Life Updates.

One:
Ayish got the Colours Award for Robotics! And he's only in Form 2! Kudos, baby bro.

Two:
We went to Manila, Philippines and I have now an unbreakable love for Dairy Queen! We also went on a Segway tour!

Three:
I (Alhamdulillah) managed to get onto the Dean's List for the 4th Professional Exam! And we had an amazing night during our annual dinner.

Four:
We adopted a cat! Her name is Yodashe / Yoda / Yodee. A week before Iman's birthday. Don't know what breed she is but looks like a British Short Hair to me. We are now officially cat-ladies / cat-men lol. She is the first thing we look for when we wake up / get back home.

Five:Our entire family now has a LOVE for ice-cream cakes too! Ice cream cakes for all occasions! Lol.





















Six:
My Endo molar patient finally showed up after several FTAs. So yay, so much closer to graduating from ODE lol.

Seven:
Faris is now as big as me! No joke okay.

Eight:
iPhone 5 no more!

Nine:
I just now made THE BEST butter prawn I myself has ever tasted. Tastes exactly like Gold Chilli!!! No more SS15 traffic for me, hell yeah.

Hana Takes Over Hong Kong (Again) - Solo Edition

Would only be right for me to write about my experience in Hong Kong, right? I would obviously want to have this kept somewhere, be it online, about my little adventure alone on a foreign land. 

To start off everything, on October 19th, I found out (via my group's chat group lol) that I won the country level of the Dentsply Sirona Restorative Global Clinical Case Contest. I was shivering as it was so surreal. Mind you, I wouldn't have known if Ayu hadn't told me that night. They even announced it hours before I finally found out. But hey, I was going to Hong Kong!!!

So, on November 10th, I went aboard a taxi en route to the airport at 5.30am, alone. Of course, my parents waved goodbye until my taxi was out of sight, but I was alone from that point on. Yeah, sob sob. But amazingly, I didn't shed a tear this time. At the airport, I queued up for baggage drop, and went straight in through immigration. I didn't want to delay anything, as I was alone anyways. Though, there was one mistake I made, that I will remember forever now. Never, I repeat NEVER, drink coffee before boarding. I was trying to act all hipster and touristy by having a venti (not a tall, a VENTI) of cold brewed coffee from Starbucks right before boarding. Oh boy, did the toilet see enough of me, alright!

Boarded the flight, and even had an empty seat next to me. Yay, more room for me! I was so thankful as the flight was really shit small. Minded my own business on the flight and prepped for my presentation the next day. The lady from Jakarta who sat in the same row was really nice. 

I arrived in Hong Kong International Airport and finally met Dr. Ain (Dr. Hilmi's wife) and her brother. Took a taxi to the hotel where they then decided to immediately shoot for Hong Kong Disneyland. I obviously did not intend to go to Disneyland, again, especially not alone. 

I got to my room (room 2203) and immediately had a hard time figuring out where I could lay my luggage down to open it. Finally had a decent spot, after a good 10 minutes of thinking. Also discovered that I could conveniently use the shower head as a bidet while I did my business. 

Spent time in bed while I searched on the night life of Hong Kong. Finally decided to go to Templer Street Night Market. Took the MRT to Templer Street Night Market. That's where I had fun playing tourist: eating egg waffles, egg tarts, bubble tea (yes, while walking.....wow, so ladylike).





Went along Nathan Road trying to look for some halal but very Hong Kong eateries. Failed. I mean, I didn't fly for 4 hours to eat a kebab. Ended up having sushi - in bed - while watching The Late Late Show with James Corden. Wow, so "Hong Kong" right? *rolls eyes*

But all in all, competition day came, I was nervous beyond compare! I was so flattered / out of place because majority of the contestants were postgraduates (read as: doctors with legit "Dr." titles in front of their name!) I was so worried so I actually took the liberty to inform this nice HK Dentsply rep: "Excuse me, I think you've made a mistake, I'm not a doctor yet...." She later replied: "Eh no no don't worry okay. You will soon be." So nice la that lady.

Drew lots and I was the second one to present! Gosh! As if being there wasn't nerve-wrecking enough! The thing is, me being me, trying so hard to be all "tres chic" brought my heels in my bag and wore black flats. (Let me just point out first that it was quite the walking distance to get from the hotel to the hospital, so Hana was smart.) So while the presenter before me was wrapping up, I was busy changing my shoes. (Lol. Award for worst audience member goes to me.)

(Least flattering photo of me, I know, but deal with it.)

They were impressed with my presentation skills (yay!) but I was rather disappointed with how I answered the gazillion questions from the judges for the Q&A. Whatever is in the past stays in the past. We had lunch (which was soooo good) , and I even was so rajin to go back to the hotel room to change into a tshirt lol. So "tres chic" right? *rolls eyes*

So the second part of the day proceeded with a hands-on composite restoration of MO cavity on tooth 16.  I swear I was swearing from under my breath because I kept on practising tooth 46 back in Malaysia lol. But yeah, I could confidently say, it was the best restoration I've done so far.

