Back... But Beaten By the Weather

Assalammualaikum and Salam Friday!

Alhamdulillah, the weekend is almost here. And I'm just looking forward to the weekend. But then again, before you know it, Monday is here again. How time flies kan?

I just came back from a 5-day holiday to Macau and Hong Kong. Though it's the tail-end of winter, the weather was pretty cold up there. But towards the end of our time in Hong Kong, the temperature went up a bit. And when we landed at LCCT, we were greeted by the sweltering, unbearable heat of Klang Valley.

And... Being prone to the weather, of course, I'm feeling verry much under the weather right now. Up in Macau and Hong Kong, it was cold that I knew I was dehydrated. Lips chapped and peeled, and I got ulcer over the lower lip. Then, back home, with this hot weather, everything went topsy-turvy.. *sigh*

Takpe, tu ujian Allah. Kita kena sabar je la ok...

Here's a sneak photo of my time there. I haven't yet managed to transfer the photos from my memory card and have them edited and resized.

But then again, wouldn't wanna upload too many here.

 

Ok that's all for now. Till we meet again. Have a great weekend!

Wrap-Up of 2013 That Has Been

Assalammualaikum and good day all.

I've previously wrote that 2013 has not really been a good year for me right?

Truth is, it really was a depressing year for me. Especially career-wise. I don't want to dwell too much on that, but basically, if you're doing something that you really like, and good at, you enjoy it. But if you have to stop doing it, you stop finding joy and satisfaction out of doing it. You feel like your talent is wasted and not appreciated.

That's what happened to me. Towards end of 2012, I received a transfer letter as we had an organisational reshuffle, and I was was of the personnels involved. So early 2013 I moved department, and due to it being a new department with no definite KPI, I was left with almost nothing to do. Spend my days surfing the net, and other things but err... work. At first, sure you're happy to finally have time to yourself, and think for yourself because you didn't have time for that before then. But being idle is simply not for me. Too much energy to channel out.

Consequently, I fell sick a lot last year. I found a small lump under my armpit which I dismissed. Then a small boil grew on it, and I had no choice but to get it checked at the hospital. I then had it surgically removed, and Alhamdulillah upon testing, was nothing benign.

I flew home to Kuching end of April for what was supposed to be a 4-day trip home. But I got a sudden heavy fever on the second day I was there, including flu, sore throat and cough. I ended up staying there for 2 weeks. Along the way, I also got infected with conjunctivitis. I had to see the doctors three times throughout this period. It truly was a down moment for me.

Fever? It has become a frequent occurence to me too. When it was hazy back in June, so asthma also made a grand comeback. My body is very much attuned to the weather condition now. Oh well, I gotta take better care of myself.

Towards the latter part of the year, my health was somewhat better, but occasionally, a visit to the doctor was also necessary. I started doing some more work, but still, it wasn't really what I enjoy doing. But Alhamdulillah, it's still work.

I had to do a lot of other things to channel my energy and frustration, even till now. And I only pray that 2014 brings better things to come, especially on career.

That's a but of summary of a year that was 2013.

2014 will be a better one, InsyaAllah...

Till then, looking forward to this in about 2 weeks from now...

Wish me a better 2014 yeah? :)

Aidilfitri 2013

Assalammualaikum...

So how's everyone? Still in Raya mood? I know I am. But missing Kuching too...

Raya mood: 100%, working mood: 0%.. Hahahha...

First of all, and I hope it's not too late, but I would like to say Happy Eid to whoever reading this entry, maaf zahir dan batin too. And I hope everyone had a good celebration, and great time spent with family and friends.

Alhamdulillah, we went through Ramadhan kareem without much problem, and even now, I miss this holy month still. Let's pray semoga kita berjumpa bulan Ramadhan lagi next year ok? InsyaAllah...

But alas, once Ramadhan is over, Syawal is here, and it's time to celebrate our Ramadhan victory. I flew home to Kuching on 3 August, yes I know a bit early, but well, I was really eager to get home this year. No specific reason, just that I miss Kuching and my family extra this time round.

