Award of Degree

This is the only thing that distinguish me from before and after..

3 years of journey, only to get this letter.
Alhamdulillah..Thank you Allah

How do I feel right now?

 .

Makanan sedap di Melaka

Before reading this entry, you should be aware that people have different views, including taste of foods.So, this entry is based on our taste. You might perceived the foods as tasty, or vice versa.

1. Mi Bodo Pak Hassan

Kedai ni kecik je, jalan ke Tengkera. Buka pukul 7am-1030 am sahaja. Kalau plan nak makan sini, dinasihatkan supaya datang before pukul 7am. Sebab very limited seats with many customers. Mi ni simple je, takde rencah ape2. basically, just mi + taugeh. But the one that makes the mi so delicious is the sambal. Kalau tak silap kedai ni cuma jual mi & nasi lemak sahaja. And as a lauk, ada jual telur goyang. tapi you have to q untuk amik telur tuh. Memang menguji kesabaran kalau datang sini. First, kene tunggu turn untuk dapat tempat duduk. Second, untuk order makanan. Third, untuk amik telur goyang. But memang berbaloi menunggu.

This is the only photo yg sempat amik. Sebba masa tu orang ramai sangat + lapor. 

2. Barkat Roti John Asli

Barkat Roti John Asli, Taman Bachang Utama

Kedai ni kami jumpa sebab masa tu gi Giant Bachang. Tengok2 kedai tu betul2 sebelah giant. Dalam blogs ramai orang puji makanan kat sini tapi bila waze, ada beberapa kedai nama ni. So tak tau mana satu. Luckily, the one that we went to is the right one. Ada variety of foods here, but the famous are ayam golek & roti John. Kalau tak silap buka dalam pukul 6 petang . Tutup tak tau la plak. 

Roti John Special

Ayam golek

3. Asam Pedas  Claypot, Kota Laksamana

This is our fav shop. lepas discover this shop few years before, kami akan make sure kami datang sini bila ke Melaka. And masa aku gi Melaka baru ni, rupa2nya dah ada cawangan ke2 kedai nih. Located right opposite with the old building. Bezanya ialah Asam Pedas  Claypot yang lama buka pukul 6pm onwards while Asam Pedas Tetel 2 buka waktu siang. Among our favs are- asam pedas telur ikan, tetel,  pari & ikan merah. Cuma the only thing yang a bit frustrated is kedai ni takde kepala ikan. Kitorang suka ratah kepala ikan, tapi yang dijual cuma bahagian isi & ekor sahaja. I guess kalo nak makan kepala ikan, kene gi area Batu Pahat or  Muar , sebab area sana banyak kedai jual kepala ikan.

Asam Pedas Claypot 1

Asam Pedas Claypot 2

4. Restoran Pak Putra Ayam Tandoori

Kedai ni kami baru try masa datang Melaka baru nih. It is located just 2 blocks away from Asam Pedas Tetel. Opens from 6pm. Boleh jalan kaki je dr Asam Pedas Tetel. Hari tu kami buat kerja mengarut sikit.. We went to Ayam Tandoori, then terus gi Asam Pedas tetel makan asam pedas pulak.Nak pecah perut sebab kenyang sangat. Untuk yang nak datang ke kedai ni, boleh try- Double/triple cheese Nan. Memang marvelous.

Restoran Pak Putra Ayam Tandoori

Ni gambar di Zoo Melaka. Tiap kali gi Zoo ni mesti amik gambar kat sini, so boleh tengok tumbesaran anak2.

From left: Musyrif @ Abam (6 years), Mukmin (9 years), Auni (5 years), Mursyid (10 years)

Family Holiday- Penutup Tirai 2015

This is our first vacation after I reported for duty this year. Well, I guess I miss my time during the 3 years of study leave.

