Know what’s disgusting?
Picture this scene, here I am sitting in a lecture hall, trying to focus on the lecture given by the presenter. Next to me, sat a woman.
Over the duration of nearly 2 hours, know what she did?She was biting her nails.
I normally won’t mind this kind of behaviour, but please, for 2 hours, in public? Come on, can’t you just wait until you get home or something? To make it worst, as I try to listen to the words coming from the speakers, I can hear her nibbling and chewing on her already stubby finger nails and spitting it out! In between chewing, she’d then proceed to sweep whatever bits that fell on her lap onto the floor.
It was bloody annoying.
I just feel like telling her off, but instead I just stared once in a while, and pretending to clear my throat as sort of a hint. Did she take it?Sadly, no.
Lucky for me, for the second part of the seminar she went to sit somewhere else and spared me the agony. Interestingly, she was scheduled to give a presentation too. The topic?
Something about sanitary precautions in Intensive Care Unit.
Unbelievable.
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The Comeback
Dear friends and family, loyal readers and visitors
InsyaAllah, Severn Soliloquy will be back soon. I need some time with my PhD work, but I will blog again, won’t be long 
Thanks for all the support!
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Salam Maal Hijrah 1429
I hope I’m not too late in wishing you all, my dear readers, happy 1429. As we reminisce the the journey made by our beloved Rasulullah SAW and his blessed companions, so do we, his ummah should make our own personal ‘hijrah’ towards a better life in the truest sense.
I have been rather busy this week, which almost made me broke my promise early in the year to try to update this blog more often. I have been running my usual, stinky, take-48-hours-to-complete permeation experiment; which translates to smelling of fish oil and pig skin being ‘cooked’ for 48 hours, nights in the lab, and altogether a whole lot of cleaning. Alhamdulillah the first part went well, and I broke down the experiment setup this morning. Come monday I will need to clean all the cells and perhaps start running the samples under the HPLC (which, honestly, I’m rather dreading it..I almost never got a good permeation profile with the principal component I’m looking for. But, I’m taking it positively, and will not worry about it until I actually run the sample. Or as someone is wont to say, “Cross the bridge when you come to it”.
-edited by author 14/1/08 @ 17.36-
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twozerozeroeight
Finally it came.
Bye bye 2007, hello 2008!
I went for my first new year countdown ever last night. It was sort of on a whim really. I did toy around with the idea during the day, as I watched the on-going preparations while on my way to the city centre. Seeing that it was a wet day, I thought it’s not such a good idea after all. Then at 11.15pm, a friend texted me inviting me to join them in front of the city hall, I was bored, the weather was fine,so.. why not?
It was difficult locating them, and I only reached there at about 10 to midnight. Some band was playing, lots of people with their neon ‘light sabers’, bunny ears and other.. ‘festive regalia’, but it was easy enough to spot a huge group of Malaysians, with the girls mostly donning headscarves. Found 2 of my friends from the school too.
As the countdown progressed, and the first firecrackers lit up the night sky, I can’t help feeling a little bit let down. Maybe I’m so used to the barrage of firecrackers that we put on display at every single occasion back home. To be honest, I think we Malaysian certainly outdo Cardiff in this kind of things, though I don’t know whether that is good or not; my mother certainly think it’s not. Anyway, I was also expecting choruses of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, but there were none. Or maybe it was too low to be heard.
Don’t get blinded by the reflector jackets 
It was hard to get a nice picture with the lighting available there, plus I don’t really know which mode to use on my camera
With Wing
Me & Muks
There’s some pictures for you guys.
So, what would be my hopes and resolution for the new year? Well, for one, I intend to work harder and spend longer hours in the lab. My 2nd year viva is coming up, and what’s more important I’m going into my 3rd year now. I really need to hitch up my sleeves and put a lot of the ol’ elbow grease.
Secondly, I really need to work on improving my financial and health status. That would entail wise spending habits, and squeezing in a healthy dose of exercise and a well-balance diet. Overdrafting should never occur again, and I’m gonna set my weight target at 65kg by the time I’ll go home for the summer, insyaAllah.
Third, I want to improve on my personality. How I deal with people, and how people perceive me, especially to my friends. We all need friends, and it’s even more critical when you’re far,far away from home..good friends are certainly worth its weight in gold. I will try to smile more, not frown as much, not worry too much, be more pleasant overall. I will strive to give my all whenever people need me, and not hoping anything in return. Spiritually, there’s a lot I need to learn, and to be diligent in keeping it up to par. I don’t want to miss my solat, probably fast a bit more, and read more Quran.
