Eurotrip Part I: Nottingham

Assalamualaikum...

I know it's been a week since I turned 23, but somehow it feels somewhat odd to comprehend and digest the whole fact. It's like there's a little feeling that makes you believe you're still 22. Still, a year difference couldn't possibly be that big, could it?

Okay, okay, let's get back on track.

Alhamdulillah me and my friend Achot safely arrived at Luton London Airport on Friday, 9th January at 8.05pm (10 minutes earlier than scheduled) after a 16-hours non-stop Simferopol-Kiev train ride, and the temperature outside was cold (approximately 12 celcius) though not that chillingly cold compared to the -1 celcius breeze of Kiev. Upon arrival, I heard DSLR snapshots from afar...

Well what do you know, pakteh just bought a DSLR!! Marsya and Ameerul also tagged along with a video-cam (hamboi hi-tech sungguh depa) and recorded my few early steps around. Very-very touchinglaaaa~~~

We arrived some what 2 hours 15 minutes later, and makteh served nasik lemak; a very good start for a very hungry me (for I only munched a few sandwhiches through out the whole day in Kiev). By the way in the car pakteh showed me how the GPS functioned and I had to admit that I was a wee bit jakon yet awed at such a genius tiny invention. Malaysia surely should develop this system at haste and approachable at all rural and urban areas.

The following day we went ice-skating at the city centre. It was my first try, and I DONT think I'd have another one . For my steps were so bad, I just can't let my hands off the rails, and at some moments I had to call the coach for help!! Malu je kat Marsya yang memang terer skating huhu. But still, tak cuba tak tahu la kan? Sekarang dah tahu BAGUSLAH :P

After the skate, me and makteh went hunting for a pair of boots for me, because the one before was torn and couldn't resist water anymore. After a very looong search, this was my pick!

A red, flower-patched Barrots boots which was on sale for 4 pounds (tapi kat children's dept size 4 :P).

And next it was ronda-ronda Notts lah ape lagii!!




The following day we went sightseeing and also 'visited' my house when I was...one day old.


Yup my parents and me lived here when dad did his Masters in Civil Eng at Notts University.

The river that lay behind the house. Perhaps they used to baby-pram me here in the evenings.

I also got to visit Marsya and Aida's school and nursery. Seriously it was just like my school two decades back!! How I sooo felt the urge to become a kid back again huhu.


Next we had a peak at the place where I was born: Queen's Medical Centre.



And also abah's former Master's school...




Pakteh also bought me to see Nottingham Castle. Luckily it was free of charge for Nottingham residents, so I got to save some pennies for myself :)



The following day we went to car-boot sale!! Woke up early in the morning; as early birds get to get the biggest catch. However not many 'car-boots' were open as it was winter. It reminded me of the days I used to buy story books in bulks!! Mane taknye satu buku cost 20pence je sape takmo huhu.


I got myself (another) pair of boots, a story book, and a jumper. Bet if it was summer I'd be buying more.


Noon came and we headed to Junction 24; East Midlands Designer Outlet Factory.


..and I got myself two winter-coats (padahal tinggal satu kali winter je lagi before leaving for good insyaAllah..tp dah murah takleh resistlaa!! hehe)

End of Part I..will come back with updates of Part II: Scotland shortly!! InsyaAllah ^__^

A year wiser

Assalamualaikum...

apple harvest pound cake with caramel glaze 'die' buat hehe...sedaappp!!!

...Yes I've turned 23!! Yesterday (2nd Feb) to be precise. But I still feel like I'm 18 (eh perasannyer :P).

My darling buddies also threw me a surprise birthday party! And it was really surprising because...they celebrated it a day before!! Huahuahua :P


Updates of my euro-trip are still in progress...for I have hundreds of pictures and 'auditioning' each single photo isn't that easy, plus my cycles are a wee bit busy at the moment.

Doa saya mudah-mudahan amalan kita semua diberkati Allah..ameeenn...^__^

Tagged again! 'foto-o-me'

Assalam'laikum..been tagged by Balqis. Well dear Bal, this post is especially for you..here you go!! ;)

1) Do you think you’re hot?
In some ways. Hehe.

2) Upload favourite pictures of yourself.
3) Why do you like these pictures?

I get to know how I look like 2 decades ago.

I love that red snowcap. Macam besar je untuk saye. Hehe.

Kakak mithali :P

I like the colour blend. It'd be more perfect if abah and mama were in the picture.

A candid picture taken when we were giggling. Candid photos show the real you :)

The Prodigy board members, all smiling gleefully. We were so relieved that at long last alhamdulillah the magazine was done.