JB, 19-20 December 2015

Yang ni taklah vacation pun. Mr.Hubby ada training ka JB so aku & anak2 pun menempel lah. Kali ni better dr the last time we went to JB.  We stayed at Hotel Vistaria, Mount Austin. Tu area Chinese, so utk makan2 kami kene keluar dr situ. Akhirnya tercapai hajat husband nak makan kat ZZ Sup Tulang. Ada variety of foods kat sini , sedap jugak. My advice is, kalo nak gi situ, make sure jgn tersalah direction. Sebab kalo tak silap aku ada 3 kedai ZZ sup tulang kat JB. Tapi pengalaman yg paling tak boleh dilupakan ialah masa otw balik dr ZZ tu. Masa tu dah magrib. Dgn menggunakan waze, kami sampai ke imigresen (sempadan JB-Woodland). Tak pasal2 kene masuk kat ofis imigresen & isi borang. Baru boleh keluar ke JB semula. Time ni ras anak baling je handphone tuh. Tapi, pengalaman yg menarik & seronok jugak bila anak2 pun panic sekejap.\

Kami tidur di JB 1 malam sahaja. Last minute plan kene cancel sb husband ada meeting hari Isnin tuh. Hari Ahad masa husband gi training, aku contact my former student masa kat KPM dulu. Yusafiza.. Dia keje OUM JB. Dia datang & bawak aku & anak2 jalan2. Dapatlah jalan sampai ke Plaza Larkin untuk beli Kacang Pool & Murtabak Singappore kat Tebrau.

 Murtabak Singapore @ Tebrau- 7/10 markah

 Sup gear box @ ZZ Sup Tulang 8/10 markah

 Kacang Pool @ Plaza Larkin- 3/10 markah

Anak2 in the car- 10/10 markah.. Eh ada markah jugak?

 Melaka, 24-24 December 2015

Misi kali ini ialah utk spend quality time dgn anak2. And sudah semestinya operasi mencari  makanan2 yg sedap di Melaka. Antara tempat2 pelancongan di Melaka kami cuma pergi ke Zoo Melaka, Taman Buaya &Menara Taming Sari. Yang lain2 penuh dgn ops makan sahaja. Hari Kedua tu kami keluar pukul 730 am dan balik hotel pukul 10 malam. Semuanya gara-gara mencari baju & kelengkapan utk sek anak2. Maklumlah 3 orang masuk sek rendah & sorang masuk pra. Kali ni memang rekod sebab hari kedua ni kami pergi ke:

• Zoo Melaka
• Malls- Mydin Mall, Giant Taman Bachang, Mydin Supermarket & Hari2
• Kedai makan- Mee Bodo Pak Hassan, Pak Putra Tandoori & nan, Asam Pedas Claypot & Barkat Roti John Asli

Tentang belanja brg2 persekolahan, Mr.Hubby bayar RM1k jugak lah utk beli semuanya. And seperti yg dipersetujui, aku bayar duit makan while Mr Hubby bayar hotel & minyak.

Berikut senarai bayaran (for 2 adults and 4 children) that we spent @ Melaka:

24hb

Breakfast- Pasir Besar                    RM10

Asam Pedas Claypot 2                   RM41.50

Food courT Mydin Mall                RM13.00

Taming Sari                                    RM70

Pak Putra Tandoori                         RM67.50

25hb

Breakfast – Mee Bodo                   RM18.60

Zoo Melaka                                    RM64

Tram Zoo                                        RM22

Food Court Mydin Mall                 RM15

Pak Putra Tandoori                         RM20

Asam Pedas Claypot                       RM29.60

Barkat Roti John                              RM24.50

26hb

Breakfast- Warung Ayer Molek     RM18.90

Restoran Haji Tamby                      RM20.90

Rizki Restoran- Segamat                 RM13

Thai Malay, Muadzam                    RM59

Total RM507.50

Not to forget, payment for 2 night stay at K3-KGMMB Mutiara Inn- RM219. Hotel ni baru je bukak 3 bulan so dalamnya  serba-serbi baru. Not bad lah hotel tuh sebab senang parking and  stafnya pun friendly. Siap boleh pilih nak tingkat berapa. 

Next, aku nak bagi review tentang the foods that we have tried at Melaka. Tunggu next post ok. 

