The Journal

Two hundred sixty fourth journal: Escapade

2015-08-25T06:50:00.004-04:00

It's been a while of writing this blog. I wish no one is searching for it now. When I was in US, this blog is an important medium of expressing myself and managing my thoughts (besides the obvious reason of sharpening my English). US is still in my heart, when I close my eyes and thinking of it, I saw the familiar faces smiling warmly, the feeling of having chilled snowy air blowing my cheeks

Two hundred sixty third journal: The Godless Field

2014-10-28T19:57:00.005-04:00

People say science is a godless field. Ironically, a lot of people find (or re-find) the God through science. And I am one of them. Looking at the bright-eyed students of mine, really makes me want to do my best. They are about the same age as my youngest brother. Therefore, I wish his lecturer will treat him as well as I am treating my students. As public speaking is not my arena, and I

Two hundred sixty second journal: The Thing About Japanese Drama

2014-10-05T02:33:00.001-04:00

After a long day at the office, I always reward myself. Every other day the reward could be hitting the gym for an hour for ultra running and Ironman training (separate post for that) or watching a Japanese drama. My habit is widely known among the colleagues and also students. The seconds when the watch hit 5.00 pm I quickly launch the website (so not going to reveal it ;p) to watch free

Two hundred sixty first journal: The Prophecy of Female Prof Datuk

2014-09-13T00:58:00.001-04:00

Have you ever wondered why we met a particular person at a very specific time? I always thought that every person we met in each life's transaction actually have something to teach us. And when we finally able to learn that particular lesson, then it was time to say goodbye. I was thinking hard about my career, where I am going, which direction to take, how to go to that direction and of course

Two hundred sixtieth journal: The 57th

2014-08-31T00:02:00.000-04:00

Today, marks the 57th anniversary of independence day of Malaysia. These are my 3 wishes, that a day will come for Malaysia, where: A woman may travel alone, safely in the middle of the night, without worrying about her dignity There are always enough food on the table, everyday for each household Each of us capable AND equitable to achieve the very best of our talent be in in education, sports,

Two hundred fifty ninth journal: Lessons From Prague

2014-08-22T22:32:00.002-04:00

I was in Prague for Social Entrepreneurship Program for two weeks. It was my second time in Europe after a visit in Italy for an international (and awesome) conference. It was a great experience although I feel the program was not up to my expectations. I have a social business plan which I had developed during my graduate days and my aim of attending the program in Prague was to finalized the

Two hundred fifty eighth journal: 38:1

2014-06-02T05:25:00.002-04:00

A lot of things have happened in Malaysia: we almost won the Thomas Cup, we lost a great King, The Sultan Perak (Perak is my home state) and a great lawyer (Karpal Singh), and we were shocked by a gang rape case in Kelantan (a state which I’m currently residing in). 38 men gang raped a 15 year old schoolgirl. And that case, ignited my anger to finally write again in this blog. 38, including a

Two hundred fifty seventh journal: Hijab and Feminist

2014-04-12T00:12:00.000-04:00

It is so easy to loss sight of the meaning of life when we are busy running the rat race. I'm finally done with the details of buying a house, now let's work the remaining skinny ass off to pay the bank loan. So in the 'busy'ness of working life, I tried at least to listen to online religious lectures especially from BayyinahTV by Nouman Ali Khan (I only promote good things). There is a section

Two hundred fifty sixth journal: Relativity

2014-04-05T04:33:00.000-04:00

Scout is one of the best memories in my high school, and through the numerous knots, traditional dances, bamboo gadgets, and eating instant noodles in a bucket, we became close friends. Then we drifted apart due to life circumstances, although facebook kept us virtually connected. She became one of the most famous fashion blogger in Malaysia, while lip balm is the only make up I know how to wear.

Two hundred fifty fifth journal: It's gold

2014-03-15T01:53:00.003-04:00

It was my first time in London Heathrow Airport, and my first time of hearing 'that' accent. It sounds so sexy indeed, I don't mind they keep making repetitive announcements. Security check of the airport was stricter than US, some agitated people started to raise their voice as they worried of missing their flight. The good thing of the security check in UK is that there are no racial profiling

Two hundred fifty fourth journal: Life After US

2014-02-23T03:38:00.003-05:00

The old man dragging his grandchild in that tiny wheel car around the hallway, while a half dozen of kids currently having a synchronous wailing, the Somali family having a heated debate in Arabic (is this a way to master the language, eavesdropping on others’ domestic argument?) and the neighbor next door keep spitting his lung secretion to the basement of this cheap apartment building from the

Two hundred fifty third journal: 2014

2014-02-03T17:30:00.002-05:00

Just an hour before boarding the flight to Atlanta. Good thing about traveling during winter is that two days without shower doesn't feel too bothersome, sleeping in airport is actually warm and comfortable, with my current style of "I don't care what I wear anymore" is the combination of the only clean clothes I have. Travel is awesome, we realize how less stuff we actually need to survive (

