Of Gyeongbokgung, Bukchon and Insadong.

Okay, as I promised months ago! My 'Spring in Seoul' series, tadaaa! Wait, is there anyone out there who still reads my blog? LOL never mind.

This so-called series of blog posts does not serve as a detailed travel guide for those wishing to venture the wonderful land of K-Dramas and K-Pop. I'm just going to put lots of pictures and insert anything worth mentioning that happened during my trip there. Okay.. 

Our flight to Seoul was at 9 am? (I can't remember LOL) but I do remember it was around 5-6 hours of journey by plane. I was so thirsty and bored. I hate long-distance journey on flight. 

I had no idea why I ordered this for the flight meal. (pre-booked). 

Vegetarian food. Plus tak sedap. I couldn't stomach this. I could never become a vegetarian. I ended up not finishing it. T__T

We arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 4 pm (local time). If it's Malaysian time, it was 3 pm. The pilot announced that the temperature was about 12 degrees celsius. It's okay. I could withstand cold environment. I'd even experienced winter before! Went to Incheon, had to wait for a long queue at the immigration, looking around, collected our luggage, went to a counter that rent 'Wifi-Egg' because you need wifi/good internet connection while you're there, then off to take the subway to our guesthouse located in Shinchon, Seoul, which is really near to Ewha Women's University. In fact, we got to our place of accommodation through Ewha Women University's exit. Hey wait, no need to explain so much. Fine! 

Incheon International Airport

In the Airport Subway Train

When we arrived at our station, we went to the GS25 Convenience Store (Like 7E in Malaysia) and bought this famous Banana Milk! It tasted amazing, still lingering on my tongue, LOL. 

I waited here, drinking my banana milk while waiting for my friends to buy their T-Money cards (kind of like Oyster card or any subway/public transport card). And oh, I forgot. I bought a Tuna Onigiri too. I checked the ingredients. Nothing suspicious. I asked the ahjumma there in broken Korean "Gogi isseoyo?" (is there any meat in this onigiri I don't even know whether my pronunciation's correct LOL belasah je la) and she said no. All right! 

Even though it was spring, the temperature is just 'suam-suam sejuk', LOL. You can just wear a normal cardigan. It was like air-conditioner temperature only. 

Ewha/Shinchon

A restaurant

Our Hostel, yes! Shin Chon Hostel. 

Had to climb 2 storeys to get to our room. There's an elevator on the first floor (not ground floor) though, LOL. 

Tadaa! Quite pleasant-looking right? A bunk bed (I occupied the top bunk, as usual), single bed with a bathroom. And oh, a funny thing that happened was, I asked the staff there "Why isn't the air cond functioning?" and he said "We turned off the air-cond during Spring (LOL) and instead turned on the heater," Duh, it was around 12 degrees celsius. Nak sejuk mana lagi...

Went to 7E again. (7E is our saviour everywhere!) and bought this again. Haha. 

Okay, so the next day, we woke up to an early start. 

Convenient Breakfast in front of the Convenience Store that is 7E. Instant rice, bought from 7E whereby you can just microwave it for 1 minute, kimchi, tuna and of course, Banana Milk, this time blue in colour. I prefer the original one. This tastes less banana-ny (?) I guess.  I absolutely loved the weather. I loved sitting next to the road, eating peacefully with the soft wind ruffling our tudung, plus the sunshine was bright and welcoming, yet it wasn't scorching hot at the same time. 

So steep! (Inside subway station)

And we reached Gwanghamun Square! The statue of King Sejong the Great greeted us the foreign commoners to his Kingdom. 

It is stated here that King Sejong created the Hangul alphabets to replace the complex Chinese characters. Thanks to him, I also know how to read a bit of Hangul. 

The two commoners and Jeonha. 

Lo and Behold, Gyeongbokgung! Or Gyeongbok Palace. It's not Gyeongbokgung Palace as the suffix 'gung' already means 'Palace' in Korean. Now that's a Korean language lesson for you. Don't embarrass yourself when you're there. 

 LOL. Malaysians di mana-mana sahaja. But, isn't this a splendid view?

Throne Hall. Reminds me of the 'Hall of Supreme Harmony' in Forbidden City, Beijing. 

I love old, historical structures! 

Being a K-Drama fan (especially Sageuk dramas), I couldn't help but to visualise the people of the ancient days walking along various paths in the Palace compound. One of my favourite Sageuk dramas, 'Dae Jang Geum' was also filmed in Gyeongbokgung.

I tried to find the real Royal Kitchen (not the one in Dae Jang Geum Theme Park/MBC Dramia) but to no avail. I then discovered that the Royal Kitchen, 'Sojubang'  was destroyed long ago during Japanese Invasion in 1592. Cis! 

Queen's Palace Backyard 

Queen's Garden. Not that impressive, to tell the truth. 

We walked and walked and walked, and we chanced upon this amazing view. 

Hyangwonjeong Pavillion. 

So beautiful! I captured this picture myself. No filter! *proud*

This is the pavillion from 'The Moon that Embraces the Sun;.

Okayla, since I'm so in love and infatuated with this beautiful place, I dig out the history of it. 

Taken from www.royalpalace.go.kr

"When Geoncheonggung Palace Residence was built, King Gojong redesigned the Palace's back garden. An artificial islet was created in the middle of the pond, on which a hexagonal pavilion was built with the name Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, meaning the “Pavilion of Far-Reaching Fragrance” The bridge across the pond was named Chwihyanggyo, meaning "intoxicated with fragrance."

In 1873, when King Gojong built Geoncheonggung Palace, he had a pond dug to the south, with an islet created in the middle. A two-tier hexagonal pavilion, built on the islet, was named Hyangwonjeong Pavilion and the wooden bridge leading to it was called Chwihyanggyo.

