The Countdown
10/19/2014 03:55:00 AM
Initially it started with three digits and all of sudden only two digits left with number 2 in front. That is how close it is.
So far everything has been going quite smooth. Thanks to Allah.
Only left with a few stuff that is beyond my control including fitting for the dresses on the day of both ceremonies.
Invitations also yet to be handed out to friends in hospital because I haven't met my specialist regarding my 14 days long holiday that also include 6 days of extension in orthopaedic department. :P
Expecting extension as a houseman is like expecting hell to fall onto you. Anyhow, certain things have to be prioritize and 6 days is almost nothing considering that it could effect your entire life. In fact, even a split second also can change your whole future.
(seen too much MVA in orthopaedics make me realise how precious life is)
May the rest of the countdown to that sacred day of 14/12/2012 also also be going smoothly.
Lets pray for the best insyaAllah.
Assalamualaikum.
retrospective entry. somehow got stuck in the daft for 2 years:)
Sorry Ana...
after 2 years
10/19/2014 03:53:00 AM
coming back to writing after a long hiatus?
maybe. we'll see
2 years to tell. I wonder how many post will it takes?
Taken
10/05/2012 01:37:00 AM
“And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put Love and mercy between your (hearts), verily in that are signs for those who reflect.” [Quran 30:21]
That's a word that I never thought would be possible to apply to myself for the past 2 years.
It took me quite sometime to mend my broken heart and I just don't want the same thing to happen again. For quite some time, I honestly believe that I'd sealed my heart quite properly... until the day that I met her.
It all started on that one day when Allah opened my heart and granted me an opportunity to meet her. Long story short, things escalated quite quickly (in which quick is a very relative concept), they just fall so beautifully at the right time and place. I feel so blessed. However, one thing for sure, being at this stage is never easy for me although the journey to come to this point has been quite uneventful, Alhamdulillah.
I wonder what would be of me now if I were to get that working post in Ireland or if I wrote down Kota Kinabalu on the application form for the ministry of health last time. Whom will we meet instead? Will our path ever cross one another at all?
So many questions yet the only thing I'm hoping for is that she will be the one who will help me to complete that puzzle pieces. Biiznillah.
P/s:
#1. Please bear with me as I am a complex and difficult to understand kind of person, just like other human. Take whatever clues that you could find to understand myself. I'll do the same for you.
#2. Current state: Vulnerable, fragile but yet joyful?
#3. Opening up and trying to be truthful also could be quite difficult for some people, that would include me as well. Unfortunately, that's the thing that we all have to learn to do so that others could understand us.
#4. "the most important thing about love is we choose to give it and we choose to receive it" Ryan Reynolds
It is about to begin
10/05/2012 01:01:00 AM
In the name of Allah, the most gracious and the most merciful,
I'd been finally hired by the Government of Malaysia. Thanks God.
Yesterday was the first day of working although it was all about filling up the many forms and listening to talks/advices by some officers and plus trying new stuff such as the punch card. In fact, within this week, it was all about introduction to the hospital and getting to know important stuff that a house officer (HO) should know. A tiny bit of it
Honestly, it was quite surreal, especially when people address you with the title 'doctor' in front of your name for almost everything. Two weeks ago, it wasn't there although I had been conferred on June 6th of this year. In fact, before this, occasionally people will joke about it and I will just laugh as I bear no real responsibility yet holding that title. And as of now, it was all a different story.
However, the induction held on the previous week sort of prepared me mentally on stuff that I have to expect when registering with the hospital and the Kedah states's health department. Although it was quite far from home, the induction place is superb. Living and eating in an at least 4 star hotel is something that I don't get for free often. Everything was for free. We all have to just go there and listen to talks and get to know a bit about being a government officer.
And the best of all is the way they pay the claim here for newly posted doctors. I kinda got some extra duit raya for that thanks to the induction which was held in Pahang. About 700km away from my hometown which means more money into the pocket! :)
other than that, we are also very lucky to have a week of orientation period in this hospital compared to others who were posted to various hospital around the country. Some of them even have to start the real doctor's job on their 3rd day.
********
As my working life starts, I know things might be a bit busy than usual. All I can say is that I will do my best to cater both, working life and family life.
The above quotes sum up my stand and hopefully yours too.
wassalam.
wassalam.
Relatif
8/27/2012 02:48:00 AM
pabila masa yang singkat itu rasanya bagai berbulan dan begitulah sebaliknya. Mengapa begitu? :)
Wahai Tuhan Yang Membolak-balikkan hati, tetapkan hati ini di atas agama-Mu dan dalam mentaati-Mu
im telling you
8/24/2012 02:57:00 AM
Asriah a.k.a kiambang replied one of my tweet 2 nights ago mentioning about a 'silly things' that she wrote in the past.
Muaz Adam: Living with a past like mine is a nightmare. Hopefully that special someone can accept it
@muazadam whatever ur story is, ur tweet reminds me of this silly things I wrote. haha.
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| Credit to Kiambang |
True enough, these are the things that I want to tell you.
May have already told you some of them. Have I not? ^____^
Yours sincerely,
Muaz Adam
Life as a graduan
7/22/2012 01:33:00 AM
Assalamualaikum and good morning guys,
How are you guys doing? hopefully everyone is having a great time in this blissful holy month of Ramadhan.
Sahih Bukhari :: Book# 32 :: Hadith# 226
Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah’s Apostle saying regarding Ramadan, “Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.”
First of all, i would like to extend my since apology for being so lazy to update this blog although i think very few people actually read it.
