCWIK1h9-Vv-knqkVVsHMtj6QXVn6aoY6tfZh_gghd83cfo9My3TbmR4ux_S7Cqt2Yf/s400/5-pendulum.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600550556958772434" /></a><br />The pendulum at The Dharma Lampost station in Lost.<br /><br />I googled and discovered that apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought so too.<br />Who would wanna bet that the writers in Lost had read The Focault's Pendulum?<br />No wonder the show was so good. They are DIABOLICAL!!<br /><br />So diabolical that I had to categorize this post under both Literary and Transmission Jam.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-72464410236755439672011-03-20T09:19:00.004+03:002011-03-20T10:10:50.292+03:00Meeting EoinOf all the times I have said 'tee hee', meeting Eoin Colfer (pronounced as 'Owen', by the way) would probably be the most 'tee hee'-ing time of all :)<br /><br />Eoin was in Dubai for the Emirates Literary Festival and on March 11th, he gave a talk on Celebrating 10 years of Artemis Fowl. Describing the event as a 'talk' would be a gross understatement. It was more like a stand-up comedy set. Eoin is as witty and funny in person as he is in his books, or even more so. (Now I wonder if Terry Pratchett is the same way).<br /><br />He started by explaining that he got the idea for Artemis Fowl from his 3 younger brothers, especially Donald (?) which is like a diminutive James Bond and could get his way out of anything. His other brothers were more like goblins, which he gladly killed off in awful ways in his book (like getting their heads blown off by an exploding fart in The Lost Colony). And one in particular (Neil?) was actually the inspiration for Mulch, due to his expertise in farting.<br /><br />Someone asked him whether there's ever going to be an Artemis Fowl - The Movie, and he said that 'they' have been discussing it for years, so excuse him if he's a bit bitter about it. He said it'll probably come out in 3 weeks. After he's dead.<br /><br />He really kept the audience in stitches. I had to fish out tissue paper from my purse because I was laughing so hard that all manner of bodily fluids were threatening to gush out.<br /><br />After the talk, almost everyone lined up for a book signing. He smiled welcomingly at Anis and Anis gave him a blank look, so I had to own up that I was really the fan, not my daughter. He laughed at that. Anis took a picture of Eoin and I together, and if he's reading this, I would like to apologize for smelling like curry, coz we just came from lunch at an Indian restaurant. (It was really good lunch, if it makes a difference)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50_7esbIwmSy7mHzOz_QttSuCmbvHkWGpv5Yymk8_BfJnz6ONDOUAhlnXfwRdKIyQrVibKQMfm1Dt8eMN-zh05L1QA-wDwJmTcEUy1LVXnJfgjdQ-frd8SeAVu_AaXK-vEDzv/s1600/me%2526eoin+colfer.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50_7esbIwmSy7mHzOz_QttSuCmbvHkWGpv5Yymk8_BfJnz6ONDOUAhlnXfwRdKIyQrVibKQMfm1Dt8eMN-zh05L1QA-wDwJmTcEUy1LVXnJfgjdQ-frd8SeAVu_AaXK-vEDzv/s400/me%2526eoin+colfer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586047811870119474" /></a><br /><br />I think he looks a bit like Mike Myers, don't you?elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-4554204811814125852011-02-16T10:17:00.001+03:002011-02-16T10:21:00.994+03:00read<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeV0Ag1w1Ptqa21dNMpDzoY30Vvtt_otWUyWBR_2WlvMoqjR1qerk-dnk6d6bPQXLrSuUKK99F5CLKoNYT2Z9MwjlyL2vYTrgTD7Ld8yBJQLMrtXbHn_jcj-krA-JkiXRJS8MY/s1600/read-vedder.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeV0Ag1w1Ptqa21dNMpDzoY30Vvtt_otWUyWBR_2WlvMoqjR1qerk-dnk6d6bPQXLrSuUKK99F5CLKoNYT2Z9MwjlyL2vYTrgTD7Ld8yBJQLMrtXbHn_jcj-krA-JkiXRJS8MY/s400/read-vedder.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574183525982915474" /></a><br />Photo from 5X1 Pearl Jam through the eye of Lance Mercer.<br /><br />Dedicated to <a href="http://hontouni.tumblr.com/">Didi</a>, the sister who's too cool to facebook.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-78936632690236434202011-02-11T18:27:00.003+03:002011-02-11T18:57:06.340+03:00One hundred and twenty seven<a href="www.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/">127 hours</a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />-Contains spoilers-</span><br /><br />I haven't read the book "Between A Rock and A Hard Place" by Aron Ralston, so I am basing my conclusions solely based on watching the movie.<br /><br />From what I gathered, Aron Ralston started out as someone who thinks that he is self-sufficient and almost omnipotent. He lives alone, doesn't return his mom's phone calls, he doesn't tell his colleagues where he's going, he just takes a drive off into the canyons of Utah for a hike and climb to Big John canyon, with just a pack filled with a climbing kit, a made in china multi-purpose tool (pliers, short knife and a shorter knife), a bottle of water, some munchies, a still camera and a video recorder. In fact he was so confident of himself that he even brags a bit about making it to the canyon with a shorter time than anyone else.<br /><br />God had other plans for him though.<br /><br />While climbing down one crevice (don't ask me why, maybe he was trying to get across it? Maybe he just wanted to challenge himself? *shrug*), he slipped, knocked over a boulder while he was going down and that boulder pinned his right hand to the canyon wall. Unable to move, Aron spent 127 hours trying out several ways to set himself free. Unable to move, Aron also spent 127 hours reflecting upon his life and how he had spent it. The realization that he is literally all alone, that no one knows where he is and no one would come looking for him anytime soon and that by the time they did he would probably be dead, made him almost ready to give up on his life.