On the EuroStar train to Zurich. Captured by Atique. I like the reflection of me on the window.

Eh alamak ni bukan gambar sayelaa!! Hehehe. But I'd love to have a picture like this in the future (bertudungla of course) *wink*wink*

4) When was the last time you ate pizza?
Ermm a month back I think. But my roommate will be baking one this eve insyaAllah. Yippee!!

5) The last song you listened to?
Zamilooni - Native Deen (the one playing when you read my blog).

6) What are you doing right now besides this?
I've got piles of ONG notes and books that need reading infront of me. Haha.

7) What name would you prefer besides yours?
Mohd Ismail Hamzah? Ooopsss :P :P ..okay okay, that would be 'beside' mine, not 'besides', hehe. I like the name Marsha Qistina though. Thought it'd be a nice name for a kid. But then I found out that Liza Hanim named her daughter the same name too *__* tiru oranggg

8) Who are the next people you will tag?

1. Anisa Safwa
   
2. Jamil
   
3. Encik Bawang
4. tatau
   

9) Who is number 1?
My 4th sis who's a photo-edit geek and a blog-o-maniac.

10) Say something about number 2
My ex-g3nx-Smapk-mate, currently studying medicine in USIM. He blogs good I tell you (Jamil you should thank me for promoting your blog haha :P).

11) Introduce number 3
He blogs most about family issues, relationships and religious matters. Already has his own family :)

12) How about number 4?
Tatau sebab tatau. Hehe.

Guess I'm done. Need to face the books again!! My exam is on 8th Jan insyaAllah. Do pray that we'd pass with flying colors :)

ps: It's Awal Muharam today, and Gaza is again, burning. Don't forget to pray for the safety of our Palestinian brother and sisters...

Sarah si pemalas update blog :P

Assalamualaikum..Eid Mubarak brothers and sisters!!

Well, well now..if it wasn't for the sudden post (yes, yes it's true I have been labeled Sarah si pemalas update blog ngenge) but seriously, my fingertips couldn't jot in any new thoughts at all. I blame myself having read less fictional books (they help cultivate our imaginary thinking you know) and do pardon the i-don't-know-if-you-realize-my-vocabs-are-getting-poor [mode]. Not that I couldn't think of any..but the writer's cap didn't really want to switch itself on. Huhu.

I guess it's no use of blaming the weather because up to now, since my first year in Ukraine, this has been the 'warmest' winter ever. For at some days it'd reach 24 celcius (can you believe that?) and rarely would the wind be as cold as 2 celcius. Yes, no excuse of 'sejukla saye malas nak tulis' [mode].

However, some weird events did dwell upon me this past one month. One of them being my nasty mood swings. I guess it's no harm in talking about it because it's physiological and we're all grown-ups and most peopling reading my blog (if there is any :P) are medical students cum doctor-to-be's. Anyway yes I am referring to the none other PMS (premenstrual syndrome). It got into me so severe that at times I'd be munching bars of chocolates (snickers, twix, kitkat) and a box of ferrerro rocher and they didin't last longer than 3 days! Huhu. And to add to that, I didn't want the chocolates self-purchased - I wanted them to be bought by SOMEONE else. There and then. Ya Rabbiiiii *__*

Not only that, my sense of jealousy was to the max!! I know this is rather open but I even felt jealous when seeing my fiance speak with his classmates during lectures and on their way to class. It wasn't just a mere twitch of jealousy - it was the kind when you felt like punching the wall and stumping your way back home and all of a sudden you realize that teardrops are coming out. Massively. Huhu. I also read at Ummusaif's blog that 'women who typically experience premenstrual syndrome may have more extreme mood swings when they're pregnant'. O-ooo...

And that, my sisters, signifies why we should also recite ma'thurat during ma'dzurah (menses) ..arasso? ^__^

I have a month's time to kill before the Final Exam that'd be insyaAllah in early January. Do pray that we'd all pass with flying colours. Because I really really really want to have my feet laid on the grounds of...

1. Nottingham!! Yes the place where I was born (kire macam balik kampungla ni keke :P). I'd be staying at Pakteh's and would get to babysit Aina and Kaisa (tak sabaq nak jumpa depaa!! hehe)


2. Scotland!! Juga berjalan bersama pakteh sefamily dan insyaAllah akan main ski jugak..weee!!! By the way the picture above is Dundee, kampung kedua tempat saya membesar..hehe..