Since my last post which was months ago, lots of thing happened.
-I finally managed to pass my final medical examination as an undergraduate.
-Visited one of the best town in Ireland, Killarney for 4 days and 3 nights. Travelled back to Dublin a day before my graduation.
-Hiked up one of the highest peak in Ireland- Carraauntoohil while i was in Killarney.
-Attended the conferring dinner with the majority of my classmates the night before the conferring ceremony.
-Attended the conferring ceremony for RCSI class of 2012 on 6/6/2012.
Me and Mr Broe, President of RCSI.
RCSI Class of 2012
-Returned back to Malaysia; unexpectedly for good on the 10th of June 2012.
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| Never thought that this is actually real |
-Met lots of friends especially in Penang Medical College (PMC)
-Visited a few places in Malaysia including Langkawi Island, Penang, and Perhentian Island with my buddies.
-Attended the PMC clas of 2012 conferring ceremony.
-Dealt with Ministry of Health, Malaysian Medical Council and SPA regarding the job application process.
-Eat lots of foods and gain/losing weights.
-Attended a 2nd wedding ceremony in 2012. This time it is between Ihsan and Farah in Sungai Siput, Perak.
-Visited the vets. because my cat had a touch of fever. Forced 'Tompok' to take the meds.
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| Tompok who recently had a fever |
-Etc.
So, that sort of summarise everything major that had happened.
I'm kinda thinking about stop blogging actually. No real reason but definitely because I think I will not write that much any more once I start working.
I will have my job interview insyaAllah within a few days in Putrajaya. Hopefully everything will go well. I actually haven't done much study since May, so the momentum just isn't there any more.
The thoughts of going to library has been in my mind since last week but I was yet to enter the Alor Setar public library. I actually went there yesterday only to find out that it was actually close. Probably because yesterday is the first day of Ramadhan. So, I definitely will have to go there today.
I guess what I'm going to do is just to leave it like this. Whenever I feel like to write, I'll jot down a few stuff once in a while. This will definitely be like the malay saying, "hidup segan mati tak mahu" literally translated into lazy to live the life but do not want to die. Can ah? :P
I'll write more if there are nny major updates or when I am too bored.
For now, enjoy Ramadhan, make full use of it to seek repentance, find the truth in yourself, increase the faith and stay good. It is a month full of rewards, it will be a great loss if you just let it pass by like the other months.
Sahih Bukhari :: Book# 31 :: Hadith# 127
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)”
Wassalam.
Final of Final
3/31/2012 01:48:00 AM
Assalamualaikum and hello to everyone.
Woah...just realised that i haven't write anything here for a few months. Longest gap ever. As usual, blame it on the lazyness and the 'busyness'.
It wasn't too busy that I have no time to write but rather I feel that better for me to keep certain things to myself.
Looking back, my 5 year journey in medical school almost come to an end. The undergraduate study at least. To be exact, the final of final undergraduate exam is only 22 days away! So much things to do and prepare. Wow, time flies sooo fast!
Again, as usual, when I have an exam the next day or around the corner, somehow the urge to waste my time to write something here become more and more apparent. In fact, I actually have mock exam tomorrow at 1 pm. LOL. Just pray that my brain didn't stop working during the exam, insyaAllah everything will be fine.
| unrelated picture from google |
Last 5 weeks or so, I already had an exam, the OSCE (Objective structured Clinical Examination) or commonly known as short cases. All praise to Allah, I think i did quite okay in the exam. Although some of the cases were quite rare for me, i think I managed to handle them pretty well. Not able to answer one or two question is not the end of the world! The medicine cases were mitral valve replacement, lower lobe lung lobectomy (removal of the lung lobe), parkinson disease and ascites. On the other hand, surgical cases were full of surprise! I got bilateral breast reconstruction case, bilateral knee replacement, renal transplant and stoma.
This OSCE exam made 12.5% of overall final marks and hopefully i was able to grab 3/4 out of that percentage.
Before the OSCE, we already had continuous assessment (TOSBA and TOSCE) during the compulsory Beaumont Hospital Rotation in which I think I did quite a good job to impress the examiner at that time. Alhamdulillah that Allah made it easy for me. The review at the end of the 4 weeks medicine and surgical rotation, each were very promising. The tutors were very happy with my progression. This continuous assessment actually contributed more marks than the OSCE exam itself. Nothing else that I could say than Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah and Alhamdulillah.
Since my last post in December, lots of thing have been happening. I went to travel during winter (I will elaborate more after the exam), I finished my exam as above, I'd done a few different rotations, meet lots of patients in hospital, ranted a lot within myself, feel unhappy about how certain things are, get angry to peoples etc. LOL.
I mean, nothing major really other than exam and probably that is why I didn't feel the need to write here. Obviously a lot of major things has been happening around me like my dad just had a cataracts surgery, my little sister got her SPM result etc. but on personal level, nothing much changes.
I mean, nothing major really other than exam and probably that is why I didn't feel the need to write here. Obviously a lot of major things has been happening around me like my dad just had a cataracts surgery, my little sister got her SPM result etc. but on personal level, nothing much changes.
At many stage, I did feel like writing about issues that have been happening in the world and malaysia but i think there were many more good places (blogs, news portals) that you guys can go and read about that so why bother. In fact, sometimes all it did was more trouble instead.