<br /><br />Dehydration getting the better of him after a few days without food and resorting to him drinking his own pee made him see visions, and in one, he saw himself playing with a little boy, which he concluded to be his son. That vision gave him the courage to do the inevitable - cut off his own right hand to set himself free.<br /><br />That scene is excruciating to watch, to say the least. It only lasted for perhaps 10 minutes, but in my opinion, it must be one of the most powerful moments in the movie. To see Aron so determined to live, almost giving up at one point but finally motivated to continue with what he started was an epiphany to me. It's like a metaphor to life, really. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a bit of yourself, to do or experience something that you might not really like, just to set the rest of yourself free and come out a better person.<br /><br />I think this was the lesson that God was trying to teach Aron. He didn't get the lesson when his girlfriend left him for being selfish or something (I don't really get why, but that's what I figured). So God had to teach it to him the hard way.<br />So Aron came out of that crack on the earth surface, a better man. Less a hand, but more of a person. More humble, more appreciative of the human connection.<br /><br />I think if Aron believed in Allah and had seen the blessing Allah had given him, just as I had seen it, it would have made him a really good muslim :)<br /><br />"Allah is Al-Jabbar, the compeller. He compels you to His will and you cannot resist Him. His will is, however, decreed with great wisdom, knowledge, justice and compassion, so you can be assured that it is for your own good, to make you a better person in this life and the next" - the gist of a lecture on Names of Allah - Al-Jabbar<br /><br />Wallahu-a'lam.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-66303887953821204762011-01-27T10:14:00.002+03:002011-01-27T11:20:26.814+03:00Parental Engagement Week 2011This past week, all GEMS schools around Dubai had their Parental Engagement Week.<br />'GEMS' is a corporate body that runs and owns several private and international schools in Dubai. 'Parental Engagement' is their effort in encouraging parents to be more involved and engaged in their children's development.<br />It was a hectic week, but boy, was it all worth it.<br /><br />I had the opportunity to sit in Izani's class to see how he's learning to read and write using the Phonics method. Watching how attentive Izani was in class raised my confidence that he is going to do okay in school :) Watching how creative his teacher was in engaging her young students was really inspiring. It was also a little intimidating, because when it came to when it was my turn to sit with Izani and engage in some learning games, he totally ignored me! I tried using the sing-song voice, the freddy fingers, the exaggerated expressions, but no go. I finally threatened to leave, and that worked in making Izani sit down and play with me. *shame*. I definitely am not teacher material :( I don't know how I got through all the readaloud sessions I had been doing before, without pulling out my hair. Perhaps I was more patient before?<br />Anyway, back to Izani's learning, I really love the learning environment. They truly truly believe in learning through play over here. (Now here it comes ... ) I hope that Malaysia has something similar to this, in Alor Star.<br /><br />Then I got the chance to sit in Anis's class and see how she's learning to write better. They call the session 'Big Write' and the children were taught how to expand their writing using the principles of V - vocabulary (using different, descriptive and 'exciting' words), O - openers (using great and appropriate openers to start a sentence and engage the reader), C - connectors (using relevant and appropriate connecting words to relate to sentences or ideas together), and P - punctuation (using the correct punctuation and speech marks to control the flow of ideas). Masya-Allah, I really don't remember when I learnt how to write like that, but I don't think it was when I was only 8 years old. I remember learning words, I remember learning writing sentences and paragraphs, but I don't think anyone ever taught me writing this explicitly. I really hope Anis remembers all of this when we leave this school.<br /><br />I also got to sit in Ihsan's Math class where he showed to me the different methods he was taught on how to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. He showed me which were his favourite methods and why he liked them and I shared with him mine. We then had a race in solving a few SATs questions. No guessing to who won. (me. tee hee) I really liked it that the teacher said there are no wrong or right method, just use one that you are most comfortable with, because our brain works differently. As long as you show you understand the problem, show that you know how to solve it, you get points, even if you get the final answer wrong. The final answer costs only one point. What an epiphany.