Chwihyanggyo Bridge was the longest wooden bridge constructed on a pond during the Joseon Dynasty. At present, the wooden bridge from the south provides access to the islet, but the bridge was originally on the north side to be reached from Geoncheonggung Palace. In 1953, the bridge was moved to the south side of the pond. The sources of the pond are underground water and a spring coming down from the mountain at the back of the Palace. The water eventually flows into the pond where Gyeonghoeru Pavilion stands."

There is a museum next to Gyeongbokgung. I love museums! But I didn't really spend much time there as I would have wanted to because my two friends do not really have the interest to know about Korean History, LOL. 

And, end of trip to Gyeongbokgung. Next, we went to Bukchon Hanok Village! Bukchon Village is the place where the high officials and rich merchants of the Joseon Dynasty used to stay, as it's located just next to Gyeongbokgung. 'Hanok' means 'Traditional'. 

It's not an ordinary village. This village is located at a hilly area whereby there were a lot of stairs and you need to have a good stamina to hike up through the village. Luckily we're still young, LOL. 

 So tiring!

And, we found a place where we could rent hanboks and take pictures. 

The owner was the one who chose the outfits for us and she purposely gave me this ensemble. She said softly as though not to let anyone hear "This is the best one, very beautiful. You are lucky," LOL whyyyy.... But I do admit I loved my outfit. The material of the chima (skirt) is made of organza. It's just that I wanted to try the 'Princess' hanbok as well. Isn't that supposed to be the best one? *raised eyebrows*

At your service! 

We exited Bukchon Hanok Village and headed off to Insadong, after much difficulties and loss of direction. We were hungry! And at Insadong, we went to this Vegetarian Restaurant. I can vouch that it is really a vegetarian restaurant as I saw an elderly monk having meal there with his family. 

no, no monks seen here. 

My friend right (not gonna tell which one hahah ), she was very greedy, LOL.  She ordered two dishes just for herself, thinking that she could finish both by herself because she was so famished!  And when those dishes arrived, the three of us couldn't believe that the portions would be this big! That big bowl of bibimbap (mixed rice) on the far right there? That's mine. (I only ordered that one).  Filled with vegetables and rice. I couldn't finish the whole bowl. Like I said earlier, I could never become a vegetarian. I love vegetables, but I need my dose of meat too! I'm an omnivore! And well, my friend (the greedy one) regretted it. HAHAHA. 

We just walked around the shopping streets of  Insadong and didn't buy anything. 

The Busy Street of Insadong.

So, done with Insadong, where to, next? 

We decided to continue with the plan and go to Cheonggyecheon Stream, located at a walking distance away from Insadong. 

Crystal Clear Cool Refreshing Water!!!! 

Nothing much to see here, only that this place gets lively during night time, whereby the lamps along the stream would be lit up. 

We decided to go to one last place before heading home (or so we thought). I wanted to go to Dongdaemun, to see the Seoul City Wall, also featured in the Korean Drama 'King 2 Hearts'. But it seemed like we couldn't find any signs of ancient walls in this modern city of Seoul. Initially, we thought that the Seoul City Wall must have been located in the suburbs, just like the Great Wall of China. We were sure that we had taken the right direction, using Google Maps and all but where is this freaking Seoul City Wall?

And alas, I discovered that it was hidden next to the tall building behind us. T__T Seriously, didn't realise that there was a mountain beside it. 

Again, we had to hike all the way up the Naksan Mountain to get the best view of Seoul. Doesn't matter, I had, after all won a medal for climbing up the Great Wall of China, LOL. 

At the base of the Naksan Mountain

You could see Namsan Tower at the top of the Namsan Mountain (of which we climbed it up the next day, LOL). 

The three pharmacists 

Anyway, the view from up there was spectacular! 

And upon descending, we stopped by the Ihwa Mural Village, a location featured in various Korean dramas, one of them is 'Rooftop Prince'. 

We stopped by a grocery store and bought some chu-chu bars (got to know its existence from the K-Drama 'Full House').  It's like Aiskrim Malaysia/ Popsicles. 

Then, darkness was approaching. We decided to go to our last destination for the day, Hangang/ Han River. 

Actually, we wanted to join the Han River Cruise but due to some mis-directions (aka getting lost), with lots of walking, aching feet, hungry stomachs, we ended up being in the less 'romantic' part of Han River. 

It was the dark, gloomy part beneath the bridge. There were strangers, big dogs, murky river water with a repulsive stench. It was quite a dangerous place to be, and if it's in Malaysia, it is definitely NOT a place that I would venture. But I don't know, Korea just feels safe. In fact I felt safer in Korea than in Malaysia. Plus I don't think they'd dare to disturb foreigners, and perhaps with our tudung-wearing appearances, we didn't even attract the attention of any member from the opposite gender there, which is good! Hahaha .

We sat by the river bank enjoying the night view, sharing the kimbap my friend bought from the convenience store earlier. We talked about many things, doing a proper catch-up session with each other to make up for the past one year we haven't seen each other, PRP life, etc. It was a nice feeling. 

Alas, time to go back to our hostel. Again, we had trouble to locate the nearest subway station, resulting in more walking and running across dark, secluded playgrounds (scary!) and tadaaa we found the subway station! We reached Ewha before 12 midnight and had a good night sleep, snoring. 

