the 365th day

hmm, the last day of 2009. looking back to those days behind, i shall say 2009 gave me priceless moments. sweet + bitter moments were blended well and served to me this year. that what makes me till today. alhamdulillah. sayonara~

2010. i shall work hard this year till the bitter end. i'm on a mission that need to be accomplished. sounds like i'm on a mission to the moon. hehe. yeap, i want to climb up to the moon so that i can reach the stars to enlighten my life. just like others. don't give up easily. we are not born to give up. we were born to keep moving on and be somebody. somebody that can at least make a small change to the smallest part of the world. then only our life would be meaningful. there are always ups and downs in life. we must undergo that to test our perseverance in taking life as it is. no matter how hard they are, just come what may. they are actually helping us to be that 'somebody'. it takes time. hey, rome was not built in one day, rite? =)

climb as high as you can. no ladder is needed here. your heart and self will-power are going to do the climbing job. who knows, there are immense secrets of life up there that yet not be explored by you. do not allow others to hamper you to the journey that about to begin. and of course, begin your journey with Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the most Merciful). may we be blessed as always, ameen.

with that, thank you.



welcome 2010



[the climb by miley cyrus]



I can almost see it

That dream I am dreaming

But there's a voice inside my head saying

"You'll never reach it"



Every step I'm taking

Every move I make feels

Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking



But I gotta keep trying

Gotta keep my head held high



There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose



Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb



The struggles I'm facing

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes might knock me down

But no, I'm not breaking



I may not know it

But these are the moments that

I'm gonna remember most, yeah

Just gotta keep going



And I, I got to be strong

Just keep pushing on



Keep on moving, keep climbing

Keep the faith, baby

It's all about, it's all about the climb

Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

eksplorasi dunia baru

(cuti-cuti di Taiping,Disember 2009)

selepas bercuti agak lama, saya kembali semula untuk memulakan pengembaraan baru di bumi serdang. pagi-pagi lagi bersemangat mengatur langkah (walaupun sedikit mengantuk). berjumpa dengan supervisor/sifu dan geng pengembaraan, Mr A dan Cik M. bagus juga pertemuan kami ini diatur. dapat juga saya mengenali geng kembara dan juga meninjau tempat pergelumangan saya kelak =p

oh untuk sebulan pertama ini, selain menghadiri kelas, saya perlu menumpukan sepenuh perhatian untuk mencari, mencari dan menulis semula 'literature review'. sifu mahu lihat hasilnya sebulan lepas ini. hmm, baiklah sifu! ekplorasi dunia baruku sudah bermula. moga Allah permudahkan segalanya, ameen~

p/s: terima kasih Tuhan. sangat benar di sebalik kesusahan ada kemudahannya kelak =)

inspired by

Good to hear from you. Keep it up and do your best in what ever you do. Abas

a very short message yet very inspiring. iAllah, i'll do my best (^^,)

polishing the brain neurons

next week i'll start my classes. never thought that i would listen to lectures again after i've completed my degree. well, that's the requirement for postgrads in upm. we have to complete certain credit hours of coursework besides performing research to grad. i've registered three subjects with total of 9 credit hours (i chose for the minimun requirement =p) which consist of immunobiology, biotechnology of malaria and health research methods & biostatistics. three days of the week will be packed with classes. huh. well, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. i have to believe in that (^^,)

so, it's time to boost my brain power. i've listed below few tips that have been claimed can boost the neurons. check them out!

• Solve puzzles and brainteasers.
• Cultivate ambidexterity. Use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth, comb your hair or use the mouse. Write with both hands simultaneously. Switch hands for knife and fork - jangan makan dengan tangan kiri pulak!
  
• Embrace ambiguity. Learn to enjoy things like paradoxes and optical illusions.
  
• Learn mind mapping.
• Block one or more senses. Eat blindfolded, wear earplugs, shower with your eyes closed.
• Develop comparative tasting. Learn to properly taste chocolate, cheese or anything else.
  
• Find intersections between seemingly unrelated topics.
• Learn to use different keyboard layouts. Try Colemak or Dvorak for a full mind twist!
• Find novel uses for common objects. How many different uses can you find for a nail? 10? 100?
• Reverse your assumptions.
• Learn creativity techniques.
• Go beyond the first, ‘right’ answer.
• Transpose reality. Ask “What if?” questions.
  
• Turn pictures or the desktop wallpaper upside down.
• Become a critical thinker. Learn to spot common fallacies.
• Learn logic. Solve logic puzzles.
• Get familiar with the scientific method.
• Draw. Doodle. You don’t need to be an artist.
• Think positive.
  
• Engage in arts — sculpt, paint, play music — or any other artistic endeavor.
• Learn to juggle.
• Eat ‘brain foods’.
• Be slightly hungry.
• Exercise!
  
• Sit up straight.
• Drink lots of water.
  
• Deep-breathe.
  
• Laugh!
• Vary activities. Get a hobby.
• Sleep well.
  
