Registered!

Registered! Finally. 

Now, what clothes should I wear under the doctoral gown? What shoes? Emmm, perlu ke beli baru Farina ooooi. Tak payah membazir okeh, tak payah membazir. 

Well,anyhoo, lets make a countdown now.. June 13th, here we go! *smiling*

 

Corelle? Handbags? Taking orders now.

Hello hello readers, I would like to inform all my beloved readers that Fescalados is closing down soon as I am going back for good. But.. but.. from now on, I will be taking orders for handbags, Corelle and stuff. So, please check out Fescalados FB page, click HERE. It will start officially on April 1st. But since most of my returning customers were actually originated from the readers who read this blog, I am making the announcement especially to you guys, my loyal and beloved readers. Thank you so much for the support all these years!

P/S: Zarith, remind akak pasal your Spanx ye.

 

The interview with Daim

Read the interview of Tun Daim Zainuddin with the NST. I am posting two of the questions right here because the answers are interesting.

Question: So, for you, being critical does not mean one is anti-establishment. Are you also saying that the pattern of voicing out may not necessarily cost Barisan Nasional votes?

Answer: Precisely. That is my central argument. I have always advocated a robust debate. Over the years, I personally do find certain policies objectionable, but I am still a supporter of the government as there are more good policies than bad.

For the rest of the nation, if you disagree with government policies, yes, go ahead and criticise, but constructively. I would fear more for the country if people gave up and didn't care. I believe that it is only when you care that you want things to be for the better, that you voice out. A passive passionless society will be a disaster for the country.

Question: Personally, do you want to see Najib win this election? 

Answer: If you ask me, between the two, Najib or Anwar, I would choose Najib. I will give Najib the chance. Give him the mandate and see whether he delivers because Anwar has had his chances, but he blew them. I want Najib to win because I don't think Anwar is the right candidate to be prime minister. I believe he will mess up the country by getting advice from the likes of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), World Bank and Wolfowitz (Paul Wolfowitz, former World Bank president). I will support Najib, but he must fight corruption and crime, strengthen the nation's security and review the education system. Make English compulsory in all national schools. Without English, we are dead, especially the Malays. The Malays must realise, without English they cannot compete. We must insist on English as a second language. It was not a mistake to change the medium of instruction from English to Bahasa Malaysia. It is the language of the nation and of unity. If we don't speak the same language, how do we understand one another? The mistake was in the policies which were to promote Bahasa Malaysia, it had to be at the expense of English. We should not have to kill English to make Bahasa Malaysia the lingua franca of the country. If possible, we should learn Arabic, because the rich Arab countries will be where the money comes from. On the nation's security, every day in the media and on television, there are news reports of murder and crime. You say our country is safe, but if people don't feel safe, they will not believe you regardless of the statistics. On corruption, tell the rakyat that the government is serious in wanting to get rid of it. But it cannot do it alone, it needs the rakyat's help. Raise the awareness of rakyat on the evils of corruption and get schools involved in it. Educate the students. If the government and rakyat work together, we can succeed. It is a two-way thing. The government alone cannot fight corruption. People must be clean and honest. Don't just blame the government. Tepuk sebelah tangan tak berbunyi. If people are honest and clean, the government, too, can be clean. The government must come down strongly on those who are corrupt.

Click at Part 1 and Part 2 to read more on the interview. 

Tun Daim is the former Finance Minister from 1984-1991 and he became Finance Minister twice. The second time was during our 1997 economic crisis when Tun Mahathir brought him back into the cabinet to assist him in saving Malaysia's economy. He is one of the richest man in the country but most of his assets I presumed are based overseas. His son just got married at Kensington Palace, mind you. Anyway, the point is I think his opinions are mainly due to his own, not influenced by money. Reading the interview, I can gather that his support for Najib is purely due to economic benefits of the country but I am glad that he does see what other people see as problems occuring in our country, the corruptions, security and safetyness among other things. On the other hand, I do think we have a stronger opposition compared to 15 years back which means the current government can no longer sit tight and do nothing. For eg: I observed a gradual decrease of car prices in Malaysia (the newer model) after the opposition launches their 'turunkan harga kereta' manifesto. Who would have imagined kan the government would do all this after years and years protecting Proton's car prices :p But I am glad they did cos I sure need to buy a new car this year. Haha. We need healthy competition people! Kalau tidak sampai bila lah tingkap kereta Proton asyik rosak aje kannn.