To recap, on our first day here, we went to 

- Shinchon/Ewha (Women University Street)

- Gwanghamun Square

- Gyeongbokgung

- Bukchon Hanok Village

- Insadong

- Dongdaemun, Seoul City Wall and Ihwa Mural Village 

- Cheonggyecheon Stream

- Han River 

This is the end of the Episode 1 of 'Spring in Seoul' series. Do tune in next week for the next episode, where I'll show you around: 

- Namsan Park/Mountain/Tower as featured in 'Boys Over Flowers' and 'My Lovely Sam Soon' 

- Myeongdong Shopping Street- where we shopped a lot lot lot. (at least, my friends did). 

- Itaewon- The Best Place to get Halal foods in Korea! 

EDIT: Forget it. So lazy already want to write about my experiences in Korea. It's been too long. 

Twenty SIX!

LOL yes, I'm turning 26 today! And for that, I'd like to compile the birthday wishes my uncle sent to me every year since I was... 22? Hahaha. He is an amazingly creative person, be it in writings or drawings/illustrations (He's an accomplished award-winning architect, also a children's books illustrator). Every year, I had been looking forward towards receiving the special birthday wish from him. They are so beautifully written, with elements of fantasy and quirkiness in them- a trait he himself possess. xD Check them out! 

14th of October 2012

Happy birthday my dearest Sarah. You deserve a ride on a magical cobalt dragon through a golden sky filled with raspberry star dust that will make you happy for a thousand years. Soak it in all up! Stay fearless. Love busu. 

14th of October 2013

The Skies at Arafah is a complete blue today because the clouds of my doa for you and your family have drifted away to Him. May you get to feel the nikmat of the Rain from Him, showering you with love, happiness and wealth of successes. Happy birthday my dearest niece. You are in my thoughts all the way here from Arafah. 

14th of October 2014

Today is super special because only today the cats in the neighbourhood would spread their secret wings out and take to the skies, soaring in a spiral fashion-so fast that rainbow winds are ripped out. Each churn of ripple would clear a path for you, leading you to a magic door they call "Kambombaboomba". Every door is special and would lead you to a wonderful surprise! Happy Birthday dearest Sarah and congratulations on your convocation. May you start this new chapter of your life opening all the doors of happiness, love and success. The cats will always keep the doors open for you, so long as you remember Him. 

14th of October 2015

Today while diving in the crystal waters off Menjangan Island, I sent a message to the elusive silver Dolphins of Lovina. They shall search the Balinese seas for the Mysterious white seacaves for 3 golden-rose pearls. They will then cross over to the Andaman Seas near to you, passing the pearls to the great rainbow Garuda. Tonight before the clock strikes twelve, look up to the stars as one shall glow ever so brightly, lighting the path of the Garuda to you. With his tender yet powerful claws he would crush each pearl above you. The first gives you strength to face all adversaries and challenges ahead of you. The secont gives you the intellect and ability to soar even higher and the third showers you with love and health for that enriching, fulfilling life. So go ahead, soak in the magic and own that life the way you want it to! Have a magical 25th. May He always protect you. 

And this year's birthday wish: 

14th of October 2016

A milipede crawled up to me today and whispered a secret: 'I just won a competition for being the milipede with the least number of legs! But I want to give the prize to you'. So I took a good look at him and realized the centipede had 327 legs. That's odd (pun intended), and when I asked why he wanted to share the prize with me, he told me I was the one who made him lose 133 legs. The bicycle I rode  accidentally ran over him last Saturday! 'So what's the prize' I asked. He told me the Millipede King granted him one wish for every leg missing. So I used up 132 wishes for 132 of the millipede's legs to grow back. And since today is your birthday, My 133rd wish shall be for you, Dearest Sarah. I wish for every loss or failure you face be turned into gain and success, and may you always have the strength and courage to live through life's challenges! Live happy, and if you see a millipede with 459 legs, thank him and tell him he's special!

Our birthdays are just 2 days apart. I wished him for his birthday 2 days ago, and he said to  me "Keep well and don't waste your passion for writing!" Reading this makes me sad. LOL. 

I'm in GM, celebrating my birthday alone, having a birthday lunch all by myself at Secret Recipe. I saw a girl whose birthday got celebrated there and I felt the urge to tell her mother that today is my birthday too! 

This is the loneliest birthday I had so far, hahaha and I'm not feeling well either. I'm feeling weak and lethargic, having headache and all. I'm not that excited that today is my birthday. Unlike the past years, I'm not in the mood to write a reflective birthday post. I could only say: 

"Looking back on how far I've come, to actually reach the age of 26 is quite an impressive feat, isn't it?" Alhamdulillah. 

Thank you all for the birthday wishes and may you have a nice day! 

4th Month in GM

Oh my, how time flies!

The summary of the life I'm living now:

• Getting more comfortable and less irritable.

Sure, less people to deal with. I am naturally an introvert. I dislike being around many people because people = potential conflicts/problems so more people = more conflicts. So, it's good that I have the choice to be with whomever I feel comfortable to be with. And that I get to spend quality time alone in my room without the pressure to go out and mingle, LOL. 

• Less inspired to get out of this comfort zone. 

I even had the thought of staying in GM until I got promoted to UF 44, which will be in January 2018, insya Allah. Why? Surely, this new place has some problems of its own, mainly dealing with the lackadaisical system and attitudes of the people here. But when I was reminded of those turbulent times of my hell-ish and depressing PRP year, I quickly stopped complaining. Life was much harder back then. With that, I begin to accept the fact that there is NO perfect place or a perfect job in this world. Even if I got transferred to my own hometown, I might encounter a more unpleasant batch of people/coworkers there. It's mind over matters. I can't change other people's attitudes but I surely have the power to change my own perspectives on various things. 

• Feeling more excited with my job. 