My Viva PhD Memory

 This is my desktop wallpaper, while waiting for the examiners and others to arrive at IPS Viva Voce room

 These are those experts who attended my viva session. 

 This is the output that I produced after 3 years of journey

 These are among the books that I used during my study. Library UMP punya. Tapi aku pinjam & keep on renewing the books, for 3 years.

PART 2: WHAT ARE THE OTHER 2 GOOD NEWS?

In my previous post, I wrote about my SV will not be around for about 2 weeks. So masa SV aku gi Jepun tu, sempat lah aku finalize the thesis. Walaupun tak banyak mana nak betulkan, tapi sebab aku dah start kerja, with 12hours of teaching load & 220 students, agak mencabar jugak lah. So dipendekkan cerita, lepas SV aku balik, terus aku setelkan print hard bound & mintak sign dia. And on 17 December aku hantar my thesis to IPS. Finally done.

Rasa lega sebab dah siap semua.

Rasa tak percaya aku dah habis Phd.

Rasa sedih sebab aku dah habis study.. huhu.. Nak belajar lagi..

At the same time, aku tengah sibuk nak pindah rumah ke Muadzam. Aku dapat kuarters UNITEN lama dah, sejak 15 Nov. Tapi disebabkan viva aku 20 Nov (not to forget nak tunggu kerja2 pembaikan rumah tu siap), aku tolak tepi dulu isu2 pindah ni. & Untuk tambah keserabutan, aku ada gatal2 apply gi attend conference on 27 Nov, which is a week after my viva. So hal2 pindah umah mmg aku tolak tepi lah dulu. Nak dijadikan citer, conference yg aku gatal2 apply tu is a bit different. Usually aku prefer oral presentation, but this one is poster presentation. Saja je nak dapat new experience sebenarnya. As a preparation for the conference, aku kene siapkan poster about 2 weeks before the 27^th. This is because in Muadzam utk design & print poster tu might take a longer time compared to other places, maklum lah cuma ada 1 kedai je offer servis tuh. So dalam pada sibuk nak viva tu aku pun sibuk la prepare template utk poster presentation.

MIRCELE MELTA 2015

27 November 2015, Universiti Malaya

A day before the conference, aku balik PD dgn anak2. Plannya anak2 akan duduk di PD while I’m attending the conference. Husband kene kerja weekend tu so tak dapat hantar aku balik ke PD. Mujur la family aku ni mmg jenis yg sgt2 membantu. Tak kisah, anytime aku boleh mintak tolong. Alhamdulillah.

With the judges & other participants

So pagi2 tu aku bertolak dari PD ke UM naik Avanza. Sampai sana, buat poster presentation till noon. Tak tau pulak ada judges akan dating and ask questions. Aku tau yang conference tu ada 2 round. First round, poster. Second round, oral presentation (untuk yang memang round 1). Kat conference ni aku berkenalan dgn sorang Cikgu SMAP Kajang, yang tgh buat PhD jugak, Nisa namanya. Lepas round 1 kami pergi lunch. Masa lunch tuh MC bagitau nama2 yang akan masuk round 2 ada kat skrin depan. Tengok2 ada nama aku.. Aiseh, macam mana nih, Aku langsung tak prepare slides utk round 2 sebab aku mmg ingt aku takkan masuk round 2. Lagipun aku saja suka2 je masuk poster tuh..Addoiii.. Memang carik pasal namanya nih. Then aku gi depan and tanya pada MC boleh tak aku tak payah masuk round2 . Dia cakap tak boleh sebab once dah masuk round 1 kiranya agreed utk masuk round 2. Camtuh pulak. So camne? Masuk je la round 2 nak buat camne.