Well, I doubt I will be casting my vote this year, unless the election is after mid-June. (I'm coming back for good mid June, yeay!!). But those in Malaysia, pesanan khidmat masyarakat dari saya, don't forget to vote!

Words to ponder

My eldest brother is an introvert and reserved I must say. True what people say, don't underestimate this type of people. Specifically, the words came out from them. This response from my brother came from a chain of email among the siblings, discussing a recent event happening to one of my dad's companies. Not going to discuss it further since I do not know who is reading my blog, now or in the future. But, here it goes:

"Disini mungkin masanya untuk kita merenung kembali, siapa kita di dunia ni. Pemberi rezeki yang mutlak adalah ALLAH. Bantuan aku tak seberapa, bantuan acik e pun tak sebarapa, tapi mintalah pertolongan ALLAH tanpa segan silu dan jemu, insyallah kamu dan adik akan berjaya. Kamu ingat aku ni pandai sangat ke boleh buat master dan PhD. Kamu ingat aku ni pandai sangat ke dapat kerja jadi lecturer kat Universiti. Tak aku tak pandai, yang pandai dan maha bijaksana adalah ALLAH. Nak datang ke Australia ni pun, hari2 minta kat dia, 2 tahun berdoa baru dapat. Maka mintalah kat dia, Insyallah dia bagi, jangan tinggal solat walaupun sewaktu...Insyallah Dia akan sayang kamu.."

I cried reading his response. May Allah bless you abang for stating the ultimate truth. Amin.

*Mak insaf*

I am (almost) done!

"I'm done" mimicking Faliela's favorite sentence when she finishes up her food. 

It feels good to finally be done with writing the first draft of your dissertation. I still have the last chapter to write, which I intentionally put it on hold until I get all the other chapters corrected. With the numbers of flip-flopping I was receiving the past couple of months, it is wise to do so.

The last chapter of my dissertation will be a short chapter summarizing all other chapters and of course, what is next for my field. A piece of cake. Sap sap sui. (ayat tak menahan nyahsss)

I owed a big hug to my mom for managing the house while I was processing my thoughts and crafting sentences in the lab.

My deepest gratitude goes to Barbara, my thesis committee member who is FINALLY able to convince Liz, my supervisor that having more papers is important. Probably not in the US, but in other countries. Those who close to me know how many times I rambled about the flip-flop thrown by both my supervisor and co-supervisor. If I pulled one chunk of my hair every time they changed their mind on organizing my papers, I probably would turned bald by the time I finished. No kidding.

I don't want to sound so dramatic macam dah nak graduate, since I still have to do corrections, papers to submit and exit seminar. 

But yeah, right now, it feels good to say this....

I am done. Almost.

And, the spring is here!

Breath-holding spells

We had a trip to the emergency room today. It was such a terrifying moment.

Faliela has experienced countless episodes of head injury. Jatuh katil lah, kerusi lah, meja, terhantuk etc. So, when she fell down from our couch today, I let Jai picked her up while I went to the kitchen. FYI, everytime Faliela wanna start crying, she likes to hold her breath for a few sec , but this time she hold it much longer, prompted me to say ' Uiii, lamanya tahan nafas'.

Jai turned to her and saw she was lying flat and her eyes were not moving. He screamed 'Faliela pengsan!!' I ran to the living room and saw Jai starting to perform CPR (or at least what he thinks it is, hehe). I saw Faliela lips starting to turn blue and asked Jai to call 911. My mom rushed out from her room and sprinkled some water onto Faliela's face. She started crying and moving again. Jai hung up on 911 (luckily) and we decided to get Faliela checked out at the hospital anyway.