After that, we had a few talks and it was dinner time!!! Again, Hana so rajin, she went back to the hotel, to change, AGAIN. Rushed back to hospital - to catch the shuttle, and off we went for our cruise dinner.  The food was spectacular.  The funny bit was when we actually thought there was a bigger boat awaiting us on the other side. How shocked were we when we finally discovered that dinner was on that very small boat / yatch. Hahaha. Like who do we think we are, kan?

The best part of that night, though, would have to be chilling on the deck with Fitha, Pet, Winnie & Betty. We had the best time just talking about the randomest shit.  Also, I finally got the "What does alcohol taste like?" question off my chest, and Pet, had to bear with me.

After dinner, I decided to go home to pack efficiently for the adventure I was about to embark on the next day.  I totally forgot to mention that I won third place though lol. Yeah, that was that.

So, the next day, my flight was at about 4pm, so I decided to chill in the room up until just before 12, then went to the "biggest" mall in HK, which was disappointing. But yeah, dragged my luggage through the entire mall, lost my lecturer's Octopus card, and dragged my tired butt to the airport.

Found this thoughtful little note on my door as I was about to leave. Fitha & Pet's flight was much earlier in the morning so didn't have the chance to say goodbye :(

But yeah, that's all for now I guess, till Germany! (next big solo trip - I hope) xoxo

Raya shenanigans. (stress-free edition)

My extended family has been well-known for how simply they take on life.

Problem: Malas nak kemas rumah after orang datang?

Solution: Tak payah ajak orang datang.

Problem: Malas nak masak untuk Raya?

Solution: Tak payah masak, jom makan dekat rumah Abang Piky je. (my dad)

While, on the other hand, my mum is the queen of elaborateness.  Because to her, Raya is the only time she'll ever have the need to use her collection of Noritake(s) and Corelle(s) that are always just stored away in the cupboards. As a person who loves hosting too, she has always been the "rajin" one when it comes to all these gatherings. 

Fo four or five years straight, we've been hosting my parents' extended family's Raya gatherings , right here in our humble abode.  Well, I'm not gonna go on a rant here, but when you've been celebrating Raya from the kitchen sink with sleeves up to the elbow for years on end, I think I have every right to.  

Let's not start a keyboard war about the whole issue of "who washes the plates" and "who cooks" etc etc. Like, I couldn't be bothered to even complain. You wanna be a spoilt ass and think everything has to be done for you, go the f ahead.  If I was at the sink, and I said "Leave the plates alone", you leave those freaking plates alone because I don't wanna end up having to wash it another time just because your dirty ass doesn't know how to clean the oil off those dishes.  

But.......

Iman and I wanted a stress-free Eid this year. Because when you have almost 10 anak daras in the house, but only two are doing all the work, I think we at least have a right to complain.  We didn't want our sleeves to be all wet. We were sick of being laughed at for using clothes pegs to keep our clothes from getting into the sink.  We were tired of smelling like dishwashing liquid at the end of the night. So, we brought up our concerns to the big bosses. 

Problem: Malas nak cuci pinggan?

Solution: Disposable plates, cups and cutleries it is.

Problem: Malas nak buat kuih raya?

Solution: Takpe, beli je.

Problem: Malas nak buat rendang banyak-banyak?

Solution: We'll just make one small pot this year.

Problem: Malas nak masak for orang yang datang?

Solution: Catering.

It's nice to finally see my mother able to mingle with everyone instead of being back in the kitchen helping us out with all the dishes.  I guess my dad and her finally realise that it's time to slow things down, and eliminate all chaos and stress whenever possible.

Raya greetings.

Back in my high school days, I've always been known to be the one who has endless words to pour out when it comes to birthday wishes, graduation night cards, good luck banners, and festive greetings (e.g: Raya Aidilfitri, Raya Aidiladha, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, you name it).

However, it didn't take me long to jump off that bandwagon and become undeserving of being anywhere near that infamous label.  People used to look forward to what I had to say about them when their birthdays came around.  People hoped and waited for their birthdays solely to receive a long-ass handwritten card by me (Well, perhaps not solely, but meh.)

So, all the throwbacks aside, I just realised that Ramadhan flew off in a blink, and here's Eid rolling around the corner like it's no big deal.  Like, hello, my body's not ready for you yet, Syawal.  But that's the reality of time nowadays, I guess.

But back to my point, just to show how exponentially bad I became at Raya greetings (or even just replying back) :

Not only did I ignore his Raya wish, I had to be honest about it too. *smacks forehead*

But hey, I made up for it the following year!

Made sure that I was the first one this time around.

Just goes to show how much things could change in a year.  Looking forward to many more Raya(s) with this one, and the rest of my loved ones.  

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir & Batin.

xo.

Home-bound.

"So, who's the clingy one? You - or your parents?"

Well, to be perfectly honest, I could say I'm pretty clingy, especially when it comes to my family.  Growing up with a family consisting of only 3 siblings, and being the eldest, tends to occasionally trigger that "homesick" spot (quite often actually).  I have been hearing people say these to me over and over;

"Kenapa balik tiap-tiap hari?"

"Tak best ke duduk kolej?"