<br /><br />Aside from classroom sessions, they also organized talks with renowned speakers and authors. <br />Dr. Ron Clavier, a neuropsychologist, talked to parents how a child's brain develop from being childish to adolescence to adulthood. He explained the limits of a child's ability to process information, and how to handle it. He revealed what to expect in the future years of our children turning into teenagers, how their 'changing' mind would affect their perspective of the world and their behaviour towards it, and how we could reason with them. He also explained how to tell when your teen is ready to be an adult, and ready to accept adult privileges and responsibilities.<br />Another speaker was Mr. Bill Lucas, an expert educator, who tackled the topic "How to help your child to succeed in school and in life". He said that though schools may teach a child the curriculum of the 3 Rs (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic), both schools and parents need to also teach them a curriculum of these 6 new Rs - Resourcefulness, Remembering, Reciprocity, Resilience, Responsiveness and Reflectiveness. In short, we should teach our children not just WHAT to learn, but more importantly, HOW to learn, so that they continue learning throughout their lives. It's really just like the old adage, "Give a man a fish, then he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, then he'll eat for a lifetime".<br />Masya-Allah, so enlightening and enriching.<br /><br />It wasn't all academic and boring, they also had fun sessions like the Art Carousel, where school staff offered parents and students a chance to try 3 different 20 minute sessions of activities ranging from Indian Paper Folding, ballroom dancing and beginner guitar. We did Mask Designing (which is basically gluing sequins, plastic jewels, glitter and feathers on paper masks), Bookmaking (where we learn how to make an 8-page and 16-page book just by folding and cutting paper - no glue involved at all!) and we joined Rock Challenge (dancing in groups! Izani had a blast!).<br />The highlight of the week had to be the drumming session with Dubai Drums. They brought in 200 african drums and had 3 half an hour sessions of teaching parents and children how to play them! This was the only time I had thought to bring the camera, so this was the only activity I had pictures of:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDcAUEjnbpW8sIbLn7p2GbXDufT4x6D1HNCdsrUC2HZKtEPzWMhZ7B_P4BqvwuLiVtBKA2LjEKCGdsiG9kWCR5LH01oX2D3Tg9Kj1tH2v-Gkdk8dZ_jFFb4Wpo20qy6NzVqXn/s1600/DSC_7705.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDcAUEjnbpW8sIbLn7p2GbXDufT4x6D1HNCdsrUC2HZKtEPzWMhZ7B_P4BqvwuLiVtBKA2LjEKCGdsiG9kWCR5LH01oX2D3Tg9Kj1tH2v-Gkdk8dZ_jFFb4Wpo20qy6NzVqXn/s400/DSC_7705.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566762955251009730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUDR0cYWRnDIZEQw7L0_IkH-hDa22NGkuAHeU5Xpxf8dsjTTqLeKUrufLCOuW0_7aH-3RZOCOWizcl0Pxm83AOw7oXDu9GfmrICv5-Y99NPoxKS5ReZ-OqFKXbAt7U52HAIXJ/s1600/DSC_7700.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUDR0cYWRnDIZEQw7L0_IkH-hDa22NGkuAHeU5Xpxf8dsjTTqLeKUrufLCOuW0_7aH-3RZOCOWizcl0Pxm83AOw7oXDu9GfmrICv5-Y99NPoxKS5ReZ-OqFKXbAt7U52HAIXJ/s400/DSC_7700.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566762948721845346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4RuiRqiA72adjgq56qNj3nvjsHThXPJaqBeqjMCL9FTrK2hAkOoXJuROQ7oSi03BLAObx9xBLfy4GsjgwqS9P5b34nPVEJp4A7jdgapiaHg3uhPuEC_FVLNdl9oyTQI5Kj7G/s1600/DSC_7646.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4RuiRqiA72adjgq56qNj3nvjsHThXPJaqBeqjMCL9FTrK2hAkOoXJuROQ7oSi03BLAObx9xBLfy4GsjgwqS9P5b34nPVEJp4A7jdgapiaHg3uhPuEC_FVLNdl9oyTQI5Kj7G/s400/DSC_7646.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566762948894434738" /></a><br />We enjoyed the drumming session very much! I am seriously thinking of getting an african drum the next time I go to Global Village! :D<br /><br />Overall, it has been a tiring and enlightening week for me. I am so inspired and motivated at the moment. I have learnt so much about my children and how to handle them. I just hope I remember it all and can put it into practice.<br />This also makes me wonder if schools in Malaysia have something similar to this. The week had really made me feel like the teachers and I are a team, and we have one goal, that is to groom our children to become not just information guzzlers and spewers, but to become learners, do-ers, investigators, creators ... adults who can survive in any situation and have healthy and fulfilled lives.<br />Please God, give me the strength to keep at it!<br />Insya-Allah!elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-75261375660502094342011-01-25T10:10:00.004+03:002011-01-25T10:28:12.546+03:00Ben&Gwen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIO3myMj6nnZzR_bnH-CtAGQ6Sy8ysKxqYXfLrt9A2evIOT7rNk8mXwec-YIxlnnThqKqRX37s1Ve-EAZHutmyGwCPIJcuLTSNic5IWPIw_K6NB-eNKu4uOXk_H6C9N4gS8OD/s1600/scan0001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIO3myMj6nnZzR_bnH-CtAGQ6Sy8ysKxqYXfLrt9A2evIOT7rNk8mXwec-YIxlnnThqKqRX37s1Ve-EAZHutmyGwCPIJcuLTSNic5IWPIw_K6NB-eNKu4uOXk_H6C9N4gS8OD/s400/scan0001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566020138788594034" /></a><br /><br />Izani got this Ben10 Colouring book in a party goodie bag one day.<br />He opened the first page of the book and went, "Eyeewwww... love hearts!!"<br />His siblings started crowding around him to see and I heard them all expressing disgust one after another.<br />"What??? Ben&Gwen???"<br />"Why are they hugging??"<br />"and what's up with her tummy??"<br />"eyeeewwwww... are they married??"