Politically, I am sure that many are aware that if I were to write anything, it will be against those stupid changes that the government did and their desperados attempt to remain in power, I better go pray instead of writing here coz i am well aware that the reader are mainly among my close circle of friends and family. So no major impact would came out of it since many are actually on the same side as me. Unless Najib or Tun Dr. M read my blog, I may write something useful.
So before I continue this endless rant, I pray that everyone out there is having a blissful life and always guided by Allah SWT. Please keep continue for my success and also to everyone in my class. May we all one day be able to give back to the community to our best.
Lastly, to the dearest friend that keep asking about any special summer event for me, other than graduation, do not expect to get a wedding invitation or anything. Nothing is happening this summer.
Other than Captain Jack Sparrow, no other sailor has the ability to sail the big ship on his own! :)
Adios and assalamualaikum.
P/s:
1. Selamat hari lahir ke 50 buat ayahanda tercinta. Semoga Allah terus memberikan kekuatan untuk terus beribadah dan beramal.
2. Tahniah buat adinda Nurul Iman diatas keputusan SPM tersebut. SPM is not everything, your actual journey just about to begin :)
1. Selamat hari lahir ke 50 buat ayahanda tercinta. Semoga Allah terus memberikan kekuatan untuk terus beribadah dan beramal.
2. Tahniah buat adinda Nurul Iman diatas keputusan SPM tersebut. SPM is not everything, your actual journey just about to begin :)
Please educate, do not hate
12/15/2011 11:36:00 AM
I woke up this morning and found that a video on YouTube is going viral on facebook. Immediately as usual I have an urge that I need to watch this viral thingy. However, as I normally attend my sims social first, i let the video get the 100% buffer which only took 5 sec and finishing the tasks on the sims social. At the same time I let the video play by itself and with all the lagging due to flash player and my computer RAM, i still can hear that the people within the video was talking about hudud and I immediately know that this is some video that was made by pemuda to explain misconception about hudud among muslim and non muslim alike.
As for me, i think this is an absolutely brilliant attempt to counter some misconception regarding hudud which rarely explained to the public. Anyone that tried to explain it will be labelled as an opposition since this issue was brought in by the opposition party in Malaysia nearly some 50 years ago or maybe even earlier or slightly later.
It may seems barbaric even by hearing the kind of thing that someone who is guilty of charge have to go through but as explained in the video, the enforcement of the law isn't easy and it require very specific type of situation.
People sometime judge the implementation of hudud among the muslim alone as injustice but think carefully, if u are a muslim and guilty for that specific mistake and then being sentenced according to the Islamic way (hudud), at least in the hereafter you will hopefully receive less punishment as you have got the kind of punishment that Allah SWT has command. Plus, the definition of justice it self also sometimes varies according to culture and religion. In Islam, being just in a crude way is translated as putting something at its own place/ doing something accordingly. For instance, you will not be just if you have a twin son and a daughter but during their birthday, you buy both of them barbie dolls??!! Same goes to 5 times daily prayer. As a muslim, would you argue that it isn't fair because the non believer do not pray 5 times a days? Unless u are total idiot, you probably would!
Still, the conventional law will always be there as it is part of taazir in Islam. so, why even afraid of hudud if u think you will not even do the crime in the first place and the conventional law is there anyway.
The next argument is the very basic of islamic fundemental. To accept everything that come with a "package" of Islam once you say the shahadah with a full understanding of it. People know that Islam is a way of life and not just another religion. Many people say shahadah but very few really understand the obligation obligation after that. That is why probably many still do not practice even the basic of Islam. Praying 5 times a day, fasting 30 days during the month of Ramadhan, pay the zakat and go to hajj.
Last but not least, this video is only available in Malay language with no subs but I hope the director or the video editor would put in English and possibly mandarin and tamil subs later on. This issue isn't a local Malaysian issue but one of the foundation in Islam as well and possibly an "alternative" to the conventional law being used nowadays to curb socials problems.
Finally, enjoy the video itself. I will update later if they put the subtitle for this video. :)
Still, the conventional law will always be there as it is part of taazir in Islam. so, why even afraid of hudud if u think you will not even do the crime in the first place and the conventional law is there anyway.
The next argument is the very basic of islamic fundemental. To accept everything that come with a "package" of Islam once you say the shahadah with a full understanding of it. People know that Islam is a way of life and not just another religion. Many people say shahadah but very few really understand the obligation obligation after that. That is why probably many still do not practice even the basic of Islam. Praying 5 times a day, fasting 30 days during the month of Ramadhan, pay the zakat and go to hajj.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱدۡخُلُواْ فِى ٱلسِّلۡمِ ڪَآفَّةً۬ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَٲتِ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنِۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَڪُمۡ عَدُوٌّ۬ مُّبِينٌ۬ - ٢٠٨
O ye who believe! enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the Evil One; for he is to you an avowed enemy. (208)
Last but not least, this video is only available in Malay language with no subs but I hope the director or the video editor would put in English and possibly mandarin and tamil subs later on. This issue isn't a local Malaysian issue but one of the foundation in Islam as well and possibly an "alternative" to the conventional law being used nowadays to curb socials problems.
Finally, enjoy the video itself. I will update later if they put the subtitle for this video. :)
Thanks for reading.
P/S:
1. Even if you dont agree, if you are a muslim, think again before you say something about hudud because you may never know that you actually go against your faith. I ask for Allah protection against this.
2. Bear in mind that it is your choice and if you leave this part of your faith, you will be accounted responsible in the hereafter. Same as prayer, fasting and so on.
2. Bear in mind that it is your choice and if you leave this part of your faith, you will be accounted responsible in the hereafter. Same as prayer, fasting and so on.
