Melaka Botanical Garden

Rasa nak berkongsi cerita... one day Kak Ayu ajak jalan-jalan dengan anak-anaknya sebab dah sangat bosan di office. Habis kerja, kami decide ke Taman Botani Ayer Keroh. Lebih kurang 15 minit dari rumah. Kononnya nak jogging. Sampai sana... rasa impressed, dari luar tak nampak best sangat tempat ni.. rupa-rupanya, macam-macam ada.... Ada trek jogging, ada fountain besar yang cantik dengan ikan-ikan yang cantik di dalamnya.. Ada Taman cerita, ada kampung buku, muzium perhutanan, taman permainan, taman herba, taman dinasour dan banyak lagi. So, disebabkan tak puas pergi kali pertama, kali kedua aku pergi jogging sabtu pagi dengan housemateku Nadia. Bagus budak Nadia ni, rajin dia teman aku gi jogging walaupun yang lain-lain memilih untuk tido di pagi hari. Yang best.. sampai-sampai di taman, orang mula beraerobik.. so, tak jadi jogging kami join aerobik dan kemudian sambung pula dengan pocho-pocho. Lepas tu kami explore taman tu, ikut kata Nadia tempat tu baru saja diubahsuai dan itupun kali pertama dia datang selepas taman tu berwajah baru. Lepas penat berpeluh-peluh.. perut pun lapar... dan dengan bangganya kami menikmati Big Breakfast yang banyak kalori di McD yang terletak bersebelahan taman. Apa pasal la diaorang ni letak McD kat sini. Defeat purpose betull... So, nak share dengan kawan-kawan gambar-gambar yang aku sempat tangkap...

Kak Ayu dan anak-anak... cute dan nakal. Takyah jogging, diaorang pun dah buat kami berpeluh mencurah-curah.

Taman Cerita. Ada cerita arnab dan kura-kura, kancil dengan buaya, arnab dengan pipit... Ada replika watak-watak cerita, ada cerita atas batu... Aku ngan Nadia siap pilih watak lagi dan berlakon bercerita. Lepas tu kami gelak.. sungguh kanak-kanak... So, cikgu-cikgu tadika, ibu-ibu, ayah-ayah mithali bolehla bawa anak-anak ke sini...

Taman Herba ni yang bestnya ada laluan refleksiology (macamana nak eja ni?) di tengah-tengah. So, kita jalan atas batu-batu kecil tu, sambil mengenali herba. Ada macam-macam... tongkat ali, misai kucing, lempuyang dsbg. Siap tulis khasiat. Memang sihat melaat taman herba ni. Dalam map kat gambar tu macam besar kan? kecik je taman herba tu... tapi berpeluh juga menahan sakit kaki pijak batu kerikil yang tajam tu.

Erm.. jalan punya jalan merentasi hutan yang sejuk mata memandang.. tiba-tiba nampak satu bangunan baru dan cantik, berdinding kaca, bumbung ala-ala minangkabau. Kampung buku. Taklah besar sangat tapi sangat tenang untuk yang nak study atau buat tesis (Refer pada diri sendiri). Tapi sangat tenang juga untuk yang rasa-rasa nak tidur sebaik sahaja membaca ayat pertama. Tapi yang tak bestnya, tak ada internet. Tengokla nanti, kalau nak cari ketenangan ke.. nak marking paper ke.. bolehla aku melepak kat sini. Tengok macam tak ada orang datang je, kesian kat Pak Guard yang baik tu duduk sorang-sorang jer. Yang bagusnya, Pak Guard tu pun sedang baca buku masa kami approach dia. Memang sesuai jaga library.

Yang ni pulak, muzium perhutanan. Kami tak masuk sebab dah lapar. Sempat tangkap gambar je. Tapi nak expect apa pun kan.. mesti sejarah tumbuh-tumbuhan.. nama-nama pokok.. dsbg. Kena masuk juga one day sebab bila datang ke Taman ni barula aku kenal mana satu pokok angsana, mana satu tenggek burung.. rupa-rupanya tenggek burung ada dok depan rumah kat Koperasi dulu. Tak pernah ambil kisah pun.

Yang lain-lain tak sempat lagi nak explore. Seberang jalan Taman Mini Malaysia, Zoo Melaka, Taman buaya pun dekat-dekat sini juga. Taman Rama-rama entah taman apa lagi tapi banyakla juga tamannya.. cuma malas je nak melawat. Yang aku buat tiap-tiap minggu ialah ke Taman Jusco.. habiskan duit je. Takpun memerap kat Taman Bunga Raya Seksyen 3...

So, jemputla datang ke Melaka...... (ayat-ayat orang yang tengah bosan)

* Blog ni dah jadi blog dwibahasa... last-last dua-dua bahasa aku hancuss... banyak sangat 'campurization'.

After a month...

I left IIC last month and last 16th July was my first month celebration with MMU. Nothing much to be shared. But I feel like I already here for years!. The environment is definitely different with IIC environment. I spend my time mostly in my office, surfing and reading. My roommate, Kak Ayu motivates me to start my research and PHD ASAP. She is very hardworking woman. She brings all her three sons with her while her husband still managing his business in JB. Forgot to tell you guys, she is also reported for duty on the same day with me. She was the one who asked so many questions to me before the interview in Cyberjaya. Never thought that we will be closed like sisters as today.