• Listen to music.
• Go technology-less.
• Look for brain resources in the web.
  
• Go barefoot.
• Master self-talk.
  
• Simplify!
• Play chess or other board games. Play via Internet (particularly interesting is to play an ongoing game by e-mail).
  
• Play ‘brain’ games. Sudoku, crossword puzzles or countless others.
  
• Play video games.
• Be humorous! Write or create a joke.
  
• Create a List of 100.
• Have an Idea Quota.
• Capture every idea. Keep an idea bank.
• Incubate ideas. Let ideas percolate. Return to them at regular intervals.
  
• Engage in ‘theme observation’. Try to spot the color red as many times as possible in a day. Find cars of a particular make. Invent a theme and focus on it.
• Keep a journal.
• Learn a foreign language.
• Eat at different restaurants – ethnic restaurants specially.
• Learn how to program a computer.
• Spell long words backwards. !gnignellahC
• Change your environment. Change the placement of objects or furniture — or go somewhere else.
• Write! Write a story, poetry, start a blog.
• Learn sign language.
• Learn a musical instrument.
• Visit a museum.
• Study how the brain works.
  
• Learn to speed-read.
• Find out your learning style.
  
• Dump the calendar!Try to mentally estimate the passage of time.
• “Guesstimate”. Are there more leaves in the Amazon rainforest or neuron connections in your brain? (answer).
• Make friends with math. Fight ‘innumeracy’.
• Memorize people’s names.
  
• Meditate.Cultivate mindfulness and an empty mind.
• Watch movies from different genres.
  
• Turn off the TV.
  
• Improve your concentration.
• Get in touch with nature.
• Do mental math.
• Have a half-speed day.Change the speed of certain activities. Go either super-slow or super-fast deliberately.
• Do one thing at a time.
  
• Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. How would different people think or solve your problems? How would a fool tackle it?
• Take time for solitude and relaxation.
• Commit yourself to lifelong learning.
• Travel abroad. Learn about different lifestyles.
  
• Have a network of supportive friends.
• Get competitive.
• Don’t stick with only like-minded people. Have people around that disagree with you.
• Brainstorm!
• Change your perspective. Short/long-term, individual/collective.
  
• Go to the root of the problems.
• Collect quotes.
• Change the media you’re working on. Use paper instead of the computer; voice recording instead of writing.
  
• Read the classics.Develop your reading skill. Reading effectively is a skill. Master it.
• Summarize books.
• Develop self-awareness.
  
• Say your problems out loud.
• Describe one experience in painstaking detail.
  
• Try different perfumes and scents.Mix your senses. How much does the color pink weigh? How does lavender scent sound?
• Debate! Defend an argument.Try taking the opposite side, too.
• Allocate time for brain development.
• Be curious!Challenge yourself.
• Develop your visualization skills. Use it at least 5 minutes a day.
• Take notes of your dreams. Keep a notebook by your bedside and record your dreams first thing in the morning or as you wake up from them.
• Keep a lexicon of interesting words. Invent your own words.
  
• Find metaphors. Connect abstract and specific concepts.
• Manage stress.
• Get random input. Write about a random word in a magazine. Read random sites using StumbleUpon or Wikipedia.
• Take different routes each day. Change the streets you follow to work, jog or go back home.
• Install a different operating system on your computer.
• Improve your vocabulary.
  
• Deliver more than what’s expected.

not all is relevant to me. few may work. what do you say? =)

p/s: recite the Holy Quran everyday. let your qalb remembers Him each sec

give and take

'whatever we feel we most need is what we most need to give'

p/s: tidak sabar untuk balik taiping hujung minggu ini. rindukan mama, babah, nenek, hanif & hariz. sangat-sangat rindu~

wonder pets

he looks old, huh?

i never had a dream to rear a pet even though i love to do so. i love squirrel and rabbit. as for me, they're handsome and adorable. but to keep them as my pets - i'm afraid they are not well-taken care of. however, few months back, my sis got a pair of baby tortoises from her friend. my first impression: aha, what a sweet gift! second impression: why must it be a tortoise? my sis takes care of her new babies like a dedicated mom raising up her little children. and i just peek at them and say hi! not bothered at all to really look after them. frankly speaking, tortoises are boring pets. they just sit still, for hours without moving even an inch. and you could hardly see them blinking their eyes. one day my sis had to leave her pets. she appointed me to look after them for few days. only later i realized that these babies are wonderful creatures. i kept staring at them to see their reactions when i fed them, when i talk to them. it was such an interesting experience to me. and i've fallen in love with them that easy. and until today, i am their step mom. looking after them when my sis is away. unfortunately, one of them was rest in peace few weeks ago due to unknown reason =(. whatever happens, they are WONDER pets to me (^^,)

sharing some facts about tortoise:

• Tortoises are a long term commitment. Tortoises that are well care for can be expected to live for 50 years (some species can live to be 100!) - hajar, are you willing to take care of your baby that long?
  