My First
12/11/2011 12:01:00 AM
It all happened last Wednesday (7/12/2011). The date would probably be hard to remember but definitely I will treasure the experience. First time ever performing a surgery! I stick a scalpel into a lump of a golf-ball's size on someone's neck to remove the abscess and on another occasion, I also removed some adenoids tissue. Alhamdulillah.
Although before this I assisted in a few procedures including caesarean section, popliteal artery bypass, anterior resection of the bowel and a few more, this one was special to me as I held the scalpel on my own and making the incision myself. A very rare experience for medical students I think.
The consultant ear nose and throat (ENT) surgeon first asked me if I ever seen an abscess and perform incision and drainage. While looking straight at him, I answered that I'd seen pericolonic (around the large bowel) abscess but never done any kind of incision and drainage. The next thing was very surprising as he asked me if I want to do any surgery today. What sort of answer would you expect if you ask someone who really into surgery? Definitely a YES and from that moment, there was no way back. Since most of the ENT procedures don't require a full scrub, I put a surgical mask, washed my hand (scrubbing kind of wash) and a size 7 surgical glove.
I sat next to him while he talked me along the way. A small 1cm incision was made inferior to the angle of mandible area by me although at the end he guided my fingers and push it deeper because it wasn't deep enough to drain the abscess.
Honestly I was quite scared since it was very close to major artery (the carotid artery) of that 7 months old baby. Once the abscess started to drain, the rest was just simple squeezes to force the abscess out. Quite a lot of it came out. No wonder the lump was a size of a golf ball! Within 15 minutes, the procedure completed as no stitch required since it was small and a drainage tube was inserted into the lump so that the remaining abscess could drain later. We thanked the nurses and the anaesthetist and the surgeon then congratulated me and said 'you can now tell your friends that you performed a surgery'. I'm not sure if they will ever believe it', he added. ^__^
Honestly I was quite scared since it was very close to major artery (the carotid artery) of that 7 months old baby. Once the abscess started to drain, the rest was just simple squeezes to force the abscess out. Quite a lot of it came out. No wonder the lump was a size of a golf ball! Within 15 minutes, the procedure completed as no stitch required since it was small and a drainage tube was inserted into the lump so that the remaining abscess could drain later. We thanked the nurses and the anaesthetist and the surgeon then congratulated me and said 'you can now tell your friends that you performed a surgery'. I'm not sure if they will ever believe it', he added. ^__^
Before that procedure, he actually showed me a bilateral (both side) appendicectomy and also adenoidectomy in which he allowed me to do (adenoidectomy) when we saw the same case after that. This was also relatively a simple procedure although it carries quite a big risk of bleeding. Adenoidectomy is basically a scrapping of the adenoids tissue on your pharynx. No cauterization even required for adenoidectomy in most cases.
The surgeon was so cool and I can't wait to sit with him again next Wednesday hoping that I will have more chances to perform some minor surgery! Hopefully ^__^
A long journey always starts with a small step. Pray for my success guys.
decision time
10/29/2011 05:40:00 PM
Long since i last scribble something here. sorry about that and million thanks to those who keep coming. please do read previous entries if nothing new posted. Hopefully something will be some benefit to you insyaAllah.
Quick update about my life.
1. Now i am already a final year med student. Quite unbelievable how fast time flies. Life even harder as you grow older. At this stage i have to wake up as early as 5 am and take a taxi to the city center as i have to be at Connoly Hospital before 7am. My subuh (morning) prayer nowadays is in the hospital! Surgical rotation is very demanding and this is the life that i hope to live and enjoying it one day (
The weather
1. Ireland as a whole were not prepared for almost anything (in term of weather). Whenever there is a slightly heavier rain, the city will quickly get flooded. Every year when they have a snow, all the transport system down as if they were never there in the first place. Buses and everything just stop working. Plus, they would always have water shortage immediately after the snow.
2. Last week, there was a sudden flood due to 'heavy' rain (nothing like heavy rain in Malaysia). The shopping centre in Dundrum was flooded because the riverbank or something failed to retain the water. It also cost 2 life. A gardai (police) officer and a nurse.
Working
1. I am planning to stay here insyaAllah once I'm finish with my degree but am not 100% sure about it yet. Many have been talking about staying here. Not to mention some that hate to stay here and wanted to go out as soon as they can. Some feel that they were treated as 2nd class citizen and some are just because they feel that they could do more money somewhere else. As for me, i have my own reason not to rush to go back to Malaysia but again, it is not something definite. Family would be one of the greatest influence in the final decision.
2. I got approval to apply to Malta Foundation Program. Another destination that i think I will consider going if given chances. Thanks to Wanie for her help with the essay that I completed in half n hour. Believe it or not, I managed to slip through although I missed the deadline by one day.
Friends
1. I am glad that I met more people this year including some of my malaysian friends whom i was never close to them before. At least i know that a few of them are sort of from Kedah. :)
2. One of them once questioned me about hating the rain. She said "macam mana ni, tak lama lagi nak jadi suami orang dah. Hujan sikit pun takut!" I replied just by smiling. She definitely have no clue about me if she really mean it.
Study
1. I am glad that I met more people this year including some of my malaysian friends whom i was never close to them before. At least i know that a few of them are sort of from Kedah. :)
2. One of them once questioned me about hating the rain. She said "macam mana ni, tak lama lagi nak jadi suami orang dah. Hujan sikit pun takut!" I replied just by smiling. She definitely have no clue about me if she really mean it.
