My Phenomenal Week (I)

My phenomenal week begins like this... well, day 1, Iqbal and I walked around our college snapping pictures of our lecturers, sadly, there were not many of them, it could be because we went very early in the morning and most of the professors usually come a bit later than that. But anyway, we got to take pictures with the doctor that we knew personally, which is Dr Hussein Khairy. He is a vascular surgeon and a very good teacher. And later that day, I went to Carrefour Maadi with Aeisyah and Husna... it was my last time seeing Aeisyah and it has been great knowing her, very polite and kind-hearted.

Me, Dr Hussein and Iqbal, with Rana in the background. 

With Dr Mahmoud Salem an O&G specialist.

Me in front of the lecture hall... the place I once hated going, hehe.

And the day after that, on the 3 February, Paan and Fizah was kind enough to accompany me to shop for some stuff in Mohandiseen. I finally got my TEFAL pots and pans set... they are so much cheaper here and I so thankful that I found the things I wanted. I cannot wait to start cooking when I get my own house in Malaysia... this is me speaking when I am excited about the new kitchenware, and I bet when I reach home, I will just get comfortable with the outside food.. refusing to cook on my own. I just hope it wont turn out that way, it's been my dream to cook for my family! Anyway, after the Mohandiseen trip, Paan and Fizah joined me to watch my husband play football. Al-Fawwaz vs. Wadul Haq! I get so nervous when I talk about football because most of the time, I get it wrong... and my husband would just laugh at my ignorance, hehe... Hey.. I'm a girl ok! Speaking of my ignorance about football, I cheered for the wrong team that day, because I didn't realize that they changed sides. I clapped so loud for the second goal, thinking that it was Al-Fawwaz's goal... that was embarrassing, luckily Paan was there to correct me, hehe. Alhamdulillah, my husband's team won, he scored the first goal and second goal was scored by Apez. It was a good game... my judgement was based on the fact that my husband won ok! :P

The next day, Faaiqah and I went to see Dr Sherif El-Hawary for the last time. I felt really sad because I don't know when I will see him again... but he said that insyallah he will go to Malaysia again. After that, Faaiqah and I went for a quick drink at Beano's and she followed me back... we spent the whole day together that day, it was the last time that I'll ever get to spend my time with her as a 'single' lady here since the next day, her husband is coming. It was a phenomenal day, I had so much fun because we cooked together, dua ekor chicken... we just cooked not knowing how many people were coming. I had a small gathering, an unplanned gathering. The funny thing is, when I plan something, it rarely turns out to be really fun, it's the unplanned gatherings that turns out to be blast, I guess it's because I don't feel the stress of making sure things go according to plan and instead, I get to enjoy the flow of the day. Ellya and Fizah came from their class... later joined by Husna, then Sukainah (Nah) and Suhaila came. Nah came to test her make-up for her wedding... and it was such a great coincidence that Husna was around, so she gave a lot of suggestions on how I should do her make-up... which later lead me to leaving the whole responsibility to Husna... hehe. She's so good with her hands, it looked like she was painting when Husna was holding the brushes. Thanks Husna for helping me out there! The day of laughters went on until 1 am! 

Ok... the next day, we woke up late and rushed to get ready to go to Israq's and Naimah's wedding. They were so sweet.. when I first heard about them, I was thrilled to hear that because two of the kindest people I know are getting hitched. Cannot wait to see how their offsprings! 

After their wedding, Faaiqah and I went to Nah's new place to help her get some stuff done for her big day, that was another exciting event. I loved how Nah decorated her room... the bed sheets are all white, and I love white sheets! Then, that evening, some boys came to our house. I collapsed on my bed from exhaustion... and that night, Farhana and her housemates (Bintu Saadah, Wang and Shee) came to send something, I got excited when they told me that they were going to eat... so I got ready and joined them with the other girls! I just didn't want to stay home although I knew I should because I could feel that my body is telling me to stop! Hehe.

Me and the girls at the seafood restaurant, cannot remember the name.

I planned to make a long entry that summarizes my week, but I don't think it's a good idea because I get confused with the pictures not being in the right order and having to rearrange everything. 

Spot the difference

2003 - In Indonesia.

2009 - With Zaatil

All this while, I thought that I haven't aged. Hehe... but looking at the old photos proved that I was in delusion. hehe.

16 October 2003

I was chatting with my aunty, I call her Mak Busu, she's my mom's youngest sister. I was asking her whether she's picking me up at the airport... and we got to talking how time flies. Then I recalled the night that my family and my in-laws sent us off to the airport, it was indeed a very sad moment. It was my first time being away... but the strange thing is, it felt like yesterday. I can still remember waving to my parents and my sister as I walked through the immigration gate. 


I slept in tears that night on the flight. Oh yeah, but one thing cheered me up on the flight, we were upgraded to business class because the chief steward was my uncle's good friend. So he got us two seats on the flight and that made me smile. I remember arriving at the Cairo International Airport, it was chilly that morning. Arwah Ustaz Md Noor (the Malaysian Embassy officer) was there to pick me up but since I was with my husband, I didn't have to follow him. We got on the taxi and headed to our rented house, my senior then, Tuan Hazri had already found a house for us. When I went in, I was happy... I liked the house and got really excited about decorating the house!