• All tortoises should have exposure to ultraviolet light, either through the use of UVA/UVB producing bulbs (i.e. those designed for reptile keeping) or through natural exposure to sunlight - they need the sunshine to cheer them up~
• They can produce a lot of waste, and can be pretty mess - this is the real challenge. the waste is tooooo smelly (~~,). so you have to change the water once a while.patience is needed here.
  
• The pet keeper have a potential and risk of Salmonella infection - wash your hands after handling them. it is a must.

dia punya mereka, saya punya Allah

"man wajadallah fa ma faqada syai-an, wa man faqadallah fa ma wajada syai-an"

"barangsiapa yang masih ada Allah (pada dirinya) maka dia tidak kehilangan sesuatu apa pun, sedangkan barangsiapa yang hilang Allah (dari dirinya) maka dia tidak mempunyai sesuatu apa pun"

saya punya Allah di kala dunia membuang saya. Allah dekat dengan saya di mana sahaja, bila-bila sahaja. bila mana Allah menghampiri kita, jangan terdetik untuk menjauhinya. hanya Allah yang bisa mendengar bicara hambaNya. usah menganggap Allah tidak pedulikan kita bila mana doa yang dipanjatkan masih tidak menemui jawapan. terus sahaja pinta daripadaNya kerana Dia rindukan suara hamba yang merayu minta padaNya. tautkan hati pada Dia sahaja~

1431H

mama: assalamualaikum sarah. did you get my message?
sarah: waalaikumussalam ma. yeap.. iAllah nanti kakak baca doa tu.
mama: ada ka doa tu?
sarah: ada je. iAllah nanti kakak baca sama-sama dengan hajar. thanks ma for reminding us.
mama: ok, take care. wasalam

mama never forgot to remind us to recite the prayers for awal muharram every year. never failed to do so. may Allah reward you with Jannah, mama and babah.

in few minutes, i shall say goodbye 1430H. those past sweet sour moments were blended together and here where i am today. syukur alhamdulillah to Allah Almighty for all His blessings to me, my family, my friends and other Muslims out there. and welcome to 1431H. my prayer for this coming new year - be a more practising Muslim. that's it.

again, Salam Maal Hijrah to all. be a better muslim.

redirecting the way of thinking

i'm part of the world leader in new tropical agriculture university (upm) today. done with my registration at school of graduate studies this morning and i shall embark on my research project from now onwards. think and act like a researcher, can i? frankly speaking, i feel like being an alien here. but i promise myself to adapt as soon as possible. mulut kena ringan sikit la. this is the adventurous life that 've been looking for. hopefully i can start my labwork nextweek as my supervisor is a bit busy this week. for the time being, i need to maintain the momentum and the spirit inside. got to keep myself motivated 24/7. O Allah, put me at ease. good luck sarah!

btw, i found this. may be useful.

Graduate school is a little bit of a different ball game than undergraduate school. While undergraduate school probably had you memorizing facts and theories and general information and then taking an exam to prove you learned the information, graduate school is more about application. You have to be able to apply your knowledge to real world situations. Writing and research take a front seat in grad school while memorizing takes a back seat.



Tip #1 Learn where to find it

Information is still an important factor of grad school. It's just more of a matter of knowing where to find the information, rather than memorizing and regurgitating the information.



In graduate school your learning is a lot more focused and concentrated than in was in undergraduate study. In graduate school you will learn something and then will be given the opportunity to prove your understanding by integrating your knowledge into a project or your research project that is focused on your own educational goals.



Tip #2 Application and specialization

Since you have narrowed your focus of study down by the time you have reached graduate school, the knowledge that you gain at this level really has to do with being able to apply it to your particular field of study.



Tip #3 Set up a schedule or keep a master calendar

Graduate school brings on a lot of projects, group assignments and research projects. Keep a master calendar of when all of these projects are due and plan out your time accordingly. Try to break large projects into small segments so that you can complete a little bit of the projects at a time without having to cram completing a huge project into a small amount of time.



Tip #4 Motivation

Motivate yourself by rewarding yourself. When you stick to your schedule and complete your tasks as planned, reward yourself. Take a night off for some fun or sleep in late. Pick something that you love to do and allow yourself to do it! This will rejuvenate you and clear your head, so that when you return to your studies and your schedule, you will have a fresh perspective.



Tip #5 Make a note

Carry a small notebook and a pen with you at all times. Jot down ideas that pop into your mind about your research, projects, or exams. Use these notes when you sit down to tackle your studies. This helps you to keep your thoughts organized and also reduces the chances that you will forget something important that popped into your mind while you were on the train or standing in line at the grocery store. You never know where you will run across and think about information that is pertinent to your studies.



Making the adjustment from undergraduate study to graduate study will take somewhat of a change in your mindset. Undergraduate and graduate courses of study have different ways to reach the end result, which is earning your degree.

p/s: whoever have other tips, kindly share with this new kid on the block (^^,)