I only set those 3 major points, as I think that a new year’s resolution the length of a shopping list is wasteful. Better set a realistic and achievable resolution than promising the sky, innit?
Well, that’s all for my inaugural post for the new year. Hope to see you guys in another chapter. Ta!
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Adieu 2007
In another 5 hours and 40 minutes another year will end, and a new one shall begin.Goodbye 2007, welcome 2008.
So how was 2007 for you guys?
For me personally, and I guess this has become a cliche, it was a bittersweet year. Too many things to recall individually, but some things do stick out a bit more. A brief recap of some of the highlights :
- I found my beloved Wawa. She was/is the cure to my lonely heart and I had enjoyed days and months of sheer joy, the ecstacy of being loved by someone as wonderful as her.I pray to Allah that the coming year we will be blessed with even more happiness as we develop and build a steady relationship that will last the test of time and distance.
- I went to my first conference out of UK, Berlin to be exact. It was bloody marvelous. Berlin is definitely in my ‘must visit again’ list. I presented my first poster, and I had my first paper published. And oh, few months before that I passed my first year viva and became a full PhD student.
- Not long after the enjoyable time in Berlin, I went home for the first time since I came here. I still the remember the excitement, the 13 hours flight did not even bothered me, the smile on my face as I read the Malay signage in KLIA, the moment I saw my family, and being in my old room..ah I miss that feeling. Not to forget the moment I first met Wawa in person and the short but sweet time that we spent together,bearing in mind we live in different states..It was worth every second.
- On the social scene, I met with new friends, mingled with more people and welcomed a couple of new labmates. All in all it had been nice. It’s always nice to be with people (the right people though..)
- I discovered several books and author that I really enjoyed. Compared to 2006, I read more books this year, still, far from my usual ‘consumption’ but literary-wise it was an enriching year. Same goes with music,I can’t recall discovering new bands but several excellent albums were released (and owned by your truly). Here’s hoping for more excellent releases next year
- On a bum note, I still suck at guitar.Sigh.
Apart from those events, I am rather concerned with my state of health this year. I fell ill several time, most of them dealing with my stomach. I gained a bit of weight, after that drastic loss the year before, though it can be excused since I stuffed myself with lots of Malaysian food when I was home :p
Emotionally speaking, there were lots of ups and downs. I remember the ups with fondness, and I wish that the downs had never happened, and will never ever happen again.I sure learned a lot about people, in general. Truth of the matter, you can never really know a person, and because it could have a cruel ending, never rely too much on people, especially for emotional support. There’s not really a lot of friendly ears that would listen to you, even on the people you call ‘friends’.
Financially, things could still be managed better. There were months where I would be flat out broke, and I definitely want to avoid this in 2008. The allowance increment was very much welcomed, but there’s only so much that they can give and it’s up to me to spend it wisely.
I guess that pretty much sums up my 2007. I’ll be writing more about my resolutions and hope for the new year in my next post.InsyaAllah. Till then, dear readers, have a happy new year and may it be the best year for all. Thanks for your support of my blog, hope to see you again next year, and yes, I will try to update more often.
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I Love Bottom!
Bottom, is definitely my new favourite (old) comedy show. Following on my older post ‘The Best Of British Comedy’, Bottom ranks among the top 3, I’d say.
Starring Rik Mayall as the hapless,unlucky-with-the-ladies Richie Richie (“May I say, what a smashing blouse you got on”) and Adrian Edmonson as the zany, maniacal Edward Elizabeth Hitler (yup, you read that right), it’s chock full of slapstick humour, violent gags and double entendre..recipe for a highly entertaining British sitcom.
As I’ve written before British comedy might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m for sure going to explore more and more, hoping to find another gem in the canon of british comedy.
Here are some of the best bits from Season 2. I warn you, it may contain scenes and language that may be offensive. So brace yourself!
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Radio+Video #13 : You’re So Vain
As performed by Carly Simon.
This is for all the vain people out there.
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2 months in brief
Hmm, maybe I should just close this blog altogether. It’s practically abandoned for 2 months. Stubbornly enough, I certainly will not do it. I may be writing a lot, lot less but hopefully I will still be doing so in time to come.