Study
1. All i can say is i have a difficulty to focus on books. I bought many new books but haven't manage to finish any of them yet.
2. 10 minutes reading and i already yawning.
3. The progress is superbly slow now.
3. The progress is superbly slow now.
future
I hope Allah will keep protecting you (whomever you will be)
Something made my heart tickle whenever i see a proposal video anywhere on the net. Maybe the time has come for me as well?
pen torch. LOL. JK
Pen-off
Pen-off
wassalam
Life goes on
9/26/2011 10:27:00 PM
Almost a month ago i turned 24. Life feels so short when I look back. As if I just arrived last week in Ireland although it was already 4 years. Leaving high school back in 2004 doesn't feel too long since i can still remember some of the question from the SPM examination (i think! :D)
As usual, I would like to thank my mom, dad and the rest of my close family members who keep praying for my safety and successin this foreign land. Although it had been more than 4 years since we last celebrated it, for me, the thoughts that matter the most. Millions thanks to all.
To all my friends that helped to cheer me up with those cakes, lunch and dinner and well wishes, thanks very much. Your efforts is priceless. It is surely one of the best I ever had for the past few years.
At the moment, everything seems to be going very well. My pace is still quite slow but in getting there. Please keep praying and make dua' for us to face the final year of this tiring college life successfully Insyaallah.
I feels like I need to know more than the time I actually have to read everything. May Allah ease the efforts Insyaallah.
Till we meet again. I dont think i can write as frequent as i can but if anything important or i feel like rant, i'll definitely will post it here.
Okay, bye...
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| thanks ^__^ |
To all my friends that helped to cheer me up with those cakes, lunch and dinner and well wishes, thanks very much. Your efforts is priceless. It is surely one of the best I ever had for the past few years.
**********
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| At connoly hospital. Got no clue on how to rotate the pic. Sorry |
I feels like I need to know more than the time I actually have to read everything. May Allah ease the efforts Insyaallah.
Till we meet again. I dont think i can write as frequent as i can but if anything important or i feel like rant, i'll definitely will post it here.
Okay, bye...
Last day at Barcelona
8/27/2011 07:34:00 AM
Hi all.
Sorry for the delay. I should have uploaded this weeks ago if im not mistaken but as usual, no mood to write and quite 'busy' with my own activities. Now am back in Dublin. So, before things get busier, I'd decided to finish this entry which had been on the 'draft' since last month!
Sorry for the delay. I should have uploaded this weeks ago if im not mistaken but as usual, no mood to write and quite 'busy' with my own activities. Now am back in Dublin. So, before things get busier, I'd decided to finish this entry which had been on the 'draft' since last month!
Okay, here how the last day of my first solo trip to Barcelona ended. (sounds like i might go there again! ^___^)
The previous night i had to change the hostel as my attempt to further book another night at Be Hostel Sound had failed. The hostel was fully booked so i had to find another hostel. Luckily while browsing hostelworld.com, i came across Kabul Backpackers Hostel which is quite cheap and plus it is not too far from the hostel that i stayed in. So, i decided to book the Kabul hostel and my journey on the last day started there.
I went to hostel, check-in, got to my new room, put all my stuff inside the locker and only brought with me my usual travel accessories. Water bottle, camera, a map, a pen and obviously my phone, passport and wallet.
I went to hostel, check-in, got to my new room, put all my stuff inside the locker and only brought with me my usual travel accessories. Water bottle, camera, a map, a pen and obviously my phone, passport and wallet.
Initially I did plan to spend the last day with Mong and Michael but since they were quite late that morning, i decided to venture on my own. First stop was Montjuic area where the 1992 Olympic was held. I took the gondola to get to the top of the hill. My poor judgement to take the gondola cost me about 15 euro for return trip which is not that interesting as there are only a castle on top of that. Thats it. Initially i thought that there was something interesting over there other than the view over the city but i was wrong. The castle was crap as it is still under renovation, nothing else besides the castle and some history about Jose Rizal (if u guys can still remember high school history lesson) whom apparently was imprisoned there before he started the revolution in the Filipines. My advice to everyone is even if you are interested to go on top of Montjuic, use your feet and walk up that hill. it will probably take you 20 min but the way down will be very interesting as you can slide down the slides that they built (I suppose that it is for children only) in numerous places on the hillside. I actually saw a few youngsters slide down from one slide to another.
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| Wall of Montjuic Castle |
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| View of Barcelona City from the castle |
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| @ Barcelona 92' Olympic stadium |
Then after that i explored the whole Olympic area with my own foots. I went to the Olympic stadium which will take another 20 min walking from the gondola station. Near the Olympic stadium are a few more sports complex and some building which i cannot really remember. As you walk towards the Olympic stadium, you will be passing a few small garden which somehow seems to be an attraction to tourist although i myself find nothing really interesting to watch some few statues made from steel and worst of all, they all corroded. From the Olympic area, i walked down the hill towards a beautiful building (following a beautiful lady :p). The building is a castle if im not mistaken and by this time, i got a text from Mong saying that she and Mickael will try to catch me if they can which i know quite impossible considering my fast-walking-pace. In front of that castle, is a famous scene of Barcelona, The Catalonia National Art Museum with the massive stairs. U know what i'm talking about do u? :s
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| The Catalonia National Art Museum |
After decided not to enjoy the arts inside the museums due to time constrain, i decided to take the underground train (Green Lince) to Nou Camp. The famous stadium of a football giant, Barcelone FC. Lucky enough although it was Friday, the stadium was open until late evening although on one of the brochure said that it is close on that day. So, here are some pics of me that you may (or may not) enjoy in that stadium.