<br />"Eyewwww"<br />"Eyewww"<br />Ilham finally took a look at it, and being the eldest, tried to tone it all down by offering an explanation, "I think Ben just gave Gwen a piece of cake and she's so full that's why her tummy is like that. And she's happy and is hugging Ben to say thanx"<br />They were quiet for a bit until someone said<br />"You know if Ben married Gwen, it's like abang marrying aliya"<br />"eyeeeewwwww!!!!" they all went.<br /><br />No offence to Aliya, coz she's a gorgeous girl, but marrying your cousin is. just. eyew.<br /><br />Who came up with this picture anyway?? sicko.<br />I can never watch Ben10 the same way again.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-77201915727197910822011-01-23T08:17:00.004+03:002011-01-24T11:25:37.552+03:00Long Way HomeIf you've been reading me before (or if you just browse through my archives), you'll notice that I have been talking about going back home for good for a long time. When I mentioned our intention 2 years ago, our time in Saudi was extended by PokCik Smith. Then we were told we were moving to Oman. While preparing to move to Oman, PokCik Smith then told us we were moving to Dubai instead. Here we still are, one year later.<br />Suffice to say that I've been telling people I am going home so many times, but never get around to it, that it's getting kinda embarrassing. I have almost come to the point of not telling people about my 'schedule' anymore. So you are forgiven if you think, "Yeah , right... she's never going home" when I tell you this time that I will be going home this July.<br />This time we are sure, because this time, we are in control. Come July, Taufik will quit PokCik Smith (Insya-Allah), and we will be able to go wherever we want to go, and it will definitely back home to Malaysia (again, Insya-Allah).<br /><br />The prospect of retiring at the age of 40 can be quite scary, especially with 4 school-going children, but we've been planning this for almost 20 years, I think we'll be okay, Insya-Allah. We have been saving up ever since we started working, and Alhamdulillah, we now think we have enough for the children's education, for emergencies (Na'udzubillah) and for living out a simple lifestyle for the rest of our lives.<br />The life that we are looking to live for the rest of our lives is not the life of luxury. I am not eyeing fancy cars, designer clothes and to be draped in jewelery. We plan to live in Kedah, where the low cost of living there would probably stretch out our savings further compared to if we were to live in a big city place like KL or PJ.<br />To sustain ourselves financially, we have a small fruit orchard and Taufik had also acquired some palm oil land. We will do our best to maintain these two small pieces of land and pray to Allah to bless our land so that we can reap what we sow ourself into the earth. <br />I'm gonna be a farmer, y'all.<br />Perhaps you would see me at my stall by the PLUS highway one day, selling my durians and rambutans and manggis :) (While facebook-ing, of course).<br /><br />Am I looking forward to this change in lifestyle? I have been asking myself the same question, and you know what, I actually am. <br />I wasn't really looking forward going back to KL, because compared to Al-Khobar and Dubai, our capital is actually quite a scary place to live and raise a family in. I get stressed out just thinking about the traffic, the potential of being road-bullied, or the possibility of my house getting broken into. I am sure it's not really *that* bad, since I've lived most of my life in PJ and Alhamdulillah nothing untoward has ever happened to me, but I still find it kinda tiring to always be on-guard, after 6 years of not worrying about it.<br />So moving to the less metropolitan and more laidback state of Kedah is definitely more appealing to me. <br />I long for those days when an afternoon walk does not involve dodging traffic or dogs and you'd encounter a huge patch of nature in five minute's time. Taufik longs to be able to just go fishing whenever he wishes. He also longs to teach the children how to live a simple life, be self-sufficient, not be too dependent or distracted by technology. We long to teach our children to appreciate whatever they have, no matter how little and we found that to be very difficult in the current environment where so much is available.<br />I know we would probably get a few (a lot) of protests from the kids at first, but I am sure after a while they'd get used to it. Well, they better get use to it, coz they would have no choice. <br /><br />The one thing that worries me the most is the children's education. <br />After being exposed to such an independent style of learning, would they be able to cope with the regimented Malaysian school environment? Will they lose out in the future because of the drastic school change?<br />My worries, however, are alleviated by looking at the children of other friends who have moved back to Malaysia. Alhamdulillah, they seem to be doing well. I think it all boils down to parent's attitude. We have to know when to push our children and how much. We are the ones who have to make sure that they turn out to be a well-rounded person who are comfortable and confident with their own selves, and not always comparing them with other children.<br />Insya-Allah I will try to do that. I will try to stay calm and not freak out too much when it comes to exams. ;)<br /><br />Well, that is our plan. Only Allah is the disposer, so we will pray that our plan comes to fruition, and be accepting of whatever He decides is best for us.