My three housemates - Zakiah (Zack) from Terengganu, Nadia from Shah Alam (Nadia is doing her masters in MMU) and Yuzi from JB (Yuzi was my classmate during my master in UTM). Zack and Yuzi are also lecturers here. I don't feel weird having another Zakiah in the house bcoz I used to have roommate named Kak Zakiah when I was in SMAKJ and Maahad Johor.

One of the big changes in my life here is I walk from my house to the office everyday. It takes only five minutes to reach my office from my house. I even can see the building from my room. I tried to drive once but feel very stupid bcoz I hardly searched for parking space. I end up walked to the office which took longer time than walking from my house. The lesson learnt is just park your car at home and let the petrol dehydrated. At the same time, I can appreciate the little bit 'Kampung' environment around my house with Pokok Durians, Rambutans, Mangga and Angsana along the walkway.

Nightime and weekends are the most boring. Malacca is very quiet. It was seldom to me to stay at home at night when I was in KL. I normally busy with debate training or my social activities with friends and students. Or at least I left office after maghrib. Here.. just accept the fact that I will not be outside of my house except accompanied by my housemates. I still have no confidence driving alone in Malacca which for some of my friends who knew me - zkea is being unusual.

I got a few calls this week from a few IIC friends who still working there. There are a lot of hot stories including the decision to delay the 4th convocation to November. That's not important for me anymore even though I still feel the sense of belonging to IIC convocation. But the point is, the same stories were told. People were scolded by the boss almost everyday for the problems that they have to face to run the ceremony. Tell me people.. or tell me boss.. in which part of this earth that we won't face any problem? So that nobody else will be scolded or called as 'stupid', 'bodoh' etc. anymore.

At the end of the day, even though I miss the cheerful offices that I previously belong to with all the kakak, adik and friends, I should be very happy today that I already leave the place that had made my life miserable. I should be more focus on what I should achieve here. I just started to crawl the ladder of success as an academician – the career that I chose full heartedly after my first tried being a tutor in OUM. Thanks for everyone’s support and of course, the miserable life that I went through when I was with IIC. It taught me a lot to be thankful with whatever I have now, to be strong to face all the challenges in my life now and in the future.

Be strong all my friends… the day will come for everybody who never gives up.

Nelson Mandela - Long walk to freedom (Part 1)

Finally, i managed to read the first part of the book. Very interesting book. You just feel like you are reading a novel when reading it. The first part of the book focused on where and how Nelson Mandela started his life. From living in a hut to be an adopted son to one of the chiefs that offer him proper education. He walked from one place to another to survive, get proper education and searching for freedom.

A few stories in the book are quiet funny especially the part that he ran away from his family with his brother Justice, because they were forced to get married by their father. I really salute him when he decided to leave his study just because he doesn't want to be one of the SRC members. There are a lot more interesting events written in the book that I can't summarized here.

The conclusion is very simple. Nelson Mandela was born where he saw how his people suffered because they were denied their rights in their own country. There were a lot of laws and acts that banned them to have a freedom in their lives. For example, they are not allowed to possess land under their own name. They pay rent to the government which most of them were whites people. They were only allowed to sit at specific seats for blacks only in the train, restaurant etc. And it happened in their own country. What I admire about him is his concern on the need of education for himself and his people and how he strived for it.

I feel very lucky to be in my own country and get the freedom to do what I want to do. I'm just started reading the second part yerterday. I don't want to stop reading but a lot of books need to be read this week for my proposal. To be continued next weekend.

INBOX

The FBL members received this short message in our faculty webmail's at 8.10am this morning:

Dear WRL 8067, Your car's lights are switched on. -z-

Hehe... that's to show how the MULTIMEDIA university community utilize the information technology to communicate. Hmm.. and that's why I feel so lonely here with my roomate. We speak only to our roommate (If you are in a shared lecturer room).

Today, the debating club here is organizing 2nd International Mandarin Debate Tournament. I felt like to attend one of the matches. Just to see how they are debating. But considering the language barrier.. I think I shouldn't go. But it is quiet impressive bcoz the participants are from various countries including EU countries. I'm sure that most of them are chinese. As far as i'm concern, Chinese are everywhere in the world and they are dominating economics in some of the countries including our country. I have to accept the fact that i'm now working in the middle of chinese community. I don't want to condemn but to learn the good things about them. I plan to ask one of my students to teach me mandarin. So, next year I can watch the debate.

360 degrees

My life has changed 360 degrees. With my new working environment and nature of work right now ... I think i will be different person one day. I'm not sure yet whether I like my new life or not. Sometimes, I feel i'm happy coz finally i reach this stage where I can do whatever I want and nobody supervises me. But sometimes I feel like i'm losing the true me.

I'm not happy bcoz:
I wake up late in the morning bcoz I continue my sleep after Subuh.
I hate going to work very late coz i'm going to be inefficient in performing my work.
I hate delaying my work.
I hate going to office with no objective.
I hate being so complacent..

However.... there are a lot of things that I like here:
I have time for reading
I have time to listen to the news
I have time to surf for information
I have time to take nap after lunch
I have time to go shopping
I have time to exercise
I have time to think about myself
I read newspaper cover to cover.

But I'm worry...
I started losing a lot of my skills.
- Management skills
- Problem solving skills
- Time management skill
- Communication skill
- Negotiation skill