As the title goes, here are some..excerpts of my life for the past 2 months, with some random ramblings and thoughts thrown in.
On work
Of late, I have been experiencing a worrying lack of motivation, and a total drain on ideas. There were nights where I’d lay awake in a state of panic and anxiety. Mind you, I had never experienced panic attacks until I came to Cardiff. The first one, understandably enough was on the night before my first year progression viva. I’ve had a couple or maybe more, nights like that within the last 2 months. It’s really not doing any good for me.
On a slightly brighter side, I have began to pick myself up, and kept myself busy with some ongoing work, and some other ideas that have been brewing in my mind. My depth profiling-protein assay finally worked,after the 3rd try. Just in time for the christmas break. I hope to continue with this current trend when the school opens in the new year. Know what?That could be my new year’s resolution : I’m gonna work harder, put in longer hours and concentrate more.
On Books
During my downtime I have managed to finish several books, and few of them I’d say, they are EXCELLENT. The most recent book is The Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follet. Actually, I saw the sequel, World Without End on sale in the shops and I was rather intrigued. First by the sheer thickness of the book (the prequel itself numbers 1000+ pages!), secondly, and most importantly I am taken by its setting which took place in England during the Middle Ages. It is definitely my current favourite, a trend started by the Matthew Shardlake’s series ( Dissolution, Dark Fire, Sovereign) by C.J Sansom.
That aside, I am very very satisfied with the book. I had bought it for some time before actually reading it, but when I’ve started I simply can’t put it down.Took me 4-5 days to devour the pages, but it was worth every single word.
Another tome of note is John O’Farrel’s An Utterly Impartial History Of Britain which traces the history of Britain from the stone age to the post WWII era, in a lighter vein. It is both informative, and funny! Learning history can never be any funnier.
Other books which I have completed (most of them during a bout of insomnia I suffered for one week in late November) are Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child’s Wheel of Darkness, Thomas Harris’s Hannibal, and a biography of Rush, Chemistry. I’ve yet to start reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Ladies of Grace Adieu (Susanna Clarke), and the aborted completion of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I’ve also been meaning to re-read Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, which in itself is a mammoth task, considering the effort I took the first time around. Not because the book is boring, mind you.
On Poetry
I’ve been feeling for quite some time, that there is a poem or 2 waiting to come out. So far I’ve only managed to come up with a few lines for a poem I’ve been meaning to christen ‘The Dust Of Your Departure’, but I don’t feel that the words are strong enough. Plus, it’s kinda hard to recapture the moment of inspiration I first had when I coined the title. The subject matter is far from resolved, though. Which leads to another more fruitious attempt, The Forgettable Man, as the working title goes. Now, this poem, if it does get completed, would mark a rather slight departure from my usual norm; in which it is more of a narrative kind of poem, and what I have so far suggests a very long one too, with the first verse running up to 10 lines. Again, the problem which beset me is in trying to capture the mood and translating it back to words. The theme for it, is loneliness, and come to think of it, the protagonist could actually be the same person as the one in The Dust Of Your Departure.
I so desperately want to write them, though I may not be a good poet in its proper sense, I do believe that my poems are a true reflection of my feelings at a particular time and moment.
On Travelling
Well, where have I been for the past 2 months..hmm..to start I went to Oxford by the usual service provided by the Grad Center. It was ok, to say the least. It would have not happened as it goes though. I nearly walked out of the trip as soon as I board the bus for one incident which pissed me off, and rightly so too. But I stayed, and it took me nearly half of the trip to finally feel ok about it.
Apart from that, I’ve been to Glasgow for a short while and met Teera, a fellow tutor from UKM. I had planned to go to Edinburgh too, but I had to cut short my trip. Most of my friends are on a tour of England (Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, London), and I almost joined them. Unfortunately, as the norm with last minutes decision, I was left back. Felt bad at first, but after a while I probably thought it’s for the better. I wasn’t even included in the initial planning anyway.
On Cooking
I don’t cook that much, but when I do cook, I find it rather enjoyable. There’s nothing more satisfying than tasting a delicious dish which you cooked with your own 2 hands. Right now, I’m trying to perfect a few of my regular dishes. Chief among them is my fried rice. I’ve been guilty of using pre-made seasonings, though some who tasted them do enjoy it, I got bored with it. Hence, I’ve been making my fried rice from scratch now. I really wanted to replicate the Yong Chow Fried Rice in Batu Feringghi, or other similar chinese-style fried rice which emphasises the use of garlic. I haven’t been really succesful so far, but I’m glad to say I’m quite satisfied by how it turned out lately. It need not be the same with the ones I’m trying to replicate, most importantly I’m developing my own style.