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-5868036406495261962011-01-05T16:49:00.004+03:002011-01-05T17:01:08.229+03:00Makcik Blogger Gathering, Dubai 2011<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-PzA2F1tD4Sef482RyPP5FiwU1filP_6AN6CIkMutOmntOl_yy4pK27ASxWi3OtmXOwVSVALVDnz1TNS1BN47Akw3FbpZtxgs6x73ujfITXOnwcjZoZr6QBb0fusQZqSRsaO/s1600/DSC_7341.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-PzA2F1tD4Sef482RyPP5FiwU1filP_6AN6CIkMutOmntOl_yy4pK27ASxWi3OtmXOwVSVALVDnz1TNS1BN47Akw3FbpZtxgs6x73ujfITXOnwcjZoZr6QBb0fusQZqSRsaO/s400/DSC_7341.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558698963524847266" /></a><br />Well, the inspiration to re-start blogging came from the makcik blogger gathering we had on New Year's Day.<br />Lollies was on her way back from Iran (she had driven from Qatar, left her car at my house while she flew to Iran from Dubai) and had arrived that morning, so we decided to gather up all the makcik bloggers that we know are in Dubai for a New Year's Day picnic in Safa Park.<br />As you can see from the picture above, there were only Lollies, Makcik Melopong, MakNenek and me. Unfortunately Theta and Blabarella couldn't make it :P<br />We had Nasi Kerabu, assorted baklavas and sweets from Iran, sambal belacan kow-kow, roti beowan (spelling?), puding buih and drinks, all pot luck. The agenda was just to eat, chit chat and have fun :)<br />Towards the end of the gathering, we makcik-makcik turned into model-model lah pulak, thanks to the coaxing of my husband. *LOL*<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0AZ-XDWsYFwCZiK_lp5Lq7S1UWBz9KouSwGbpxz6O-4h1L1ng8drX2v3WamD6BHTIL13zf_XHEA98nDKDsj7Hv4LrVoad5Totrm4SvG1NozZd9jPLr8vWtHPQQOdvYxfwICa/s1600/DSC_7350.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0AZ-XDWsYFwCZiK_lp5Lq7S1UWBz9KouSwGbpxz6O-4h1L1ng8drX2v3WamD6BHTIL13zf_XHEA98nDKDsj7Hv4LrVoad5Totrm4SvG1NozZd9jPLr8vWtHPQQOdvYxfwICa/s400/DSC_7350.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558701165712235378" /></a><br />I think it was a great and happy start for the New Year :) and hopefully is a reflection of things to come :)elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-80589737523485181352011-01-01T17:12:00.001+03:002011-01-01T17:13:42.405+03:00Welcome 2011I don't usually make new year resolutions, but I think this year I'll try to make and keep at least one.<br />Guess what it is. <br />:)elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-28640680319445893202010-04-21T11:48:00.004+03:002010-04-21T20:24:32.866+03:00The Curious Case of Casey JamesIf you haven't been watching Amer1can Id0l Season 9, and do not know who Casey James is, please go ahead and google. <br /><br />Casey did not have a good start on American Idol. During his audition in Denver, Simon said he didn't have a good voice, Kara thought he did, Posh Spice made him untie his ponytail and said he had a 'good look', and I think Randy had to say yes because the 2 lady judges got him (Casey, not Randy) to take off his shirt.<br />So you would be forgiven if you thought he was just the male version of the bikini-girl.<br /><br />During Hollywood week though, he wow-ed everyone with his bluesy voice and guitar playing. Suffice to say he got through to Top24. First week, he made all the girls swoon with his rendition of 'Heaven' in a white cowboy shirt, and he continued to do so, week after week, culminating into the emotionally electrifying performance of 'Jealous Guy' during Lennon-McCartney week. <br />Tall and lanky in tight jeans and cowboy boots, with his flowy blonde hair and shiny smile, he would surely be a favourite among the ladies. His talents are nothing to be scoffed at either. Randy called him "the best guitar player this show has ever seen". But is he good enough to win American Idol?<br />If the past 2 weeks' performance is anything to go by, I think not.<br /><br />Contrary to popular belief, Amer1can Id0l is not merely a singing competition. Looking at past winners, you will notice that they had more than a good voice and star quality. They had talent in turning any song into their own and making us believe that it is their own. Doing that is not as easy as it looks or sound. You have to pick a song that you not only can perform well, but that you believe in, so that when you perform it, you perform it with your heart and soul, and audiences will not only enjoy it, but they will believe in it.<br /><br />Take David Cook for instance. Every single week, irregardless of whether it's his 'genre' or not, he manages to pick a song that he can work with and that he can sing with all his heart, and you can see it in his eyes when he does put his soul in it. That's how he made Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby" become a David Cook song, and not a Mariah song.<br /><br />Has Casey James done that? Maybe on a few of the weeks. Several times, he has chosen songs that were kinda obscure, so no one could really tell. His latest performance of "Don't Stop" was perhaps his most disappointing because, even though I hate using this Simon Cowell catch-phrase, it sounded very karaoke. There was nothing unique, nothing that was identifiably 'Casey' in it. I have an inkling that Casey might be a little scared and is playing it very safe. He would rather choose songs that he knows he can perform well, than choosing songs that he believes in with all his heart but is a little difficult to pull off.