Two hundred fifty second journal: Hello from Hilo

2014-01-29T20:12:00.000-05:00

Finally I achieved my dream to travel to all states of USA. Alhamdulillah. My heart sang and I smiled widely when the Hawaiian Airlines flight landed on Hilo airport. That was a great moment considering the week leading up to that moment. .................................................................. I thought writing and defending dissertation are the hardest part of graduate study. How

Two hundred and fifty first journal: Alhamdulillah

2014-01-13T16:45:00.002-05:00

It was the D-day, defending the PhD dissertation day. It made me happy to see some familiar faces in the audience and video skype with the former labmates in Columbia University. See how supportive they are, and you wonder why I miss them. Email from my advisor Alhamdulillah. All is well that ends well. This is a team work, I couldn't achieve it all by myself. Thank you for every soul I met

Two hundred fiftieth journal: Panda Movement

2013-12-28T12:27:00.001-05:00

I like Panda. It is white and black and Asian. Despite being vegan, it grows up big and cuddly. Although, never underestimate the fluffiness, because underneath it is extreme strength and agility and insane kung-fu tactics. I think panda embodied the universal people. The excruciating phase of thesis writing was finally over 3 weeks ago. I'm currently waiting for the correction from my thesis

Two hundred forty ninth journal: It ain't funny

2013-11-22T13:36:00.002-05:00

Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) provides free monthly magazine, Islamic Horizons, to its members. No, it is not about making bombs or launching hatred as the Islamophobes websites (

Two hundred forty eighth journal: The 6 months

2013-09-25T17:32:00.002-04:00

The ducks are confused. Every other week they have to migrate, and soon enough they are back here. The weather in Newark is indeed confusing. Yesterday, I was itching in my long john, and today I took a sunbath during lunch break. Yesterday, I was thinking of giving up running in the mornings anymore (it was too cold). And today, it was sunny and warm, I wish I brought my running shoes. Maybe I

Two hundred forty seventh journal: One Ring To Rule Them All

2013-08-27T16:07:00.000-04:00

There is a story about a king who asked his minister to create a ring that will remind him to be patient during hard times, and to be humble during great times. And the minister sent the king a ring embedded with this phrase "this will end" ............................................................................................................ It was Sunday. I did a typical weekend long

Two hundred forty sixth journal: A Traveler At A Playground

2013-08-16T09:59:00.004-04:00

There are two wise phrases about life that I love the most: 1. Live life as a traveler (quoted from the Prophet) 2. Life is a playground (I made this up) I used to be in field hockey club during high school. I think it is a great sport, played by cool people. I had a crush on a National Hockey player - the late Chua Boon Huat, who passed away in a car accident 2 weeks ago. And today my facebook

Two hundred forty fifth journal: Starry Night

2013-08-12T18:44:00.000-04:00

I am spending 12 hour a day in the lab, 6 days per week. My big lab has no window and I am the sole owner of this lab muahaha.This is the situation I'm currently in: Tell me what happened out there, please. Social life? What social life? What life? It is a breath of fresh air to read books of social sciences after a long day at lab. And I met the author Peter Mandaville at IIIT during my

Two hundred forty fourth journal: Traumatized by Zealot

2013-08-06T16:19:00.001-04:00

Have you been traumatized by a book? I had. How come? That collection of papers seem harmless, right? Wrong. As if his interview with Fox News is not shocking enough, his book is blatantly traumatized. You know a book is totally different when while reading it, your heart racing, there are goosebumps on your neck and every once a while your jaw dropped and you yell "what?!!!!" even your

Two hundred forty third journal: There will be light

2013-08-01T18:12:00.002-04:00

Everyday, after a long data analysis, I rewarded myself with an episode of Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) Japanese drama. Long live Youtube! I had a huge adolescent crush on the lead actor Takashi Sorimachi, who happened to be the singer of the drama soundtrack. Watching the same drama after all these years (it was a major hit on 1998), bring me back to that exact same feeling. After all these

Two hundred forty second journal: The Great Theft

2013-07-28T17:30:00.003-04:00

Another perk of Ramadan is that I only spent $20 for 2 weeks grocery. Ramadan is also a great time to talk about Malaysian's food, man do we cook anything, ranging from raw and smelly veges to all the organs: brain, intestine, testicles, lungs, heart, spleen, bone marrow, foot, eyes, nothing is wasted. And talking to a friend, I discovered that I am an adventurous eater, I ate all the things I

Two hundred forty first journal: The Construct of Blue Bra

2013-07-25T16:50:00.001-04:00

It's a little bit chilly today and I had to make a detour about half a mile because my common route is currently under construction. I only realized that after biking through it about half a mile. Well, extra exercise! They really really like to do construction here, even the grass were took out and replaced with new grass. It's like almost an obsessive behavior, productive type of behavior.

Two hundred forty journal: Bye & Busy

2013-07-21T12:09:00.001-04:00

Finally, back to the flatland, Delaware. Summer here is much better compared to mountainous Vegas as it is much windier and breezier. Vegas is super hot, I felt as if sitting in an oven, probably it is hot due to the sins. Meanwhile, on the outside of UD, the construction people always find something to construct (road, toilet, building, street lamp, possibly anything) which caused a lot of