Took loads of photos, cooked loads of food, and spent lots of time with friends too. Lemme just share everything in pictures, shall I?

 Dalam kepala asyik nyanyi lagu 'Balik Kampung'!!!

 Our lampu Raya. Good time to play around with my camera too!

 Tumis kari and kacau rendang!

 My signature dish - daging masak merah

 Pagi Raya, went to my auntie's house nearby and had a bit of Raya breakfast there. This is my niece, Nurin Jazlina. Ye.. nama dekat-dekat sangat dengan the famous arwah Nurin Jazlin kan?

 Our living room deco. Simple je...

 Some family portraits and memories

 A unique Kuching Raya experience would be eating keropok ikan with acar timun. Just to get away from all the normal fatty/santan-y Raya food

 Reconnect with school friends, most already with family of their own.

Then, on 14 August I flew back to KL, albeit with major reluctance. But the celebration and time to reconnect our silaturrahim with friends doesn't end. This time, celebration with friends in KL..

 Oh well, Raya sebulan, more time to meet up with friends and bond with them ehh?

That's all for now. Selamat hari raya everyone!

Edinburgh

Salam to all,

Yepps, this travelogue is taking way more time to finish than I originally anticipated. Thousand apologies for that. Bukan apa, makin lama delay story, makin banyak detail kita tak ingat.

So what I'm thinking this that like previous posts, there will be more photos than yapping ok?

Anyways, we departed from Newcastle late in the evening, and along the way, we popped by at Bambaugh Castle and spent quite a while there enjoying the view and click-clicking away on our cameras.

Soon enough, we were at the England-scotland border:





We drove along the north-east coastline, and were accorded nice view before it got too dark. We arrived in Edinburgh around 2 hours later and immediately checked into the Edinburgh Musselburgh Travelodge. We had dinner, and immediately rested for the night.

The next morning, we checked out early and headed to the Edunburgh city centre. It was a very nice day, and of course, we went as near as we could get to The Royal Mile. It was a Sunday, and we heard it could be difficult to get parking. But thank god, we managed to find one near the Edinburgh Museum.

Here are some photos:



keluar keta terus mau posing! Chaittt!!
Walked a short distance, right into The Royal Mile, heading towards the main attraction, Edinburgh Castle.



It's on top of a hill, you can practically see it from any location in the city. A very well-preserved site, and beautiful to boot.



View of the city from the castle compound.

OK sudah-sudah ler..:))...Time to get back down and explore the city. So many tourists and we were lucky as it was such a nice day. Eh chupp!! Two last photos of the Castle!:))




Anyway we then made our way between the cobbledstone streets and old buildings right into the University of Edinburgh's campus! Walked around with no proper destinantion, we just basked in the view of this old city.


Grand Mosque of Edinburgh. We actually singgah and had lunch at the nearby Pakistani restaurant after that.




Ambik this group pf photos tah dari mana eh?? Ya ampun dah tak ingat dah! But I know it's quite central because the Edinburgh HOHO buses start their tours there. And sorry, mak malas nak mengugel namanya hari ni:)

Dah tu pegi area ni pulak la: The Scott Monument




After that, I dashed off to search for that must place go:

Hehehhe... Well, the guy who served me at the counter is the loveliest person! So friendly! After making my must-buy items, went off back to the Scott Monument area where the rest were waiting.

Here's more nice view of Edinburgh:




Then we went back to Royal Mile for another round of basking-in-the-city feel, only to find that some parts were sealed off for a procession later that afternoon. Procession apa? Nobody knows. But cuci mata best! Contohnya:

:))

Then before getting to the car, we got into the Museum to rest and get warm for a while, and had tea. This is what I ordered:

Cheese scone with butter and chutney, and downed that with Earl Grey tea. Very very nice!

Ok, one last photo before leaving Edin!



We then said goodbye to Edinburgh. truthfully, rasa tak puas. I just love the city! The people are good looking, friendly, and I know a lot more places should've gotten into our itinerary. Next: Glasgow!