<br /><br />Everyone knows 'playing it safe' will not cut it anymore. Not after they've seen Adam Lambert. I'm not saying Casey needs to start wearing eye make up and trade his jeans for leather pants, but he really needs to realize that after people have been wow-ed week after week by Adam Lambert's ever changing persona and passionate performances, it would be what everyone expects from future Id0l contestants. It's not enough to entertain. They want to be knocked off their seats. Casey doesn't even dance when he plays fast songs (probably the most 'passionate' thing he ever did was roughly pull out the amp jack out of his guitar at the end of a song). He needs to be more rawkin'!<br /><br />Comparing Casey James to Crystal Bowersox, I think MamaSox has a better chance at being the Id0l this year. We see her changing things up week after week. We see her baring her soul week after week. Her emotionally charged rendition of 'People Get Ready' brought me to tears. <br />I think, if Casey really wants to win , or at least wants show the audience all he's got, next week (if he's still around), he needs to put down the guitar. Pick up a tamborine or something. Pick a song he believes in, then sing it with all his heart.<br />And for gawds sakes, move around a little!<br /><br />Good Luck, Casey!elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-65248415608074118292010-03-28T08:53:00.002+03:002010-03-28T10:00:20.643+03:00One man's loss is another man's gain"One man's loss is another man's gain" is very true to me, because I have benefited a lot from other people's losses.<br />Sounds very sinister, eh? Let me explain.<br /><br />After the March 2003 terrorist attack in Khobar, there was an exodus of expats from that small oil town. PokCik Sm1th decided to turn their Saudi office into an all-muslim one, so they started pulling in folks from other regions to replace the westerners that were now leaving. One of folks that were pulled into Saudi was my husband. I don't know whether Taufik would have been offered something similar if the need for a specific type of replacement were not required. (Given his performance, I'm sure someone would've offered him something eventually, but I don't think it would've been that soon).<br />The exodus of westerners also resulted in lower house rents and availability of places in the already limited number of international schools in Khobar/Dhahran/Dammam area. When we were leaving Khobar after 5 years of living there, our house rent had increased by 50% (with possibilities of further increases in the future) and we heard numerous stories of children of friends who were not accepted into their school of choice due to it being full.<br /><br />We believe that we are experiencing the same thing in Dubai. As we are all aware, Dubai is also currently experiencing a downturn. If we were to move here a few years ago, the rent would've been much higher than what we are paying now. There would be less houses available. I don't think we could have even had the chance to look at a villa like that we are currently living in, much less rent it. <br />In terms of schools, even though Dubai has so many international schools, a few years ago they still could not cope with the large number of expat children in the city, so a lot of new international schools started popping up. Due to that, when more expats started leaving, more places are available at more schools (even though the schools would tell you they were full if you asked).<br /><br />But rent and schools are not the only thing we are benefiting from. With expat families leaving almost every week, there is an abundance of used furniture, and *that* is like candy to bargain hunters (read: kedekut taik hidung masin) like my husband and I. Through our used-furniture hunting escapades we had met a few very interesting folks with different and interesting situations.<br /><br />Adrian, who organizes polar expeditions (yes, believe it or not), sold us a set of 3+2 seaters and a what-i-hope-is-milo-stained sofa bed, for Dhs300. He had to downsize, send his family back home and move to an apartment.<br />Jill, who sold us a set of like brand new red 2+3 seaters for Dhs800 and 2 gigantic desert rose plants for Dhs100 each, was going back to South Africa because that's where her husband's work is taking him.<br />John (Actually, I can't remember his name), who sold us an extremely like brand new Ektorp 3-seater with matching stool (with storage space) for Dhs750 and his TV cabinet for Dhs200, had the saddest story of all. He was retrenched from his bank job. They had to empty the house by end of the month, and his family has to rent an apartment while he tries to look for another job. Failing which, he would have to go back home, survive on his savings and stay with his brother while he gets things together. <br /><br />Sometimes I leave these houses with mix feelings. I feel sad for the situation that they are in, but I also feel grateful for the cheap stuff that I got. So it's like, "I am sorry that you are leaving, but I am glad that you are leaving me your stuff".<br /><br />Sick?<br />Not if you see who else benefits from the numerous garage sales that pop up around this area every weekend. <br />Garage sales usually starts around 8am, and as early as 7:30am, you could already see people hanging around the residence's gate. Most of them would be filipinos and indians/pakistanis/srilankans and 2 malaysians (*raising our hands*). Apart from the 2 malaysians, most of them are what one house-owner we talked to would call "Professional Garage-Sale Buyers". They come in, go through the stuff, grab what they want, pile them in front of the seller, and place their price. It is then up to the seller to agree or not agree and bargain for a higher price.