I was scared shitless during my IPD rotations in H**. I was constantly nervous of making mistakes, especially during my first rotation. And I was scared of the boss there, who had constantly threatened to extend me because I couldn't remember the dose of drugs and identifying the so-called basic polypharmacy. But things  had gotten better during my 2nd rotation there, which was also my final rotation as a PRP. Right after I officially became a 'floater', I actually got disappointed knowing that I had to 'float' in OPD, pfftt. I hate OPD.  

And in GM, I am a ward pharmacist, or  sometimes referred by the more glamorous term- a clinical pharmacist (if you have a Masters degree in Clinical Pharmacy, insya Allah, working towards it! ). I love going for ward rounds, interacting with the doctors and nurses in my ward. They are super friendly! And nothing beats the excitement you felt when you detected some errors in the doctors' prescriptions, LOL. You made interventions that could save a patient's life and even improving their conditions! 

Plus, I have this trait that I had not realized before, until someone pointed it out to me. I do have that degree of nerdiness in me. I am obsessed with statistics, of achieving the minimum requirements of things I have to do or even surpassing them! The Pharmacy Department of GM had always been looked down by the pharmacists from other hospital. We were not that active in our job, as evident by the statistics we had sent them every year. Well, this year, they are going to be surprised. I am trying my best to do whatever I could to develop the Clinical Pharmacy service in this hospital, I am going to send them a really awesome statistics that no other district hospitals had ever sent them before. I am going to prove to them that GM pharmacists are every bit as awesome as they think they are (LOL, as if!). And during the meetings, I am going to promote my hospital. Don't you dare to look down on GM. But for these first 3 months, I started out late as a ward pharmacist. So I couldn't really achieve the target (and prepared to get scolded, LOL). But just you wait, October, November and December! 

Oh yes, back to the story. I had this thought of staying here until UF44 because even if I managed to return to my hometown after a year here,  I'm afraid that I might get posted to Klinik Kesihatan somewhere remote and deserted, with only one Pharmacist and one Penolong Pegawai Farmasi,and I don't like working in OPD. Clinical Pharmacy is my passion, even though I'm not that good in it. 

Plus, there is another possibility that even if I got posted to a hospital, a big hospital, the KPF might just put me in OPD or worse, STORE. 

• Gaining weight. 

This, with every intention to go and play badminton at the court every night, (after getting inspired by Goh Liu Ying and Liliyana Natsir! hahahaha) without actually doing it. I lost 6 kg during my PRP year and it seems like I had gained more than 6 kg after I had started my FRP life. Haha.

• Falling in love with Park Bo Gum. 

He's so cute!!!! (It's okay Joong Ki! You'll always be in my heart ) So what if he's 3 years younger than me? Love knows no barriers! 

All righty. Bye! 

As said by Ten

The year 2016 marks the 26th year of me living on Earth (Not Gallifrey, LOL)  and what have I really achieved? Okay, let's minus the first 20 years of my life as I was clueless on what to do back then and just went with the flow. So, that leaves us with 6 years, and what have I done with these 6 years? 

(LOL of course I had achieved some things that I am proud of (like I got a well-paid job that I begin to love) but I couldn't just be complacent right? I want more. The Slytherin trait is strong in me. And Ravenclaw. Oh whatever. )

But then, I think I was still clueless at the age of 20 onward, and I still think I am a bit lost presently. But I had begun to see what the future holds, though it was quite ambiguous and vague, I'm slowly getting there. Let's hope it will become clearer and crystal clear as time passes by. 

I think the biggest mistake I had made in my life so far was that I was always in a rush towards getting things done and to achieve MANY of my dreams and that makes those dreams not getting achieved at all. Get what I mean? Simply said, I wanted too many things at the same time. 

But now that I had learned my lesson, I must take one step at a time. Pick a dream out of those numerous dreams. The number one dream. Work towards making it into a reality. Then move on to the second dream. Repeat. 

I often thought that it would be superb if I managed to achieve ALL of them when I was still young and energetic. I thought that becoming older might deter those dreams that I harbour. For example, I MUST learn and master the German language by 30. I pushed myself too hard, it gets boring and hard and eventually, I quit learning it and that I moved on towards achieving the next dream, which is to play drum. HAHA. Then the same thing happened. Those are just examples by the way. You can try to do many things at the same time. But consistency is the key towards success. And I am often inconsistent with my efforts. 

And I lost my train of thought, LOL. Well actually, the stuff that is on my mind is a bit personal to be written out here and read by the public. I'll just continue writing about it on my journal then. Okay, till then! 

Mixed up and Mashed up

In 2011, when Pottermore was introduced to the world, I got sorted into Ravenclaw. I was disappointed at first, as my preference back then was Gryffindor. 

But over the years, as I began to learn about my own traits and personalities, I began to discover more about myself and that I realized that I am indeed, more of a Ravenclaw than a Gryffindor. I identified with most of the traits of a Ravenclaw, as written in many articles and blogs that discussed the traits of the four houses of Hogwarts. 

5 years later, I decided to retake the sorting hat test to see whether I am still a Ravenclaw or whether my personalities changed over the years leading to the change in my Hogwarts House. 

And aha, I got Slytherin! Freaking Slytherin. I was dissatisfied. I know that Slytherins are those mostly ambitious lots who  craved for power and greatness. Even though I had to accept this bitter news, deep inside me, I know that it's true. I had grown ambitious over the years and after witnessing many bad things and injustice that happened around me and around the world, I feel so helpless, wishing that I have the power to change the world. 

I wasn't satisfied. I logged in with another email and I got, guess what? a Gryffindor. WHAT? Instead of being happy that I got sorted into a house that I initially have preference to, I felt sad to know that my 'Ravenclaw' personality is slowly slipping away from me, or is it not?