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| Me alone |
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| Changing room |
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| The pitch |
Before i reached the station at Nou Camp, i noticed that there is a stop that remind me of a movie entitled Vicky Christina Barcelona. The stop however is called Maria Christina. Such a beautiful name for a tram station or even a place!
Back from Nou Camp, i took that same green line underground tram straight to Parc Guell with double dots on the U! It took about 40 min of straight tram ride but somehow i can only remember about less than 1/3 of it as i spent the rest dozing off. Luckily i did not miss the stop. On the way to Parc Guell with double dots on the U, i met Ola (u'll know this lady if you read my previous Barcelona entry) which whom kindly enough gave me the free guide on how to get to the park. I would have made it a much nicer goodbye episode if i know that would be the last time i met her because Ola has such an interesting character! :-p I spent about an hour or so inside the park wondering how the hell on earth that this Gaudi guy had such an imagination and creativity to design the park to that level of details. Although he probably did not do all those thing himself but surely it took a very wonderful peace of mind to came up with the design. The sun that sat straight on the head at 3pm did not stop people from venturing almost every inch of the park.  |
| walking inside the Parc Guell |
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| Barcelona city on the background |
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| Entrance to Parc Guell. All credit goes to Mong |
The 3 of us (mong, mickael and me) left the park after another hour or two of snapping-pictures session and we all went back to prepare ourselves for the dinner which will be at one of the famous restaurant in Barcelona at Plaza Real, Les Quinze Nits.
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| Happy face. Credit to Tammy |
At about 8pm, we all get into the line which took almost an hour before we could get a space for 7 in that full-packed restaurant. Oh, Nicholas who is originally from Chile and currently working in Norway was also there to join us for the dinner. 3 hours spent on dining and talking and talking and laughing and allowing others to make faces was a time-worth spent. From bits of everyone background to religion and politics, almost everything were on the table that night. Fred who has been travelling for 9 straight months to different places including Kuala Lumpur and Malacca keep mentioning the goodness of 'Nasi Lemak' and other Malaysian dishes. Not to forget that he also has lots of interest on how the upper class people (as he said it) in Malaysia that kept a mistress although he (the upper class-aka Dato') are allowed to marry 4 women! Being the probably the only single guy on the table also did not help much with all the jokes and attacks came around my singleness. lol.
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| 7 of us. Nikola, Muaz, Fred, Mickael, Nicole, Mong, Tammy |
Early morning that day, we all went back to each others hostel and set to continue our own journey (at least for some) on the next day. I spent my last day at a theme park! cant promise that i will write about that since i'd became lazier to write. haha
The end.
An open letter
7/24/2011 07:08:00 AM
*updated*
Hello Marta,
Hello Marta,
How are you lately? how have you been keeping on with the two children that you are taking care of? I hope that you are in the pink of health. First of all i would like to say that i am very sorry for keeping it long before i write this entry. I know that i promised it to be a few weeks ago but sometimes i just don't have the mood to write. Again, I'm so sorry.
First of all, I would like to say that I am glad that somehow we were destined to meet again after the short initial introduction on the plane. As u said last time, everything that happen on our journey to Dublin was a coincidence. The plane sit, the last person going into the place etc. It definitely is a coincidence! However, I would say, serendipity. (Do watch that serendipity movie okay!) Haha. I never thought that I would met another medical student in such a situation. Anyhow, thanks for turning up on that day in front of St. Stephen green shopping centre. Honestly, I did not expect to see you again after the day at the airport. It was quite unusual (if could say) for me and you (i assume) to meet someone that we barely know on a 'date'. Oh, and it was at 8am! :-PAnyhow, i really hope that you enjoy Dublin back then although the weather was not on our side. Being a tour guide for a few hours with you was really a pleasure. Hopefully you will be able to give some guide to your mom when she come to visit you later. Also, please told her that i am very sorry if i had cause her a great worry last time because i fully understand your situation; being a single daughter of the family, away from home etc. I am glad that the day went well and you can continue working as a babysitter with Alan's family. He is such a nice employer. ^__^
Regarding the lunch last time, i think it was one of the best i ever had. Obviously not the food as i just had a slice of pizza and you with your homemade sandwiches. I would definitely try that again. Never thought that eating on the riverside's bench would be wonderful except that we had to witness that couple fighting. That guy was such a loser. I would definitely find another place for us to eat if I was not rushing for the prayer. Hopefully it was a good experience for you as well.
People say that bringing out topics such as religion, politics and history were a bad start for the first date but i think we proved it wrong! Definitely it was fine if your date also has lots of interest in it! Hehe. I hope I was able to clear a few misunderstanding about Islam that you had and not too corny. Obviously Islam was not too foreign for you as you already knew about Ramadhan (fasting month), prayer and so on. Maybe after this you can do more reading about this world fastest growing religion! I would definitely sit and talk about all these again if we ever had a chance to meet again in the future. or, even thru facebook. Haha. Well...I do have plan to go to Spain in the future and i reckon you can handle the distance between Lleida and Cordoba, do you? :-)
Okay, before I bored you more, I hope that you'll enjoy your stay in Ireland and reach the targets that you have in mind. May you continue doing all those charity works as well. I really envy the effort that you have! The world definitely need more future doctors like you. Keep in touch.
Bye...