<br />Most of them would buy used clothes, kitchenware and cutlery, decorative items and sometimes furniture and toys. I am guessing some of them would buy them for their own use, and some would buy them to bring back to their home country on their next holiday (I know my cleaner buys used clothes to give to an orphanage in her hometown). So I guess it is a good thing, because unwanted items do not go to waste and people who couldn't afford (or don't want to pay the high price) to buy certain types of items could have a chance to own one (albeit used) at a more affordable price.<br /><br />As I said, one man's loss is another man's gain.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-64394092864634473552010-01-31T11:50:00.007+03:002010-02-01T10:41:18.145+03:00Dubai Drama : HouseI just realized that I have had it easy when it comes to moving.<br />When we moved to Saudi, Taufik had gone 6 months ahead of us to look for houses. He had the freedom to look wherever and whenever without having to haul all of us in the car. Plus, most of the houses were in a compund and came fully furnished. When we finally arrived, he had had everything ready - a fully furnished house, washer&dryer, even a television. We only had to put our clothes into the cupboards and I remember cooking rice and making omelletes for dinner on the very first evening we arrived.<br /><br />Moving to Dubai is a totally different story though.<br />They don't have compounds just like in Saudi, and with PokCik Smith's budget, all we could afford was an empty villa. We had to start looking from scratch, scouring through advertisements in the property section of the paper, calling up whoever advertised their number. We also drove around the area we were interested in, looking out for 'To Let' signs. (Even now, the kids and I still perk up whenever we see a 'To Let' sign). While doing this, we were also looking for schools. We had to find a school that is close to residential areas and then find a house that is close to the school.<br />When the kids got accepted into Jumeirah College and Jumeirah Primary School, we set our sights on a few villas in the neighbourhood.<br /><br />Our first choice was a 4-bedroom double-story villa located 5 minutes (15 minutes walking) from school. We called this house "Villa 118". The first time we looked at it, we liked it for the huge backyard and mature garden. Taufik was already seeing himself doing lots of gardening in it. The house was a little dilapitated though. A few doors were old and rotting, the walls had nail-holes in them, a few marble tops and tiles were broken in the bathrooms and some parts of the concrete fencing was crumbling. We left the house feeling dissapointed that it wasn't in as good a condition as the other houses we saw. <br />The second time we looked at Villa 118, we went with Sharliza (whose house is 5 doors away). She pointed out its good points : All bedrooms had built-in wardrobes and ensuite bathrooms, the fittings were relatively new, the kitchen had built-in cabinets, a washing machine and a fridge and the living area is quite a huge space. We really didn't need much convincing actually, because despite the dust and dried leaves on the floor, we felt at home the moment we stepped into the house.<br />Taufik called up the real-estate agent, Mohsen, who was unfortunately away on vacation, but was able to negotiate rent via phone calls and emails. We met with Khaldoon, the maintenance supervisor to itemize what needed fixing and he assured us that the villa would be ready by Feb 1st. <br />We thought our house is settled, but a day later we got a call from Mohsen's associate who demanded that we pay the rent in full before they proceed with the repair work. We refused, of course, because they have not given us an agreement in writing on whether they were going to fix anything and we have not even seen any lease contract. What is the guarantee that we won't end up living in a dilapitated house? Taufik tried to discuss and negotiate with the associate but he was so rude (shouting and not listening) and insistent that Taufik decided to CANCEL renting the villa right there and then!<br /><br />On to plan B, which was another 4-bedroom double-story villa a little bit further away (10 minutes by car, 30 minutes on foot) from Villa 118, which we called "Uzma's house". This house was almost as big as Villa 118 and had almost the same emnities, but the backyard was tiny and the yard was void of plants except for a coconut tree in front. Unlike Villa 118 though, Uzma's House was fixed and cleaned while waiting for a tenant, so we could move in right away if we wanted to. Taufik managed to negotiate with Uzma, the real-estate agent, to rent the house at a lower price than Villa 118. So, we flew back to Saudi with a secure feeling.<br />Unfortunately, a few days later we found out that PokCik Smith has a problem with Uzma's House. Uzma wasn't really a real-estate agent with a real real-estate company. She was just an individual acting on behalf of the landlord. PokCik Smith (or actually, the finance folks) were a little nervous about writing out a cheque to an individual. After days of discussing back and forth, we had no choice but to agree with PokCik Smith.