I finally did my third Sorting Hat test and got sorted to Ravenclaw pheww. 

But anyway, I guess my true traits lie somewhere between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Wisdom and power if combined, could really make huge differences to this world, isn't it?

Anddd... JK Rowling had written about a new Magic School located in North America. The Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

I answered the questions and got sorted into Thorned Serpent. And I was disappointed. I really thought that I was a Slytherin through and through. Until I learned that Thorned Serpent has more of the characteristics of a Ravenclaw. Or that it combines the traits of both Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Well, that makes me satisfied.

Until I decided to log in to my old and first Hogwarts House- Ravenclaw and took the Ilvermony sorting test again. 

I got sorted into Thunderbird, which 'Represents the Soul' and 'Favours Adventures'. What, now I'm more like a Gryffindor now? Perhaps my current mood affected the result of this test. I am feeling rather homesick and rather sick of staying in this place. I want to go home. I need to escape. LOL. 

So, in conclusion, my personality is made up of 3 Hogwarts Houses combined which equal to 2 Ilvermony Houses. 

I am a Ravenclaw, a Slytherin and a Gryffindor. 

I am a Thorned Serpent and a Thunderbird. 

Based on the major traits of these houses, I am supposed to be someone intelligent, ambitious and adventurous. Well, I guess it's okay. Gotta live up to these traits I guess. Hahaha.

And five minutes later....

I took another Ilvermony quiz and I got sorted into Pukwudgie. Represents Heart. Favours Healers. LAUGH OUT LOUD.

THE END. 

Torchbearers Leading the Way

Mun, Fatin and I were on our way back to Pasir Puteh after meeting up with Ira in Kota Bharu. Along the way, we started having conversation about our life in CFS IIUM and IIUM Kuantan. We talked about the classes there, the lecturers, the ghost stories and many other fond memories we had in those two places that are special in our hearts. 

I talked about the miserable Taaruf Week held in June 2008, where we had to stand under the hot scorching sun, singing the 'CFS song' again and again as ordered by our merciless seniors, the taaruf committees. 

In fact, I still remember that one memorable week. 

It was my first time away from my family. I mostly spent the hours left crying. Crying in the car, crying in my great aunt's house, crying in the restaurant, crying when walking to the mahallah with my family members carrying my bags, crying when they bid me farewell, leaving me in a strange place with unfamiliar faces (NO ONE from my old school. NO ONE). 

I cried as I sorted out my stuffs in that tiny room of which I had to spend one year of my life in. I only stopped crying when my roommate entered my room, LOL. In short, it was a week of crying. Well, not really. I only cried on the first night there. I later made friends with many people and the feeling of homesickness slowly disappeared. 

Back to our conversation in the car. We tried to recall the lyrics of the CFS song. The opening line, the first sentence, to no avail. We only remembered the famous chorus "We are the Torchbearers for the Ummah, (for the Ummah!)" hahaha. 

Mun searched for the song on youtube and as soon as I heard the opening music, I began to sing "Let us come along and get together," to which Mun and Fatin exclaimed 'Aha! That's it!' and what do you know, the three of us sang the song together in the car with so much spirit, each of our mind playing the memories of our lives in CFS. 

Let us come along and get together

Affirm our faith in God and the Messenger

Light the flame of love in Him, warm and brighter

Hold the rope, and trust in Him forever

Divided we will (we’ll) fall, United we stand

Unity bears the fruit of unification

Triple I.C.E is ever our mission

Excellence in all we do is our vision

Chorus:-

We are the torchbearers, for the Ummah

Guided by the Qur’an and Sunnah

Foundation Centre of IIUM

Gateway to the Garden of Knowledge and Virtue

Divided we will (we’ll) fall, United we stand

Unity bears the fruit of unification

Triple I.C.E is ever our mission

Excellence in all we do is our vision

The music was so familiar, so close to our hearts.The lyrics greeted us like an old friend. It seemed like it was just moments ago that we gathered at the field in front of UKC for the Taaruf Week opening night, taking our bai'ah as fellow students of CFS IIUM. I remember walking from one place to another, rushing for the next class located at a different building, I remember our weekly trips to Jaya One, Metro Bus no 12 and City Liner no U95 taking us to Mid Valley Megamall. I remember studying for exams, the Al-Malik Faisal Hall usually being our main examination venue. I remember the Annex building, the library, the tiring hike up to the 4th floor of Mahallah Zainab after coming back from an outing, the infamous Pakcik Guard Misai, LOL. 

The song ended. We smiled in satisfaction. But we were not done reminiscing the memories yet. I searched for the IIUM Main Campus song. "Leading the Way' and played it for the three of us to sing. 

I love this song. The first time I sang it was during the Opening Night of Taaruf Week held in the auditorium of Kulliyyah of Medicine. They showed the video clip of this song, of which a scene shows an IIUM graduate receiving the scroll from the Chancellor on stage during convocation. I didn't know why I felt  attracted to that one particular scene. The way the song weaved in with that scene made me felt so inspired. I was only about to start my first year degree and yet I couldn't wait for the day where I will finally graduate from IIUM with my Bachelor of Pharmacy. 

And the last time we sang this song was during our convocation day. Us in our convocation robes, marching into the hall with our parents proudly smiling at the sight; for after 4 years, we had finally finished our degree and had officially graduated as students of IIUM! In fact, as we were the only degree holders on that day (the rest being the Masters' Degree holders),we were the ones who sang this song the loudest and with most gusto. It was such a beautiful song. 

So, presently, 2 years after the convocation (with one year plus of harrowing working experiences), the three of us sang this song again. 