Yours truly,
Muaz Adam
Malaysia.
Footnotes:
1. Last day of barcelona will be up within a fewdays weeks.
Footnotes:
1. Last day of barcelona will be up within a few
Barcelona part 2
7/09/2011 11:51:00 AM
part 2 of the journey in Barcelona (edited*)
The Be Hostel sound that i stayed in has some disadvantage in term of power sockets inside the room. They only have them at one corner (at least in the room that i stayed in) although there were more than enough to be used by 10 person.
since I dont want to act awkwardly by arching over my newly met friend who was sleeping on the bed in order to get to the power socket, i decided to charge my phone in the common room area where the breakfast was served.
Following the breakfast, i noticed something wrong. My skin was peeling badly especially on the nasal bridge and on the forehead. Probably because of the heat or maybe the sunburn. The next thing i did was i quickly went to the pharmacy and get the facial cleaner that help to de-skin the part that was peeling. quite costly since they dont have the regular Nivea, so i just bought a product from a brand that i never heard of which cost me almost 20 euro! pFFFT!
The 2nd day start at 10 am although i already awake since 8am. it was the 'free' tour guide conducted by a guy named Adam. He was from aussie. There were 2 different guides that happen at the same time. One is call Gaudi Tour and the other one is Gothic Tour. They do this twice every day, one in the morning and one in the evening. so, you can go to either one in the morning and the next one in the evening or the following day.
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| Famous restaurant. One of Messi's favorite. Specialize in snails cooking. |
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| Picasso was accepted at a very young age here in this building. Some kind of arts university |
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| Adam with the background of old Roman's wall |
At lunchtime, we had a 3 course menu lunch at one of the restaurant in Plaza Real. It was very cheap. Less than 10 euro and you can get a proper 3 course menu with free water. :P Definitely it was a new experience for me as i rarely had any lunch experience as such. Oh, this place was also where all the 'magic' happen on my last night in Barcelona which i would tell more on the last part of the trip.
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| Lunch with Mong |
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| @ one of Gaudi's masterpiece |
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| @ the famous market. Off la rambla |
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| @ Sagrada da Familia |
One more interesting part about this 2nd day was it somehow fall on the San Juan Festival. So, although it was only 6pm when the tour finished, many of us already headed towards the beach area where the celebration took place. In fact, two of the people from the tour already wore their beach shorts on the tour! As for me, I decided to go back to the hostel immediately after the tour, prayed asar and then went to the beach with the other group as Mong and Mickael decided to go for Tapas and something tour (more like a traditional dinner and some dancing show going on at the same time). it cost only 20 euro! ;p
So, as day went by (post quick kebab dinner), we eventually reached the beach at around 10pm. Initially there was only 4 of us just sitting on the beach and talking with the background of locals that keep lighting up the firecrackers. At about 12 midnight after the other finished enjoying their tapas and something-that-i-forgot-the-name, we all sit together in a group of about 10 people and started to enjoy the scenes. The Catalan really celebrate this event which some said was even merrier than the Christmas celebration (without the santa). They said it was considered as some sort of new year celebration which could be true as people did went to the beach with tents and barbecues and the most important of all, firecrackers and fireworks!
Apart from people skinny dipping in the Mediterranean and getting drunk, the rest were fine. We stay on the beach almost until 4am when everyone decided to go back as some of us need to catch bus and flight to their next destination. Overall, it was fun just sitting and talking, sharing experiences and knowing a little bit more about everything and one another. :)
I slept soundly after performing the subuh (morning) prayer before begin the journey on my last day at Barcelona as a lone ranger . ^__^
I slept soundly after performing the subuh (morning) prayer before begin the journey on my last day at Barcelona as a lone ranger . ^__^
p/s: I'll put more pictures later as those pics are on my other comp. wait for the FC barcelona, park gueil and last night dinner experience. bye..
Friday
7/01/2011 03:47:00 PM
Wisdom: Saying/doing the right word/thing at the right moment at the right place
Agree? Although it could be something unpleasant or hurtful, sometimes it just need to be done/said.
In seerah (history), a man once came to see prophet Muhammad SAW. He confessed that he drank alcohol, involved in gambling and so on. He wanted the prophet to advised him. So the prophet told him, 'Don't lie'.
Short and simple.
The following is probably a longer version of the same story. See how a short message could lead to a very deep meaning if it was conveyed at the right moment in a right way.
TELLING THE TRUTH : Telling the truth is a very good habit. If you always speak the truth, you can save yourself from a lot of trouble! Here is a story of a man who did a lot of bad things, but his promise to tell the truth saved him.
Once a man came to the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and said, "Oh prophet of Allah, I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up first?" The prophet said, "Give up telling lies first and always speak the truth." The man
promised to do so and went home. At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he thought
for a moment about the promise he made with the prophet. "If tomorrow the prophet asks me where have I been, what shall I say? Shall I say that I went out stealing? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I lie. If I tell the truth,
everyone will start hating me and call me a thief. I would be punished for stealing."
So the man decided not to steal that night, and gave up this bad habit. Next day, he felt like drinking wine, when he was about to do so, he said to himself, "What shall I say to the prophet if he asks me what did I do during the
day? I cannot tell a lie, and if I speak the truth people will hate me, because a Muslim is not allowed to drink wine." And so he gave up the idea of drinking wine.
In this way, whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he remembered his promise to tell the truth at all times. One by one, he gave up all his bad habits and became a good Muslim and a very good person. If you always speak the truth, you can be a good person, a good Muslim whom Allah likes and favors. If Allah - our Creator - is pleased with us, He will reward us with HEAVEN, which is a place of happiness and joy.