After waiting for 1.5 hrs, everything turned out to be okay since she actually did not lose consciousness and there's no signs of vomiting. In fact, she was happily eating her snacks while waiting for the doc who I think was overwhelmed with the number of emergency cases tonight. We did not get an explanation why she suddenly turned blue, other than it's normal for kids to have that after falling down.

So, I decided to google on "why my child turned blue when she's crying" and found a question posted by a mom who had an incident exactly like us.

When my 13th month old cries he turns blue(lips & face) and he stops breathing. Is this normal? We just had an incident a few minutes ago and it was very scary. My son was crying and he turned blue stopped breathing and his eyes were not moving. We were running to the car and he stopped and was fine. Can you help me understand why he does this? And is there anything we can do to make this stop? It is very scary

And the doctor's answer is  a term I have never encountered before :  

Breath-holding spells

What is breath-holding spells? (Taken from this website : http://kidshealth.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/fact-sheets/breath-holding-spells)

Breath-holding spells (or attacks) are not uncommon in toddlers and can sometimes occur in young babies. They occur in about one in twenty children. A breath-holding spell may happen after a child has an upset or sudden startle, such as a minor bump or a fright. The child opens their mouth as if to cry but nothing comes out. They then can look deathly pale or go blue around the lips. The child may become limp and fall to the ground. Convulsive movements of their limbs may then occur. The child may recover quickly or be unresponsive for a short period. Breath-holding spells often occur as part of toddler tantrums. The spell is a reflex reaction to an unpleasant stimulus, which the child can’t prevent. It is not a deliberate behaviour on the child’s part.

And this is taken from wiki:

Breath-holding spells occur in approximately 5% of the population with equal distribution between males and females. They are most common in children between 6 and 18 months and usually not present after 5 years of age. They are unusual before 6 months of age. A positive family history can be elicited in 25% of cases. They may be confused with a seizure disorder. They are sometimes observed in response to frustration during disciplinary conflict.

I thought I just wanna share with all the mommies out there in case if it happens to your child, you know it is normal (unless your child lose consciousness or the event holds for more than a few minute) and the child did not do it intentionally. It is part of their autonomous reflex.And... I think she inherited it from me. Hehe, don't tell Jai, or else I have to pay the hospital bill.

Merasa lah buh tag kat kaki cam mula2 lahir dulu kan Faliela

Tak sampai 2 minit duk dalam check-up room dah start nak lompat-lompat atas katil. Ya ampun anakku.

Well, I hope this spell will only occur one-time. I do not want to experience this terrifying moment once again. But I sure learned something new today.

   

The second farewell

Today, Faliela bids farewell to her caretakers, Mrs. Goda and her assistants-Bina, Naj and Aarati. I bet it was a wonderful 9 months for Faliela at Mrs. Goda's daycare. I am hating this term but we are actually part-time parents giving the fact that Faliela sees us for only 4 hours on weekdays. Be that as it may, her language development and social skills grown tremendously under the guidance of Mrs. Goda. She can sing, dance, speak many English words and understand simple instructions like throw trash, picks up her jackets and socks whenever we are ready to go out,tidying up the mess she did and etc. I'm sure this is part of the normal development of her age but I do think Mrs. Goda and her assistants did a very good job during the 8 hours/day she was with them. I am thankful for their kindness and TLC towards Faliela all this while.

I decided to snap a few pictures of her at daycare today.

As usual, she went into hiding when she saw us. Faliela suka buat cam kitorang nih jahat sebab tak nak balik dari daycare tau. Haha.

The alphabetical mat that helped her recite her ABC. She still at the Cs.

Her friends at daycare

Everyone were trying to act cute

With Bina whom Faliela developed a strong bond with. She is a very nice lady.

Faliela also bids her second farewell today to Dr. Vallero, her pediatrician. We refused to get her tested for TB and Hep A immunization during this check-up. Dah malas nak mengkayakan health practitioners in USA nih, cekik darah kot. Being a soon-to-be immunologist, I'm assuring Jai it will be okay to postpone her immunization and the testing is not necessary. Haip, berani lawan bini! Haha, JK.