Lets lead the way

Enlighten the future

Share the wisdom

Through the spirit of Islam

Revelation and Reason

We shall excel, we shall prevail

Merging faith and knowledge

We 're the khalifah

We will fulfill the Amanah

Chorus:

Together,

We make the world a better place

Forever,

Expand the culture of Iqra

IIUM,

Is to realise, the meaning of

Rahmatan lil-Alamin

I don't know why. My eyes got all watery as I sang this verse. And I realised I wasn't alone. Mun suddenly started shedding her tears, overwhelmed by this familiar old feeling and the beauty of the very meaningful lyrics. I was surprised. I laughed at first. But tears started streaming down my cheeks too. We finished the song. 

Together,

We make the world a better place

Forever,

Expand the culture of Iqra

IIUM,

Is to realise, the meaning of

(Mercy to all the worlds)

For all mankind

After 2 years leaving UIA, we had finally realized the meanings of this song. Singing this song again reminded us of the amanahs that had been entrusted upon us, beginning with the taaruf week when we started our journey as IIUM students there and finally during the convocation day, when we were officially leaving IIUM to serve the mankind (as what this song denotes) armed with what IIUM had taught and given us. This song keeps on reminding us of who we are, the purpose of our journey, the meaning of being an IIUM student. 

Life after graduation is really different from life as a student of IIUM. I miss the sheltered environment we had back then. Almost everyone was treating everyone with kindness and respect, no bullying whatsoever, no cases of double standards or discrimination. At least, not that I had heard of or experienced. But in the working life, I have to admit, you have to be emotionally and physically strong. You are no longer a student. You have to make your own decisions, you have to face your own problems. Your parents couldn't help you if you have problems at work, your lecturers are not there to guide you. You will encounter many sorts of people from different backgrounds, with different attitudes that might irk you sometimes, those people who looked at you differently just because you have different opinions on what is right or wrong (you know, being an IIUM student and such, people might perceive you as being narrow-minded). Whether you like it or not, you have to be strong, force yourself to be strong and take up the challenges that life had thrown towards you. 

You will feel stressed and frustrated when things don't go in your way. You will feel that other people are being unfair, what's with you doing most of the job and them, just relaxing and goyang kaki most of the time. 

With you once being an IIUM student, you might have a different perception towards life. You believe in the concept of 'Keberkatan'. Whatever you do, you must do it right. You must not slack off. You must come to work on time. You must not cheat. You will rather own up and face the consequences of your mistakes rather that lying about it. You were paid to do your job. It's okay if everyone else didn't do much as you did, but you have to do it anyway, because you don't want the salary that is given to you every month be tainted with 'Ketidakberkatan', meaning that Allah is not pleased with you. 

You must learn to accept that this world is not perfect. The same goes with everything in it. The people, the workplace. You can't change others. But you have to stick to your own principles and identities. You are an IIUM graduate. Your university had given you the amanah to change the world. For you to spread the good virtues of Islam and to fulfil the purpose of your existence, which is to become a Khalifah on Earth. 

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever you feel emotionally tired or  physically drained, remember the amanah that had been given to you. The amanah that Allah had commanded you to fulfil. That is your goal in life. 

As we reached home, we talked about how grateful we are, to had been studying in IIUM.  

I am very grateful for this. I don't know who will I end up as, if I were to go to other places (like overseas, maybe? Perhaps Allah had known that my iman back then wasn't strong enough for me to resist the temptation of life outside and so He didn't grant me the chance to study there back then). IIUM had moulded me to become someone better, inside out. The strict rules that were once so strange and foreign to us had now become our everyday norms. For example, wearing socks to cover your feet whenever you went outside, and wearing tudung that covers your chest when what you usually did back then at school was just to 'selempang' your tudung right and left. And oh, wearing handsocks too. Not forgetting to observe the ikhtilat between the brothers and sisters. There were various posters on this issue back in UIA, LOL. 

I miss walking to the mosque for prayers, and to join the usrahs, talks and forums that act as supplements to our souls. I really miss this kind of environment. I really do. IIUM is the place where I learned to know and get closer to my Creator, to the point of experiencing the feeling of loving Him. (But you must be consistent in your effort to experience and gain this love. Iman asyik naik turun, you know). The place that taught me to be fully dependent on Him, the place where I experienced his Love and Him answering my prayers and pleas. When I was at school, I never thought that I would go to IIUM, until I did. 

My brother had mostly bad experiences in IIUM, but I'm glad that I had mostly experienced sweet memories there. 

So come on torchbearers, remember the amanah. And let's lead the way! May our Iman keeps on increasing and may our heart never wavers from remembering Him. Ameen. 

Second Post from GM

Life in GM is quite a mundane one, and most weekends are mainly spent in my room, doing various activities an introvert usually do, like reading, writing, reading again, watching and re-watching favourite series on my battered 8 years old laptop. 

There isn't much to do here. Fatin and I would usually roam around Econjaya or TMG, the two closest things you could call a mall here, LOL. Our favourite activities include wandering aimlessly inside Watsons and coming out from there with our hands full of various beauty products and makeups, and just talking about life and various other random things. 

At least I am grateful that I have my UIA friends here with me. 

There is a small public library here, of which I hadn't visited yet. This place is an hour away from Cameron Highlands. GM is originally inhabited by the aboriginals, many of them are still living deep in the suburbs with no electricity. GM is located 3 hours away from KB, and the closest town is Kuala Krai, located one and a half hours away. 

I'm currently working in the hospital as a ward/clinical pharmacist. I love my job so far, and it's definitely better than my life as a PRP in Penang. There are some issues here and there, but I am learning not to complain too much about what couldn't be changed (eg. people's attitudes and work ethics) and just focus on what I can change. 