<br />So, cancel Uzma's House.<br /><br />There we were, packing 5 years of accumulated stuff into 81 boxes, with no idea where to put them when we get to Dubai.<br /><br />Cue an SMS from Mohsen : "Sir, are you still angry, and are you still interested in Villa 118?"<br />:)<br /><br />Mohsen was back from vacation (and I hope he fired his associate's ass), and he managed to convince us to reconsider Villa 118 (We didn't need much convincing, really, but of course we didn't show him that). He said they will start working on the house, and that he only needs the refundable security deposit (which we can pay once we are in Dubai), before he draws up a lease agreement upon which, the full rent will be due. We agreed, but only after he sent us an email commiting to the list of items that needs to be fixed. When we returned to Dubai and visited Villa 118 again, we were happy to find people working on getting the interiors of the house ready. The supervisor present assured us that work will be completed on the 1st of February.<br /><br />Oh Happy Joy Joy?<br />Not quite yet.<br />(Today is the 1st of February and I am still living in a hotel)<br /><br />For the workers to complete the cleaning of the interiors, they need water and electricity. DEWA (Dubai Water & Electricity Authority) services are applied and paid by the tenant, not the landlord, so the moment the previous tenant left, the water & electricity was cut off. We needed to apply for DEWA services, and that requires a signed lease agreement and proof that the latest bill was paid up. These documents will only be provided to us by the landlord when we have paid the rent due and sign the lease agreement. Since PokCik Smith is paying the rent, we have to wait for a cheque from the PokCik Smith Finance department. Some joker in finance 'forgot' to sign the approval form, which delayed the issuing of the cheque, which delayed everything else. We only got the cheque on Thursday afternoon, therefore we could only get the lease agreement completed and a copy of the last paid bill after the weekend wasover (read: Sunday).<br />Yesterday we went to DEWA with all the required documents to apply for water & electricity. After waiting for 2 hours for his number to be called, Taufik discovered that he needed more than the required documents that was stated in the application form, something that someone (or a properly printed form) could have told him 2 hours earlier. They could build the tallest building in the world, but could not think of having an information counter (or at least a notice board for instructions) in government offices. Go figure.<br /><br />So here we are, still living out of a hotel, which is seriously overrated, if you ask me. At this point we are so fed-up that we are thinking that the moment the house is cleaned and liveable, we're gonna get mattresses and pillows and move right in, with or without furniture.<br /><br />I don't think I can handle anymore drama.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-45409898976494368402010-01-13T07:20:00.003+03:002010-01-13T07:36:29.979+03:00What's Going On?These stuff:<br /><br />1. I am not going back to Malaysia for good.<br />2. We were originally planned to move to Oman.<br />3. A few days before christmas, we received a call that we're moving to Dubai instead.<br />4. Since Christmas, I have been frantically searching for schools and potential homes online (thanx Dayah for loaning her laptop and broadband thingamajig). ALhamdulilllah, we managed to enquire and get responses from a few schools even though some of them were closed for the holidays.<br />5. We drew up an action plan for the move. (you know me... control freak)<br />6. 30th January we flew back to Saudi, got necessary documents copied/printed and ready for submission.<br />7. 4th January we flew to Dubai and started school visits and Ilham took his placement tests.<br />8. After visiting 2 schools, we decided on Jumeirah College and Jumeirah Primary School for its location more than anything else. Alhamdulillah all of our applications were accepted! yay!<br />9. After viewing at least 6 houses a day for several days, we finally settled on an independent villa that we liked, but the agent/owner was horrible, so after a few days of quarelling, we decided to scrap that house and picked another one, 1.3 kms from school. (I'm gonna walk to send/pick up the kids from school on good weather days. Taufik is hoping I can kurus. Yeah right.)<br />10. Yes, the villa has a guest room. Please do come and visit! :) <br />11. We're now back in Saudi to settle some stuff with school and do last minute shopping (I am STILL eyeing that kitchenaid tee hee) and PACK & MOVE.<br />12. We will fly to Dubai on the 20th, and kid will start school on the 24th.<br /><br />I'll write more later, like what I think of Dubai and that drama with the real estate agent.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-21855565936248624182009-11-15T11:07:00.012+03:002009-11-15T12:09:42.186+03:00My Holiday Plans<iframe src="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=elisa.taufik%40gmail.com&ctz=Asia/Kuala_Lumpur" style="border: 0" width="450" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458095.post-58041073998738798352009-11-02T11:47:00.001+03:002009-11-02T11:48:34.592+03:00just like when video killed the radio star ...... Facebook-ing killed the blogging star.elisataufikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07902667406204808580noreply@blogger.com7