"Bayar kolej maha-mahal tapi balik rumah juga, buat apa."

"Kesian Put duduk sorang-sorang."

But what I fail to express to anyone is the main reason why I drive a distance of about 60+km back and forth everyday, with a cost of RM9.40 on highway tolls daily.  Why do I torture myself by waking up at 6am every morning and braving through 20-minute traffic on MRR2?  I don't intend to tell this to anyone's face, well, because one, it may sound like a mere excuse, or two, it's plain sad.

The main purpose as to why I'm not studying in the UK or Australia was this.  I made a vow to myself ever since I witnessed my mum caring for my arwah Tok Pa while he was ill was that I always want to be there for my parents, doing everything I could, to help them. Be it sending their laundry, buying them dinner, watching "Tundukkan Playboy Itu" with them, setting up their Spotify account, booking their hotel rooms or even just being antisocial in the living room with them.  

I want to stay home because no one's home.  No one being home automatically makes my parents equate it to feeling older.  I don't want my parents to feel old.  I don't want to constantly hear my mum utter to me "I'm so old".  Because I believe that once a person starts saying it, they start being it.  I want to be home until someone comes home to replace me.  I want to make them feel young, making them still feel that there is one more person that they still need to care for, other than just each other, and it's not just them. 

So, yeah.  That's why.  My parents are ageing and it's killing me slowly deep inside.  

Pishang.

Don't even get me started on what the word "pishang" actually means.  

If you've been close enough to me, then you'll know that I'm no fan of goreng pisang (or pisang goreng, for you tatabahasa nazis out there). Yup, that oh-so-Malaysian crispy delicacy that you bite into with a sweet banana inside, not really a favourite of mine.

Don't get me wrong, it's delicious!  But I'm such a picky eater when it comes to these old banana fritters (and a few other things too).  The perfect-est pisang goreng I've ever had was the one at Pasar Besar Seksyen 14, PJ where Uncle Hassan sells my favourite popia basah too.  But sadly, the penggoreng pisang no more (In case you're really wondering, he passed away, so memang no more la kan. *sad face*)

Oh and btw, I'm not those people yang pantang nampak goreng pisang.  You know how some people see someone with a kuali and large tapis and go like "OH MY GOD STOP THE CAR ADA ORANG JUAL GORENG PISANG!!!" (That's occasionally my mum, in case you're wondering lol) Like, I see someone selling it, and think "Meh, I'll pass." because throughout my experience of trying out several different ones, none lived up to the one I had in PJ. So, I just never bothered.

But just a few days ago, Papa brought home some pisang goreng.  I had some, and they were acceptably nice and I had more than just a piece. (Wow, such a compliment huh) I'm guessing Papa saw this.

The next day, he came home with the same pisang goreng. I saw them and asked "From depan masjid tu eh?" to which he said "Haah, makan jom." where I immediately stuffed one in my mouth (I was famished!) I'm guessing Papa saw this too.

Today, Papa came all the way upstairs to knock on my door "Jom makan goreng pisang depan masjid tu." I swear he must think I love it so much.  It's the third time this week alone.  Cutest ever.

Hustle, hustle.

Let's just start off with pointing out how dead this place is.  I haven't had enough "me time" to actually rant to myself about all the things that bother me.  But for now, I'm at the peak of my stress spurt and I think I may just break apart soon enough, but I know I gotta shine like a diamond under pressure. I've broken down SO MANY TIMES (oh my god, so many that it's embarrassingly annoying just thinking about it), and don't even get started on how many times I've said the phrase "I'm depressed" this week alone (and it's only Monday!).  

I've always lived life, up until 2015 at least, swearing to myself, that I will never describe myself as "depressed" no matter how depressing the situation got.  I got a C for my Calculus finals in PASUM. I wasn't "depressed", I was just "unamused".  I wasn't accepted into UM for my BDS. I wasn't "depressed", I was just very "unhappy".  I got into a fight with Nens and we didn't talk for months. I wasn't "depressed", I was just very "upset".  Tok Pa left.  No, I still wasn't "depressed", I was just extremely "sad". 

Back then, the "D" word was such a taboo word to me. So much so that you'll never hear me blurt out the word in the same sentence with a noun describing myself. I never understood why, but I have a feeling that it was mainly because I've always had the mindset that, "if you don't think it, you don't feel it." So, how in denial was I? 

So, it's four days into 2016, and I've said it a handful of times. I guess I've came to the point of my life where I give in to these emotions I've been bottling up for so long.  So much so, that I've been such a crybaby lately (and I HATE myself for it). I tear up to the smallest of things. No, it's NOT PMS.  I've just held it in for way too long, and I feel so sorry for the people who have to witness it, because, man, how clueless can some people be in impromptu situations like that.  I don't blame them though.  I've been an emotional attention-seeking wreck. 

But yeah, I let myself be "depressed" now.  Because it's okay.  It's perfectly fine.  

All that aside, things are downright cray over in the Year 4 department. So many projects to submit, datelines to meet, requirements to fulfil, patients to recruit, paperwork to sort out, events to attend, and last but not least, exams to ace.  InsyaAllah, may Allah ease.