Lepas lunch tuh aku gi solat, then masuk hgall semula dalam pukul 2. Masuk2 tu tengok judges dah ada dalam hall. MC plak terus mintak slides aku. Aiseh.. nak buat cmne ni, slides tak prepare lagi. So sebab takde choice, aku pun decide utk guna je slides viva. Tak sesuai sebenarnya sebab dlm slides viva tu ada the whole thing in my study, tapi utk conference ni aku cuma highlight suku je dari study tu. Tapi nak buat camne. Padan muka sendiri la sapa suruh tak prepare. Yelah, memang la aku tak prepare, sebab aku ingat aku tak masuk round 2… Isy2.. Apa2 pun yg bagusnya aku org last sekali present. Judges tak banyak sangat komen, Cuma satu soalan tuh, “What is the progress of your study?” Aku dgn confident nya jawab, “I ve already passed my viva last week”. Then judges tak cakap ape2…hehe

During the presentation

The third good news

Masa sesi penutup, diumumkan nama pemenang. Came to my surprise that I won the Bronze award though it was totally unprepared. Didn’t expect at all. Rezeki, Allah yang bagi. Syukur sangat.

Masa nak balik tuh , Avanza plak takleh start. Rupanya bateri kereta habis. Dgn dibantu oleh Nisa & menggunakan kaedah cuba jaya, hidup pun kereta tuh. Mujur jumpa jumper dalam kereta..Lepas tu aku balik PD  dgn rasa syukur yang amat sangat for winning the third place. Third place pun nak kecoh ke? Memanglah.. itu aku tak ready langsung, tup2 dapat no3..So, that’s the 3^rd good news.

The Bronze Award- given by Prof. Dr. Gana & Prof. Dr. Stefanie

 The fourth good news

A day after my viva, I received a cheque from insurance company. Disebabkan aku tak pernah claim anything, aku dapatlah sejumlah bayaran bonus, amaun dirahsiakan.

All in all, Allah yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Mengasihani ..Dah bagi aku macam2 kebaikan dalam dunia nih. Jadi, memang kene bersyukur & humble atas limpah kurnianya..4 good news in 7 days. :) SubhanaAllah, Alhamdulillah

4 GOOD NEWS IN A ROW : PART 1- VIVA VOCE FOR MY PhD

Dah hampir sebulan lebih aku cuba untuk update blog ni tapi tak berkesempatan. Macam2 acara marathon untuk aku habiskan dalam masa beberapa minggu ni sejak report duty. Sampai masa untuk aku share kan 4 berita2 gembira yang aku terima dalam tempoh 10 hari.

The first good news:

After 3 years of joy and tears, finally aku dipanggil utk sesi viva. I submitted my thesis for pre-viva in May 2015. After 1 month, I was called for the session & passed. After made some corrections, I submitted the final version for Viva Voce, in early July. The common practice is it only takes about 3 months to be called for the viva. However, my session was delayed twice because the examiners were unavailable. So, after waiting for more than 4 months, baru lah viva aku diadakan. Quite unhappy because my aim is to complete the viva becfore I report for duty in the end of September 2015. Tapi kita merancang, dan segala2nya Allah yang tentukan.  I was told about the viva session 20 days before the date. I only prepared 2 weeks before the viva, and a few days before the viva I was too lazy to study my slides and notes. Most of the time, I spent time to pray and recite Al Quran & asked Allah too make ease of everything. I was quite calm (more than I imagined) during the day of the viva. A day before the viva, I go back to Kuantan. My husband took a day leave to take care of the children. I guess the next day is going to be a Papa Day care.

20 November 2015. It was Friday. The session starts at 9 am. 

I came early, set up my lappy and try to make myself comfortable with the viva room , which is located at IPS UMP. While waiting, suddenly Arif (one of my former colleague at KPM) came to the room. Rupa2nya he was appointed as the Secretary. Good, I think. At least I can have some familiar faces, including my SV in my viva session. Then, my SV came, followed by the Dean, Prof Chairperson, Internal Examiner and lastly the External Examiner. I was quite surprised that only 1 external examiner attends the session. So I asked my SV why (after the viva). Rupa2nya in UMP, only 1 external examiner will be called if the PhD candidate has passed with minor corrections. OO… napelah aku tak tau awal2 sebelum viva..hehe