We rested for a while, then my husband took me out for lunch in Tahrir. The streets seemed so different, totally new to me, the weather was new, the layouts of the clothes on the shop windows were also new... they were all something that I wasn't very familiar with. It took me while to get used to the life here, especially the notes... as you can guess, the 50 piasters and 50 Egyptian pounds. There were many times when I thought I had "lots" in my purse only to realize much later that they were just 6 pieces of 50 piastre notes which is only 3 pounds, not 300 pounds! Another thing that took time was the numbers in Arabic, it had always been my difficulty saying the numbers in Arabic (numbers more than 20) quickly since school... even worse when they (the shopkeepers) try to say them in English then got all mixed up. Disaster!!!


After about 2 days in Egypt, we walked around and found a Internet cafe, I was so excited and quickly emailed my parents telling about my house here. I really missed them (and Tiyah too) although my parents were coming one week after I arrived, they said that they planned it like that so that we wouldn't be that sad saying goodbye at the airport... but the truth is, I couldn't run away from the sadness... Ok, more on that later. Then, I remember Kak Wani calling our house phone and told me that they're coming to visit me, there were 5 of them (Kak Wani, Kak Min, Kak Maz, Kak Sarah and KD)... they lived nearby our place. When Kak Wani arrived, she looked very familiar... she was from my school! I had known that Kak Min was from my school so it wasn't a big surprise to me. Their visit really cheered me up, I couldn't have been happier... I knew I wasn't alone here. They told me about my kuliyyah and that I have one girl classmate, Faaiqah. I was excited to go to school but I thought that I want to settle my house first and go after 2 days. 


The morning of my first day of school... well, I WAS LATE! I left house at 8 am, and Kak Min and her housemates had all left... we promised to meet at her house. I didn't know how to go on my own, neither does my husband. And he was late to his class, so he asked me, do I know my way back home... of course I did, it was just a straight road! Then, I went back home and at about 9 am, Kak Min knocked on my door to pick me up... and I followed her. I don't know why, but I didn't leave any note telling my husband that I had gone to school with Kak Min... silly me. But anyway, when I got there, I was introduced to Faaiqah, I can still remember, she wore purple that day... and was very happy to meet her. She was really nice and we bought books together, she told me what books to get and informed me about our timetable. Since our class will not start until 11 am, we joined the third year class (Kak Min's class) so that we could sit down. It was a pharmacology lecture by Dr Abdel Fatah, he was funny... although I didn't understand a word he was saying, I just laughed at his expressions. 


Our actual class was ok, I was a bit worried because I didn't understand anything. But during the early days, I was bothered to go up to the lecturer to let them know that there's a small group of Malaysian students and it would be nice if they could speak in English. Some of them did and some of them didn't. I have to admit, I didn't enjoy class at all! I'd rather sit at home and be a housewife... still excited about my marriage and wanting to serve my husband 24-7. Hehe... I bet my husband wished I was still like that! :P 


During class, one of my classmates came up to me, (I think it was Hamdan or Iqbal) told that my husband called Kak Min to ask where I was. He was so worried in case I got lost on my way back home that morning... he was relieved when Kak Min told I was at school. I didn't have my own number... so communicating was a bit difficult. The day ended at 2 pm... walked back to Kasr el-Ainy street with Faaiqah and she headed back to Nadi Siqah and I walked back home. When I got home, I felt really happy to see my husband! I think I was lucky to have my husband with me, I couldn't have done it without him. He helped a lot... every year, there's always a new challenge and he was always there for me. During the early weeks in Cairo, he helped me through the tearful nights of homesickness... I could still remember how much I cried when my parents left Cairo after their one week visit. It was very very painful, I can cry thinking about the way I felt. It's not that I didn't enjoy it here, it's just that I had never been separated from them... and I was very glad that I had a husband! I cannot imagine how I would have cried if I was alone! Thank you sweetheart for being very patient with me. I guess this is what happens when you marry a "kid".. hehe. 


Ok.. back to my present life. This morning, I woke up with a big smile. I still cannot believe that it's all for real now.. I have finished my 6 year course of medical school. I am very thankful and very happy... I was quite worried because in my 5th year, I didn't take my clinical exams... and sort of regretted a bit that I didn't find the time to take them later. But it's ok, it's all fated and I am happy for what I got. Life is phenomenal! 


Anyway, finally, we got a chance to go out together. It's our first date since I finished my exams! We went to the Thai restaurant that I had my farewell party last week. I think I overate... the food was too irresistible. :D 

My husband ordered extra eggs... and guess what, they didn't charge! How nice of them. :D

60 Boxes

Yesterday, we spent the entire day packing Abang's books into the boxes. Alhamdulillah, we got the assistance of many girls and boys, and their presence helped speeding up the whole packing process. I can now say, 85% of my packing is done! The thirteen of us were divided into 2 teams, one team wrapped the boxes with sticky tape and the other team put the books into the boxes, but before doing that, they'd have to write down the name of the books first. I was assigned to be part of the wrapping team! Yeay! Something that I had always enjoyed. I don't know how to thank them for helping us out, we were so touched looking at how hard they all worked. It took us 7 hours... 4 movies! It was quite enjoyable actually because of the movies played. We took pictures but they were not in my camera, so I'll get them from Farhana very soon. But the pictures below were meant to show the big progress made. :-)

Before I end my entry, I'd like to thank all of you (if you ever come across Kak Niah's blog) who came yesterday... The girls were: Farhana, Balqis, Rem, Lyanna, Madihah, Natrah... and the boys were: Rahman, Baihaqi, Copuk, Damak and Hafzi..