It's sad to realize that I now have less interest in blogging and that I had ran out of things to talk about. I remember the early days of blogging, where I registered anything interesting that happened to me during the day, thinking that it would be a good topic for blogging, even constructing the sentences in my head before I went to my room and typed those sentences on my laptop. 

And I feel lazy to upload pictures to my blog. LOL. 

Is it true that the blogging era is over? Most famous bloggers I know had stopped blogging but continued to spread their legacies and popularity through other social network sites such as instagram and snapchat, mostly the former. 

As for me, I do admit that I had been blogging quite rarely as compared to the old days, but it doesn't mean that I had stopped writing entirely. I had instead chosen to express my innermost thoughts onto paper, where only I can read and reflect on what had been written. This is safer and I feel happier. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I had reverted back to the conventional method of documenting my daily life, which is by writing on my journals. 

But fear not for the possibility of me shutting down this blog. This blog is precious to me. I shall continue to write on this blog, whenever I feel inspired to, haha. 

That's all for now. Adieu! 

Live from GM

Assalamualaikum and a very good day I bid to all.
It seems that I have not been updating this blog for about 2 months already.

Here it goes. 

Selamat Hari Raya Puasa everyone!

I had a very memorable and enjoyable Hari Raya this year, with the road trip all the way from GM (my new workplace) then to Selangor ( my grandaunt's house for buka puasa) Negeri Sembilan (stayed for a night at another grandaunt's house), crossing the historical state of Melaka, heading south to Mersing Johor (stayed for a night) then off to Singapore (and spending the last three days of puasa and the next 4 days of hari raya there).

I love these roadtrips. The roads and highways heading to the south are generally not as busy and jammed as those heading to the east coast or the north. Our car would cruise smoothly throughout the journey with us singing along to the classic Hari Raya songs blaring from the radio.

The thing about my new workplace and how am I coping with my new life so far, I will reserve it for some other times. 

Currently using the lunch break to type this blog post using the pharmacy's desktop. I don't have wifi at my house here and I mainly communicate with others using the slow Mobile data I have on my phone. My 8 years old laptop (and counting!) does not have a well- functioning speaker thus I could only watch movies/films with subtitles lol. So I mostly spent my time reading and writing (wait for my novel!) 

Speaking of reading, I had ordered a number of books from @bookaliciousmy before the raya holiday. When I went back to work a week later, I was delighted to see my parcel had arrived, sitting majestically on the table waiting for me. 

So beautifully wrapped! It's like a birthday present to myself. 

Them  books 

Currently reading Sylvia Plath's 'The Bell Jar'. Almost finished it and I love it so far. 

All right, that's all from me. Will try to update more frequently! 

While in Korea

It was on the 29th of April 2016.
My friends and I were at the subway station, charging our phones at the toilet (yes!) and also waiting for another to finish her Zuhur prayer somewhere at the deserted area there.
She finished her Zuhur prayer and the three of us went out when she suddenly said

"Aku dapat Pahang! Yaay yaay yaaay!"

Blood quickly rushed through my veins. I was stunned. What, the FRP posting result is out already? Why now? It was so unexpected! KKM, how could you do this to me? Why won't you leave me to enjoy my second last day in Korea IN PEACE and HAPPINESS? Why couldn't you wait until I return home to Malaysia and all its realities that I had been dreading to face? I had been living in dreams and fantasies when I was in Korea. I was that happy throughout my stay there, yes!

I checked for the result through my phone. Now why the internet suddenly went so slow? I checked using my tab. Also, very slow! Gahhh! So, Syau lent me her phone. With a cheeky grin, she said she wanted to check for me. No! I exclaimed! I need to find out by myself.

So I typed my IC number and...

Tempat Melapor Diri: Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri Kelantan.

KELANTAN? I got FREAKING KELANTAN?

I was sad, I almost cried. I didn't cry. I almost cried. The tears don't even flood my eyes yet.

It was a mixture of unexpectedness and me expecting it all along.

I mean, I know that I wouldn't get Kedah as rumour has it that there is no more vacancy/post for Pegawai Farmasi there. I had at least hoped that I would get Perak, my second choice of state. But no.

KKM had decided to send me to Kelantan.

 We went out from the subway and reached a place I couldn't recall what it is as I was too flooded with emotions. I almost cried. But I didn't cry. I repeat: I didn't cry. YET. Oh wait, until now, I haven't even cried properly yet. Perhaps I'd cry myself to sleep tonight. Hahaha.

So, that's it. The moment of truth. I finally got called to serve as a Fully Registered Pharmacist in a state far away from my hometown. I am no longer a floater or a PRP. I am scared of the responsibilities I'm about to shoulder.

I'm not really blaming or complaining. Some had it worse. They got posted to Sabah and Sarawak. But somehow, deep inside me, I thought that I'd like to get Sabah or Sarawak instead. But never mind, Allah knows best.

It's just that you know, I'm sad. The feeling of sadness is inevitable. The thought that I'm going to stay far away from my family and the comfort of my own home, to rent a house and lead a totally independent life, the loneliness, to make new friends and adapt myself to the new working environment, it is too exhausting to even think of all that.

But there is one thing that kept me from crying. I have many friends in Kelantan. Kelantan is...not so bad. My father had once worked in Kelantan for several years. My friends said that I could save a lot of money when I'm in Kelantan as the cost of living there is cheaper as compared to living in Penang or Selangor.

Also, I know that Allah is the Best Planner. I know that He will protect me. I had prayed that wherever it is I got posted to, please let my life there be much much better than my life now in this particular hospital I had served as a PRP. Perhaps Allah had answered my prayer. Whatever it is, have faith in Him. Put your trust in Him.