So the session starts tepat2 pukul 9 am. Prof. Chairperson greets everyone. He asks me to leave the room for a while. Alamak , kene keluar ke? Baru excited nak present. So aku pun tunggu la kat luar kejap. Baru je aku nak duduk, tiba2 Arif panggil aku masuk semula and the session starts. Prof. Chairperson kata aku boleh present between 20-30 minit. Aku memang tak sabar2 nak present. Sebabnya ini je lah peluang untuk aku betul2 syok sendiri, knowing that the audience know what Im talking about. Sebab dah sah2 examiners dah baca thesis aku. So diorang sepatutnya faham lah apa yang aku present. Berbekalkan keyakinan yang agak tinggi (99.5%) aku pun menggoreng ayat demi ayat. Dan rasa sangat happy bila tengok examiners really pay attention to my presentation (regardless whether they like it or not) & angguk2 when I emphasized certain points. I complete the presentation in exactly 20 minutes. Wow.. rasa macam 2 minit je bercakap. 

Then, Prof. Chaiperson pun warm up dengan bagi pendapat dia secara general about the presentation. Then he opens the floor for the examiners to give respond. The Prof from UKM is the Chief Editor of one of the paper that I published this year. She is a very nice lady. The responses are more on clarification and to check whether I did everything by myself or not. Among the 40 spot viva questions- none was asked! But takpelah, because I did not really prepare for the spot questions.

After about an hour the Q&A ends. I am satisfied with myself because I handled the questions professionally, in a way that I did not commit into any arguments and I defended my work whenever appropriate. 

Next,  Prof. Chairperson asked me to leave the room for a while. I was about to sit when Mr. Secretary called me to enter the room. He said, “ Umi, whatever happens harap kau bersabar ye..”. At that time, aku memang pasrah je . Nasib la nak bagi lulus ke fail , minor or major. But Im quite confident that I am going to pass the viva.

Masuk je bilik, Prof. Chairperson saja je bagi intro panjang2.. Dia kata saja nak dera sikit perasaan. And I don’t even remember apa yang dia cakap. 

Then, Prof Chairperson said, “ Umi, for this viva session we have decided to award you a PhD with a minor correction”. And how do I feel at that moment? 

“ Alhamdulillah, I know that I am going to pass”. Kalau masa tu boleh sujud syukur, memang aku sujud time tu jugak. Tapi tak sesuai tempat and situasi. 

My sv, the internal and everyone say “Congrats Umi, you are now have become part of us. Welcome”. Then, Prof Chairperson continues, “At first we decided to give you less than 1 week for the correction because yours is too minor, not many corrections. But considering that you are now working, plus your SV will not be in Malaysia for the next 3 weeks, we give you up to 3 months. But you can submit your thesis as soon as you complete everything.” Wow, that’s a good news. Getting up to 3 months to do the correction is really an advantage for me. With 12 credit of teaching load and 210 students + mid term + consultation of assignment, I really need that 3 months. 

Apa pun, this will not happen tanpa izin Allah. I am so happy, delighted, overjoy, contented and all synonyms yg seangkatan dengannya.. Alhamdulillah Ya Allah. Pengorbanan and susah payah selama 3 tahun ni mendatangkan hasil. 

Before everyone left, we took photos. The examiners congratulate me again and hug me. The Prof. from UKM says, “Umi, I have another good news for you. But let your SV tells you about that”. What? Another good news? Wow.. Lepas tu aku terus gi IPS amik segala borang yang kene isi & janji jumpa SV at her office, excitedly want to know what is the good news.

The second good news:

The good news is.. the paper which I published this year is a Scopus-indexed journal. And My SV told me that the journal has been upgraded to be in ISI-indexed journal list…
Ni link untuk paper tu :
http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/article/view/8361

Woow kan? To get published in a Scopus is veeery challenging, and to be in ISI is reaaaly a good news.  Again, alhamdulillah, thank you Allah so much for these two good news. What are the other 2 good news? Ha, yang tu next time aku tulis. Penat dah ni taip panjang2..