On a different note, I am grateful to be blessed with a very understanding mom. Nine months ago, when we had trouble finding a daycare, she and my brother went all out to find someone in Malaysia that could come here and take care of Faliela. However, we found Mrs. Goda's wonderful daycare and the plan was put on hold until I am ready to write my thesis. Mom was then offering me to be the 'imported babysitter' if it will be after raya. Jai and I were very glad since we don't have to be an awkward situation living with a stranger.

So, my mom will be arriving this weekend and will be here for 6 months (or less) and insya-Allah for my graduation too *wink*. Of course, we do not take her offerings for granted lah. We are paying for her flight tickets and several things back home. Saya anak mengenang budi. But one thing for sure, I don't have to cook if I don't want to and still gets to eat, hehe. And also, I can pull an all-nighter whenever I need to and not worry about getting up early the next morning. Berjaga malam writing ek, bukan tengok Adam dan Hawa. Hopefully tak adalah perang dingin mommy-daughter meletus this time around, Jai has promised to become 'the buffer man' gituh.

And with mom around........

.....we are definitely ready to do this! In fact, she went 'pee-pee' when I asked her to sit for the first time on the potty chair today.

She was ready a couple of months ago but we were not ready since potty training needs time and undivided attention (and of course, patience). So, hopefully mom will be able to keep an eye on her most of time. 

Potty-training, here we go! Tips anyone?

Dilemma yang sukar difahami

I know getting a paper to be submitted and published is hard but I do not know it is THIS hard even from the beginning! 

We (Liz and I) are having a dilemma to which journal we should submit my papers, and whether we should do it as one paper. It will be a HUGE paper if we pool it into one so we decided to break it down into 2 papers. 

But..... but.... 

My dreams were shattered (literally) when my co-PI suggested we should just pool it into one and send it as a package with his paper. We had another meeting yesterday with one of my thesis committee members and she said I can pool it into one or break it down into 2 papers, but it is really up to us. Happy lah sekejap dengar statement dia but Liz was still indecisive. 

If I'm submitting it as one paper, Liz and I agreed it will go into J.Virology with the impact factor of 5.4 and we do not know whether Niels' paper will get into that. But if we are submitting it as 2 papers, it will go into a slightly lower impact factor journal which is around 2.9 and we can send it as a 3 papers package with Niels' paper. Now, I am still waiting for Liz's decision. 

I told her I don't care about impact factor, I want all the figures I made (yang aku buat siang malam pagi petang dalam tidur pun termimpi-mimpi) to be published and the more papers I get, the happier I will be. 

Until Liz makes a decision, kita pergi shopping dululah...... Hahahahaha. 

The origin of the thesis

Inspired and adapted from Jorge Cham's comic strip:

 " Look, let me tell you how this works. Doing your Ph.D. and working with a Professor is a lot like Marriage. The whole thing typically lasts 5-7 years, 50% of them end in bitter divorce and it all culminates in a big ceremony where you walk down the aisle wearing a fancy gown " 

And insya-Allah I will be wearing that fancy gown. Soon.
 

Bismillah. The madness has just started while the hibernating continues.

Welcome to the world, baby A!

My bestfriend, Oya has safely delivered another girl on Oct 23rd 2012. When I received a whatsapp message on that day, I knew it must be Oya. The labor process went pretty fast relatively to Emma, she was about 3-4 cm dilated when she sent me a message. Then, few hours later, she told me she was already 9cm dilated. Whoa. Cepatnya. Anak kedua lah katakan. Anyway, congratulations to my bestie and her husband. They kept the gender a secret and I lost a free dinner at Las Vacas. Haha. But here are the pics of her 2 lil girls. They are adorable,aren't they? Awwww!

They are still deciding the name, but macam ala2 Emma jugaklah only that it will start with A this time. Seronoknya dapat baby. Suka! Tapi jiwa dan raga ku belum bersedia ;p