Sure, it will be hard at first. But then, everything is hard in the beginning. I used to have a very difficult and depressing life when I first became a PRP but look at me now, I survived my PRP! I am now an FRP!

So, it's only a year. I have to survive for another one year, then I'd apply to change to Kedah again. Or Perak. Again, whatever it is, Allah is always with me.

In case you're wondering why didn't I just appeal to KKM for me to get transferred to Kedah or Perak?
Well, let's see.
1. My KPF and Pengarah Hospital wouldn't sign the appeal letter (it happened to my friend last time. So looking at her situation back then, I had made a mental preparation to just accept whatever that had been given to me as there is zero chance of me to actually think of appealing).
2. I wouldn't get Kedah or Perak as I have no strong and valid reason to convince KKM to let me transfer. My friend has a father who is ill, she even attached the medical letters/references from the doctors to support her reason and yet, KKM refused to entertain her request. In the end, to Kelantan she went!
3. It's Kelantan. In Peninsular Malaysia. Even though it's about 6 hours away from home if you drive through the dangerous route of Lebuh Raya Timur Barat.

So, yes. To Kelantan I shall go! It's okay, like I said, I have many friends living in the East Coast Area (Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang). And many of my friends from Kedah and Selangor got 'campak-ed'  there too.

My parents hoped that I'd get Kota Bharu or Pasir Puteh, as both are located near to the airport. I hope I'd get Kota Bharu too.
But somehow, I have had enough of night shifts and weekend shifts. So if I get posted to a Klinik Kesihatan, then it would be okay too. Never mind. Allah knows best.

On another note, it's hard to believe that my time in that hospital has finally come to its end! I'd be spending 3 more days there and I'm intending to get rebellious. Hahahaha. Nope. Not a chance.

I had been watching a very inspirational Thai movie titled 'Teacher's Diary'. It's the story of how a teacher got posted to a rural area and how she was coping with all the difficulties faced and at the same time, managed to inspire her students.

Perhaps, instead of writing a personal diary, I could just post about my adventures there on this blog! Let's hope there's internet la. Hahaha.

For those who wanted to read about my Korea trip, stay tuned. I'll try to post everything before I report my duty in Kelantan next week.It made me smile, thinking about my Korea trip. I had such a great time there. I think I had been bitten by the travel bug which leads to me lusting to travel and wander to many places. I need to go there again. I had fallen in love with Seoul. But I'm thinking of going to Jeju and Busan next year, or Tokyo, Japan. So I gotta start saving from now! Perhaps Kelantan is the answer! Hahaha.

EDIT: apparently, sewa rumah kat Kelantan is also mahal. Pffttt... 

Okay cheerios!

From 2007-2016

I had grown up with this blog. 

I had grown up writing stuffs on this blog. 

The years from 2007 to 2016 had witnessed my various transitions

2007- I was just 17 when I created this blog. It was in December 2007, a few weeks after I had finished my last paper for SPM. Blogging seems cool (It still is). Back then, I didn't care much about what people think of me when they are reading what I had written. I was free to just express my feelings without restriction. Blogging was much so fun back then, when you had other friends who blogged as well. Those were the days when there were no Twitter or Instagram. Only a number of us have a facebook account, while most used Friendster or MySpace. Those were the days of spamming the cboxes in other people's blogs, the days of blogwalking. Those were the days of doing online quizzes and posting the results on your blog. Hahaha. 

2008- 2010 I received my SPM result. Contemplating which path to take next. And I ended up pursuing my foundation studies in CFS IIUM, PJ, which also means the beginning of a totally new life for me, where I had to learn to survive on my own and be independent. It was my first time staying far from my family. I cried a lot at first, and I survived, thanks to many friends I've made, and experiences I've garnered. There were bitter moments, yet there were more sweet memories made. Those were the golden years of this blog, whereby I would write a post at least once a week. Those were the days where there were no WiFi, and when I had the sudden, intense desire to write a blog post, I would head out to the Cyber Cafe, paying 50 cent for 15 minutes just to write a blog post using the super slow internet available there (Internet Dial-Up). 

2010-2014 A new life in IIUM Kuantan. A new life as a B.Pharm student. I love those 4 years spent in UIA, as those years were very fruitful indeed. I managed to maintain my academic performance up to a certain acceptable level (LOL) and I was also quite active in various co-curricular activities. I was the Quiz Moderators, the emcees for various events, the Editor for my society's magazine, the official correspondent aka journalist for IIUM-New Straits Times' 'The Torch', the committee of the YearBook, I had participated in various games and volunteer activities. Simply said, I had done many things. I didn't regret any of it. And oh, I made many friends as well. 

2015 till 2016. Graduated. I am no longer a student, but now, a working adult with a lot of responsibilities. I braved through the hardship of the PRP year of which, I can now said, had made me grown resilient and stronger. Again, I had made real, true friends who are always there with you during your moments of hardship, the ones who had seen you cried, the ones whom you always had fun with. 

I had created a new blog. But somehow, writing there doesn't feel the same. The new blog seems like a stranger, to which you had doubts and uncertainties over pouring out your feelings towards it. While this blog, this blog had seen me in my times of weaknesses and strength, of sadness and happiness. It had seen my imperfections but while it knows that it is not a good thing to show your imperfections for others to read, it knows that those that happened in the past, stayed in the past. Those mistakes and imperfections make up who I am today, as I had tried my best to learn from those mistakes to become a better person every day. 

Maybe I'd continue blogging until I'm old and wrinkled, perhaps until the day I die. Who knows, if I managed to become a famous person someday, this blog would serve as my legacy. HAHAHA. Dream on.