Make a promise: I shall always speak the truth.
I believe it is essential to advise people in a way that is best for them. Yes, it is hard to tell which one is the best for them but sometimes, just do it is also probably the best. The most important is not to humiliate them in front of others. Do it in away that preserve their dignity although whatever they did might be very unpleasant for us that we feel the urge to yell 'STOP' at them immediately!
Okay, that's all for now. I need to continue reading as exam is only 4 days away. Pray for my success lads.
May Allah bless all of you on this very special day, the Friday.
************
I'm actually reading this one novel called 'One day'. Never thought that i would love an English novel in my life other that the Harry Potter Series. This one just captured my attention. Maybe because of the genre (romantic) or the urge to finish it before the movie adapted from this international bestselling novel came out this early August! Ho yeah!
Barcelona part 2 will be out after July 6th okay. Bye...
Barcelona part 1
6/29/2011 02:49:00 PM
Alhamdulillah, i was granted some times to visit this great city of Catalan, Barcelona. A city with a long......history, including during the occupation of the Morrs in Spain and the crusaders. I'm not interested to talk about the history but rather my own personal experience in this great city with great peoples that I met during my 3 days and 3 nights trip to this city. Very few of them are younger than me which make it wonderful as they come here just to chill and enjoy the city rather than trying to visit every little possible places that they can think of. Plus, some of them had traveled a lot including Malaysia which make it easier to choose the topic of conversation.
Here is my journey. Hopefully you guys enjoy reading it.
I arrived at around 8.30pm and it was still very much like 5pm in Malaysia on a bright sunny day. Because i was quite tired, i decided to take a taxi to the hostel. It is called Be Hostel Sound. Actually it was part of the Be Hostel chains around this city. 2 other hostel called Be Hostel Marr and Be hostel Rambla located 5 to 7 minutes away from this hostel. I was greeted (immediately fallen in love) by Kasha at the reception counter. She was very helpful and nice enough to answer all the unnecessary invented little detail that I can think of. Haha.
Anyhow, she is also very understanding as well when i asked her about praying inside the hostel. Seems like she is pretty familiar with Islam when she offered me some small spaces that i could use for praying. Very nice of her indeed. The hostel is very nice i have to say. Although u'll share a room with 7 or 10 more people, you don't need to worry about the security because everyone has electronic locker which is quite big that it can fit your 80 liters travelling bag inside. No curfew plus only electronic cardholder can get access into the hostel. The only downside is that if you live in room 001, you'll have to share the in-suite bathroom with you roomies of both sexes and i find it rather unpleasant. Need not to worry, if you live on other room, the bathroom is separated by gender only that it was outside your room. After finished praying jama' taakhir of zohor and asar, i decided to stroll around the neighboring area as planned.
Anyhow, she is also very understanding as well when i asked her about praying inside the hostel. Seems like she is pretty familiar with Islam when she offered me some small spaces that i could use for praying. Very nice of her indeed. The hostel is very nice i have to say. Although u'll share a room with 7 or 10 more people, you don't need to worry about the security because everyone has electronic locker which is quite big that it can fit your 80 liters travelling bag inside. No curfew plus only electronic cardholder can get access into the hostel. The only downside is that if you live in room 001, you'll have to share the in-suite bathroom with you roomies of both sexes and i find it rather unpleasant. Need not to worry, if you live on other room, the bathroom is separated by gender only that it was outside your room. After finished praying jama' taakhir of zohor and asar, i decided to stroll around the neighboring area as planned.
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| A big Cat Statue at Rambla del Raval |
My aim was actually to find the Tariq bin Ziyad mosque that search beforehand on google map before i started my journey back in Dublin. Lucky enough, it was only 10 minutes from the hostel and i prayed Maghrib and Isyak (Jama') over there. This mosque situated at Rambla del Raval which is fulled with halal shops along the street although some of them do sell beers etc. If you guys want to stay in Barcelona, i strongly suggest this area because it is easy to find halal stuff to cook (if allowed by the hostel) and lots of Muslim population around. Although this neighborhood is quite dodgy, i would say that in term of safety, it is at least 8/10. No part of Barcelona is safe enough when it comes to the residential area. Lots of burglars and prostitutes around to be honest. I never seen such an area over the past 4 years that i took to travel in Europe, including Amsterdam! Plus, this area is very close the popular La Rambla and lots of metro that is available for the use to visit other places such as Sagrada Familia without the need to change the metro line. ^__^
A: Hostel Be Sound
Tariq bin Ziyad Mosque: Carrer de Sant Rafael
Be Hostel Marr: Carrer de Sant Pau
Later that night after I had my dinner in one of the shop at Rambla del Raval, i met a few people from the hostel and we decided to go out and enjoy Barcelona at night. I wont go into detail but suffice for me to say that it was a good night out. Just imagine 6 guys on a night out and just trying to enjoy themself. No wonder only 2 people get to the beach and fast asleep on the beach until early morning. The rest? Distracted by cute french ladies. LOL. is it not what happened Akal? :P
P/s:
1. Akal is one of the guy from India that i met, he might not read this but i think it will be very funny if he sees this. Unfortunately, i don't have everyone email to add them on FB. These law students somehow left their Sikh at home and enjoy Barcelona to the fullest!
2. I'll continue on a day to day basis of my 3 days trip at Barcelona.
Bye...
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