Reflection

i know that this is so NOT original, but i too would like to document (in a nutshell) how the year 2009 has been for me. this is what i wrote in my organiser on 31st December 2008:

Resolution 2009

1. not to make any regretful purchases (this was on top of my list because back in 2008 i actually purchased an Apple iMac computer that costed me big money. suffered from temporary insanity when i swiped that plastic piece (it's called credit card anyway) - was hypnotised by the evil Apple advert, dan hasutan kawan-kawan untuk membeli. ceh korang.)
2. to take better care of health
3. to be a better muslim
4. to take part in at least 1 uni competition
5. to be xx kg by the end of the year (actual value is kept confidential to save face..hehe)

this was my life before i entered 2009. i never paid any attention to my emotional needs. therefore i had no resolution to address that part of me. there was no 'find a lover' or 'get engaged' (i don't know whether other people put this as their resolution.. but i don't). but i think it is safe for me to say that 2009 has changed that.

anyway, let's see how many of those resolutions were accomplished:

1. ACCOMPLISHED - after the "accidentally i bought an iMac" incident, i have been very careful with my purchases. and although i have made a few purchases of large items this year (a handphone and an ipod) i'm happy to say that i am contented with my purchases.

2. LARGELY ACCOMPLISHED - physically, i am definitely healthier this year. have been going to the gym somewhat regularly, have been eating better. even emotionally i feel that there has been a marked improvement.

3. err.. no comment

4. NOT REALLY ACCOMPLISHED - i did try to took part in competitions like Formula SAE, ZOME and Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition this year. but as usual, time did not permit. despite that, awarded the summer research scholarship at the end of year has somewhat satisfied me, although that means i can't go back to Malaysia this year.

5. SOMEWHAT ACCOMPLISHED - although i have not met the targeted desired weight, i'm proud to say that i'm more than halfway there. i now weigh 16% less than what i used to weigh earlier this year :)

OVERALL VERDICT: not so bad, eh? ok la except for item no. 3 which is a little bit too personal to be discussed here. haha.

OTHER 'ACHIEVEMENTS' OF 2009 (bear with me ok... nak poyo sikit. haha)
- live on my own and still keep my sanity in tact (well for most of the time at least)
- learned how to use pivot table and vlookup instructions in microsoft excel

- had one of my lecturers compliment me on my report (bangga siut, rasa macam nak frame je. haha)
- did some extreme things, like rafting and plunging down the highest rafted waterfall and the sky swing (some people say it's even scarier than bungee jumping. i don't know, i haven't tried the bungee yet - save it for next year.)

- be part of the committee organizing Palestine Awareness Week, which turned out to be quite successful.

THINGS WHICH I AM NOT SO PROUD OF WHICH HAPPENED IN 2009
- puasa enam tak habis
- i still drive bare-footed
- even after a year of staying in my apartment, i did not manage to tegur my next door neighbors.
- i sometimes spend a day doing nothing but surfing facebook, chatting on ym and writing my blog (today is one of those days.. heheh)
- only read two fictions this year - Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol and Paulo Coelho's the Alchemist (should start reading more often)

- had a minor accident (not my fault)

and that, ladies and gentlemen is my 2009 in a nutshell. i will always remember the year that i turned 21. it is UNFORGETTABLE to say the least (well actually, i will have this blog to somehow help me remember in case i forget). what's in store in 2010? who knows. but since this is going to be my final year here in auckland, i think it'll be unforgettable and full of experience too. good or bad - tak tau la.

with all the things that's happening at the moment ... i have not had time to stop and think about my resolutions for next year. well at least i have item (3) and item (5) of this year's resolution to start with...

HAPPY 2010, everyone!

trip-ping

it feels like a million years since i last posted an entry. i'm sorry for the irregular updates (don't quite know who i am apologising for... but never mind that. asking for forgiveness is always a noble thing to do). it's just that so many things have happened in the past few days/weeks that it was almost impossible to come up with a decent entry (mcm la my previous entries were all decent kan? :P). even with this one, i'm struggling to write it in between doing my other stuff. an thus, the instant entry.. :P

things i did in the pass few days..

and the best part..

trust me, i had FUN!

just a thought

working here has somehow made me thinking of settling down and get a job here after graduation. so i thought that i could just list down what are the things that i like about my life here in auckland. yea, i've been focusing on the things that i hate about being here that i may have overlooked the things that i like here which i would miss once im back home. so here goes:

1. the better pay - well this is pretty much why i'd be holding it up here. so it does deserve to be at the the top of the list. and it will allow me to do things that i enjoy like travelling and investing (eceh yela tu kan..). but apart from this, let's see if i can think about other things..

2. my friends here - although i don't have that many local friends here.. but i do have a few friends whom i would definitely miss once i leave this country.

3. you can bitch about people in front of you with your malaysian friend and he / she won't have a clue. it's really fun!

4. as there is less good, cheap food around.. losing weight is considerably a whole lot easier.

5. how could you mention nz without praising it's beauty? yeah the environment is pretty awesome (pretty + awesome) and well, pollution-less.

6. i will miss the weather in winter (no there's no snow.. but the weather is niceeeee and i like)

7. being away from mum means being away from pressure of getting married. hahaha oh that's bad.

8. the place i'm working now quite laid back. they have flexible working hours, i get to wear jeans and t-shirts to the office and my boss is actually quite nice. and i guess it's the same at other companies. but i've realised that i'm the kind of person who needs to be pushed to perform. so this advantage is really backfiring on me.

9. they have pretty good sales over here.

10. hmm... ermmm ...lemme think ..

it looks like i'm having trouble coming up with even 10 things which i like or would miss about this place. and i can assure you that i can come up with 100 things which i don't like about it in a jiffy. so i guess it's settled then eh?

auckland - 0, kuala lumpur -1.

New job

quite a few things have changed since i last posted an entry here. at that time of my last entry, i was still in my third year of my degree, and i was still without a partner (oh wait, THAT has still not changed *sigh*). now, i'm actually entering a new phase in my life as i am starting a new job, that is my practical internship and with this new job, more changes are required.

i had wanted to post something along the way. in fact, i have drafted a few entries to be posted, like my recent trip to Australia. but the thing is, i wasn't able to complete them. so the result - a nearly a-month (unplanned) hiatus. for you guys who have been checking out my blogs for updates and were disappointed (if these people actually exist la - i dunno. i don't dare to open my webstats anymore. i don't think i can handle the truth) i'm sorry and i really appreciate the gesture. i hope with this post, i'll be able to get you guys up to speed about what has been happening (if you guys are interested, that is. but then again, who isn't? hahaha perasan nak mampus).

ok, first off – my new job. i didn’t really plan for this to happen. i have already told myself that i was just going to go back to kl this summer. this means that i should be back home from November onwards.

but it seems like it will have to wait a little longer for me.

about a month ago, my lecturer called up to tell me about a summer project she wanted to do during this summer and asked me if i was interested. the fact that the project is somewhat closely related to my final year project (and also the fact that i can’t resist any possible opportunity for a pretty sum of ($$$) allowance) prompted me to go for it. and alhamdulillah, i got the job.

so now here i am, currently sitting in my new cubicle (blogging away during working hours – hebat kan? =p). i hope things will work out well for me here. but even if it doesn’t, i wouldn’t be crushed. at least i have given myself the chance. i can just pack up and go home (something that a part of me really wants to do, seriously) but nah, i hope i can complete this research project successfully. insyaAllah. so i guess we'll see how it goes from here..