Oklah, I better get back to reading. My current cycle is ENT (ear nose and throat) and guess what my lecturer discovered. Upon examination, he found nodules on my vocal cord that depicts that I 'talk too much and too loud' ...so I'd have to be a bit ayu after this huhu. And next, he said that my extenal auditory meatus (ear canal) isn't that curved as an adult's..it is more horizontal like a baby's. *__*.

Well it shows that I'm special, right? Ngehehe.

The above picture is a bowl of chicken soup. What made it special was because it was made and sent by my fiance when I was 4 days sick a week ago. He rarely cooks alone (dia tak suke masak and tak berapa tau masak tapi tolong roommate die masak je :P ) and he learnt the recipe just a day before!! Tapi bile tengok cara pemotongan nampakla gaye potongan org yg baru belajar masak sendiri ngehe :P tapi sedaappp!!! Lepas nie bolehla belajar masak benda laen pulak ^__^

Am trying hard to be like the women in the sentence.

Till then, salaam... :)

I've been tagged!!

Salam...

I have been tagged!! Rarely do I get such opportunites (poyonye ngengenge). The tagger (Balqis) asks me to display my desktop wallpaper, and here it is...tadaaa!!!~~


I like this picture because of the color scheme, the wordings, the message. Each glimpse somehow soothes the heart. Its like...having a sip of strawberry green tea everytime looking at it!! Hehe :)

Don't think I'd be tagging other people..coz I simply don't know who to tag..

Later!! ^__^

Istanna Suwayya! Fi eh kaman..?

Assalam'Laikum...

If my blog was a rack of books, I bet it'd have cobwebs dangling everywhere by now. For it has been past a month since I last wrote a post. Lazy me! You see, the winter-lazy-fever has once again creeped its way down my nerves. Shush..shussshhhhh!! Go away. I really don't need you..not when the final exam is coming up in two months time *__*

At current, I am way into a few books; Ayat-ayat Cinta, Kerana Cinta Bertasbih (as mentioned in my previous post) and Hidayah Cinta. These three books propose the same message; that His love outbounds the love for others; and that no love remains as eternal as His. Jagalah Cinta Allah, nescaya Allah akan menjaga cintamu. They also have lotsa Hadith and Qur'an Tafseers - good food for the heart. And yes, I do need them, at this very moment, no doubts I do. Sometimes you just feel so gloomy and down, and you feel so far from Him.

This month had been a month of me juggling my life with conflicts of my own - of questions unanswered, confusion, hesitations and such, and of thinking ahead into the future. You have a big jigsaw puzzle in front - you think you see the picture clear enough, but some spots remain unearthed. At times it feels as if you have some telepathy with your dearest ones, and you believe that they have those mutual feelings too. And sometimes, they just do...

Wahai orang yang lembut hatinya...
Sudah lama aku selalu mengecap pahit
Kala beroleh penderitaan
Aku tiada sesiapa pun melainkan Allah di hatiku
Tapi kau datang dengan cahaya...
Aku ingin menjadi yang halal bagimu
Yang kau kecup keningnya
Kau hapus air matanya...

Dari orang yang selalu merindukan cahayamu...
Sarah

"...It could be that you dislike something, when it is good for you; and it could be that you like something when it is bad for you. Allah knows, and you do not know." [2:216]

"...In Him I place my trust, and all those who trust should trust in Him alone.” [12:67]

Wallahua'lam...

Sum up of Raya 2008

Saya sekarang sangat malas nak menulis. Serius tak tipu. Dek kerana itu, post kali ini saya tunjuk gambar sahajalah ya. Sum up of Raya 2008...

Beraya di Kedutaan Malaysia di Kiev. First time tuuu!! Yeayyeayyy..~

Puding karamel Datin buat..sedap menjilat jari!!

Kuih raya Auntie Ros buat

Bersama Datuk Nazri - Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri

Jalan-jalan di Kiev...

Gloria Jeans Coffee

Melangkah dengan gayanya! Huahuahua :P

Oklah, sampai di sini dahulu. Mahu menghabiskan novel Ayat-ayat Cinta (walaupun dah tengok movienye, tapi dek kerana Kak Nad kata beliau menangis bila baca novelnye, maka saya pun kena baca jugak!! Testing nangis =P) dan novel Ketika Cinta Bertasbih. Dua-dua karya Habiburrahman El-Shirazy.

Later...wassalam ^___^

ps: Happy Birthday Dearest Hani!! (my sis who just turned 20 on 5th November)

pps: Saya naik 2kg tau gara-gara beraya kat Kiev!! Tapi alhamdulillah dah turun balik ;)