Now, I feel so much relieved because before this, I had been worried about not getting everything done by 20 February!

The boxes packed were put in one of the bedroom, we had the bed dismantled so the room had more space to store all the boxes. It was a really an enjoyable day, packing was as boring as doing it all by myself!

Again, thank you very much.

The empty shelves scares my husband!

Hotel Dash

I was playing Hotel Dash game on my laptop, then I got a phone call from Iqbal, he asked me, "Have you heard the news?"... and I said, "what? the exam results dah keluar?"

And yes.. the results are out already. I am very happy and grateful for what I got. Thank you Abang, Mak, Ayah, Mama, Tiyah, Kak Na, Kak Wa, Kak La, Anas and to all of my family and friends for the great love and support... and of course your prayers.

Family

A few nights ago, we went to Dr Yehia's place and went out to an Italian Restaurant, I cannot remember the name.. it was my first time there. I had grilled fish with lemon sauce... I didn't finish them because it was already late, and I don't eat that much past 10. It felt like it was my bedtime already... anyway, the food was good.

During dinner/late supper, Dr Yehia's kids, Dina (eldest) and Salah (youngest) were joking around with their dad. It was nice to see how much fun they are as a family and it made me think of my family. I miss having dinner with my family, from both sides (mine and my husband's)... updating each other with what had happened during the day and joking around. In my family, Tiyah is always the one who makes jokes that makes us laugh... we can laugh and literally fall of our chairs! I'm not kidding. She's one of the funniest people that I know. Very witty and her mind is full of ideas to make jokes... I think she got that from my dad because he is also witty! Abang's family also consist of funny people, so being around them really made me happy!

I think it's very important to have a good family bond... and I feel very blessed. Alhamdulillah for that.

Ok. this entry was meant to make me look forward to going back! Hehe.. I have 21 days left, 3 more Fridays!!!

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned

Last night, I woke up at about 1pm because of my dry throat, it happens during the winter when the room is overheated. Actually, I don't like using the halogen heater because it dries up my skin so fast, and I hate it when some nights where I feel lazy to put on my face cream and the next day, my skin becomes so dry, it's as if I had abandoned it for weeks! Back to my story, since I couldn't sleep back right away, I turned on my laptop and logged in my food journal. Thank God I ate less than 1200 calories. Anyway, as I was logging in the data, I came across an advert on Livestrong.com that said "LOSE FAT REALLLY FAST" or something like that. So I clicked the ad and watched the presentation on the page, it took about 20 minutes... it was about how this guy lost fat really fast. The magical thing was that it was not by doing long cardio workouts, and not with low-carb diets. He had different plan, very different than what we usually hear. By the end of the presentation, I felt like I had to buy this program no matter what, because it sounded really good and I had wondered what the secret was, and I already clicked on the 'add to cart' button and was linked to the payment page. The whole program would cost $39.95 for a limited time, later, it will go up to $60! So I thought, I'd better buy it really quick before the price goes up. But... Thank God, I was saved this time (not like the last time, which I will explain later), it occurred to me that I should google first about other people's reviews on the product. I was glad I did that, as it turns out, the 'secret' program was a detailed exercise on how to increase your metabolism and what to eat. The program recommended that instead of doing long minutes of cardio, you should focus on weight lifting to build muscles, and when you have more muscle mass, your metabolism rate will increase and hence all the fat will be burnt off your body. That is how it works... which is exactly what I am doing right now, LIFTING WEIGHTS! Ok, I know I sound cocky, but I was really glad because I was saved for the frustration of buying an e-book telling facts which I had already known! I don't want to do it for the second time. Another problem with me is, I tend google too many things that I find it hard to stick to one program. I think, if I stick to what my trainer had told me to do, I'd get good results, it's just that when I read about something new, I feel like what I am doing is wrong. The truth is, there are many ways to reaching the perfect weight, so it's best if I stick to one method and remain focus and consistent. 

So, why did I say that I don't want to fooled for the second time? Here's the story. A month ago, I accidently purchased an online TV membership, it costed $35, which came to no use at all. After I browsed the webpage, I found out that it was just links of online TV shows where I can stream and I found out about this too late because I had already paid! I had been doing it a long time ago and for free! Clearly that website was a scam, I emailed them and asked what the benefits were, and they never replied, all they replied was the links for TV series and movies where I can watch online. I felt so cheated, it's $35! I could have done so many things with that $35, and it was all because I didn't ask for opinions. 

So the bottom line is, before purchasing any programs, ask around or google what other customers are saying about the product because most of the time, the products are not as impressive as they sound in the adverts.