One of the quicker meal options that I like to prepare lately are grilled lamb chops. I’m especially taken by the halal lamb chops they sell at Asda, and I am also partial in serving the chops with dauphinoise or creamy mash potatoes from the same place. Taking the distance from Severn Point to Asda though, I may not be able to make it that often.
It’s been a while since I’ve last cooked my other favourite dish, daging goreng kunyit. In fact, I have not bought beef for quite some time. I did buy ribs a couple of times before, but they mostly go in the oven for a quick grill. My so-called signature dish, sambal kentang with minced meat had only managed a few appearance so far. Only once actually, within the last 2 months.
I’ve been meaning to try out new chicken recipes. I did ayam masak merah several times, devised my own coating for crispy fried chicken, roasted them a number of times. I only made chicken curry once, and that was last year’s raya. I might try ayam palembang soon. I got the recipe, I just need the ingredient, and a way to mince the kerisik without a mortar and pestle.
Right, all the stuff that made sense have been written. Now, permit me to..ramble a bit.
Sometimes, you think that you knew a person, or to be more specific, who’s your friend and who’s not. My advice, and I have learned it the hard way (as I’m sure most of you have experienced i), you can never truly know and understand a person. They could be nice and happy one day, as though they enjoy your company; and totally forget about you another day.
There are friends, which will look for you in their time of need, when they want your help, but will not include you when they are joyous. The term, as they say, fair-weather friend, to me is a slight mis-nomer; they are not even worthy of the term friend at all. I’ve had sleepless nights over people like this. Come to think of it, sometimes it is mistake in being too soft and too trusting. Too dependent on others for company, some might say. I should have realised this several times over, but always in the end I’m the one left holding my broken heart.
I would probably be better off on my own, perhaps that’s how it’s meant to be after all.
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Eid Extravaganza
Eid came as quite a..surprise this year.
Most of us here, me included, had set our minds on celebrating Raya on the 13th (Saturday). After thursday’s iftar and prayer I even dozed off, unaware that all over town people were spreading news of Eid on the day after. By chance I woke up slightly after 10pm, opened CardiffKeluarga’s yahoogroup and baffled (along with the dizziness of sleep that still lingered) by all the Eid wishes.
I had planned for ages to cook on the eve of Raya, therefore eventhough it was already quite late I kicked myself into action – took out the frozen chicken (thank god I bought it earlier!), boiled the nasi impit, and chopping up onions for my ayam masak merah. A slight misadventure with ketchup nearly cost me my ayam masak merah, but I plowed on and made the required adjustment. It was well after 1.30 am when I was finally done in the kitchen. I cleaned up, got ready to sleep, only to stay wide awake until about 4am.
Nevertheless, I managed to wake up, get prepared, just in time to catch the 1st session of Eid prayers in Darul Isra’. No more misses this year! Being a school/working day, not many Malaysians were there in the mosque, most of my friends had lectures too.
I’d have to say that this Raya was a lot,lot better than the last. I celebrated with some of my closest friends, managed to cook something which I had meant to try for ages, and to top it off I got a very lovely baju raya and raya parcel from my sayang and my family. The peak of the celebration was the open house at 19 Plantagenet. Congratulations to Faezah, Najmie and Sumayyah, the gracious hosts. Good food, good crowd, and a whole lot of Raya spirit, I tell you. Thanks also for Shafie and his family for inviting me over to his house, it’s good to know there’s a place to go in times like these.
Malaysians in Cardiff & Swansea
Our international guests. Cardiff, truly global.
A special Raya pose for a special someone 
Being the second time I celebrated Raya abroad, I did wonder if I will make it three in a row next year. Ah well, there’s another whole year to think about it. Let’s just enjoy raya while we can eh?Raya kan sebulan, hohoho..
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To my loved ones, family, friends and fellow readers.
I wish you all a happy and prosperous Syawal, may Allah bless us all with forgiveness and good bounty ever after.
I beg forgiveness for all my mistakes, my misdoings and please pray for my success and well-being.
Eid Mubarak.
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