Saturday, December 17, 2011

Winter Begins

Assalamualaikum! :)

Today, Allah made me very2 happy with His pleasant little surprise ^^
I have been wanting to get this handbag, but the first time I saw it in the store it was too expensive as it was just the newest design at that moment. I decided to wait until the price decreases once a new line of handbags comes along.

Before I know it, I waited TOO long, and the handbag was no longer in stores or even online :( But a few weeks after I bought a new handbag, I saw the handbag that I wished for available ONLINE with a sale!! I was pondering hard on whether I should get it or not because I have indeed just bought another handbag which was also to my liking.

I then remembered that I could return the handbag that I have bought, so *click* I bought the handbag online yayyyy! XD

And yes, I have returned the old handbag and managed to a full refund! Alhamdulillah :)
But alas, the new bag that I have bought would take about 3-5 business days to arrive, which might be on Monday or Tuesday; I will be leaving to Vegas on Tuesday. I didn't fret much because I knew I had finally managed to buy the handbag I've been eyeing on and that is already more than enough :)

So without much expectation, I suddenly received a box today; and it was my handbaaggg waaahhhhhh :D :D Alhamdulillah, it arrived much more earlierr and I am thrilled to be able to use it for my trip!! :) :)

*here's the bag! tadaaaa :'D*

So I returned the old handbag when me and Kak Ada (my housemate+senior ^^) went to get Ecah from DC as her graduations is today and she'll be returning to Malaysia very2 soon! Congratulationss Ecahhh! :D We managed to drop by an outlet in Hagerstown and got last minute stuff for my brother and stuff that my friend asked to get :P and etc2~

I managed to shop in 1.5 hours and got:
- 2 shirts for my bro
- 3 handbags for friends
- 1 watch + 1 wallet for friend
- returned 2 handbags

and yes, I think that is a big achievement since I was RUNNING to get everything before the stores close at 9pm! XD

oh and btw, Ecah's house in DC was sooooo prettyyyy!! LOved the design and coziness it gives! :)

*see? I told uuuu! XD*

I also managed to spend a little bit of time with Chelsea and had a Gilmore Girls marathon haha XD Received a sweet card from her+her housemates! :) happy holidays Chelsea! :D

*the card! ^^*

Till next time! :)

Thank you again Allah! You really know how to make me happy heeee ^v^ *surprises are one of my favs!*

Alhamdulillah :) :) <3

Monday, December 12, 2011

12/12/2011

Assalamualaikum :)
I am FINALLY able to catch up on myself (errr on my tidiness maybeee haha) and clean my room n table, change my bed sheets and sort out my notes XD I have been sleeping with so many papers and books on my bed haha XD So more pictures! :)

N oh2 I went to Sakura for the first time today! N the food were deliciousss! :D :D

EnjoY! ;)
*today's menu: nasi hujan panas+ayam goreng+telur goreng ^^ yess I masak okaayy wlupon berasap umah :P*

*Shrimp teriyaki at Sakura!*

*Fried Cheesecake? OMG DELICIOUSS*

*Butterfly Roll at Sakuras. SUPERLY AWESOME makes u fly after each bite haha XD*

*How I try to tidy up my notes of this semester. gaahhh*

*Time to transfer stuffs into new handbag to travel! ^^*

*finally able to change my bed sheets haha :P*

*after :D*

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Goodbye Autumn In My Heart


*Part of MSC's LionDance Crew! :)

Assalamualaikum everyone!! :) long time no write eh? XD

sorry2 for the very late update! I have indeed been very very busy this Fall semester :)
Alhamdulillah, I am officially done with the first semester of my senior year :)

SOOOOSOSOSOOO many things happened in this semester alone!! XD And I'll be relying heavily on the pictures that I have collected over the semester to recall what I have been doing this Fall. So enjoy! :)
*NOTE: events reported are NOT in chronological order! XD*

-enjoyed last raya with dear friends! biggest buffet yet I think :)
*Last Raya with Pennstaters '12 :)*
*with dear housemates :)*
*dpt main bunga apiiii XD*
*not forgetting friend's open house :D*

*Solat Raya Korban :)*
- Bought a new phone: Xperia Ray! :)
it's an unlock phone I got from eBay for around $350 :) at first I wanted to get the Xperia Mini with the Qwerty keyboard, which was about $200+ with 5Mp camera. Then when the iPhone 4S came out, I realized that I really like to take a lot of pictures using my handphone. Then I suddenly came across a GOLD xperia ray with an 8Mp camera instead. *click* terus beli haha :D n is loving it up till today! :)

*My new phone! :)*

- First time experience calling 911 for real :D because our neighbor had smoke coming out of their house and our house was also filled with smoke :s thankfully no one was hurt and the firefighters came really quickly! I'm impressed :) but also kinda funny when during the emergency call they asked for my name and I said WAN :P (imagine me saying my full name haha)

*gogogo firefighters! :D*

-Met up with one of my art classes classmate like 2 or 3 years ago?? :D we lost contact and accidentally met each other during an inter-faith conference :) her first words were: "I was just talking about youuu: There's this Malaysian girl who can draw oh so beautifully, and boy can she dance! (referring to Malaysian Night)" hahaha malu2 XD So glad I could meet up with you again Lynn!! :) Such a sweet lady :)

*Me, Lynn n her daughter's friend :)*

-received an unexpected gift from my high school friend who's studying in Russia :) THANK YOU SO MUCH NIMELESHHH!!!! :D :D

*Shark wannabe :P*

- have a new 'group' for any MSC Games! But our theme color is still red! ;) Had LOADS OF FUN for the games before Thanksgiving! :)
*Red Hot Chili Pepper/Padi! :D*

- Got a new laptop: MacBook Pro 13"! :) there was a Thanksgiving promotion on campus: $200 off! So couldn't pass it up can I? N I have been looking for a new laptop for quite some time; much lighter ones and doesn't get too hot too fast. So far it has been great!! :) Battery lasts for quite some time, and I have thoroughly personalized my laptop weeeee XD

*yes gold keypads XD*

*AWESOME dolphin sticker muahahaha :P*

- Was blessed to be able to attend Change Begins with Choice :)
Met new friends, and was able to get so much encouragement by Kamran Pasha, that I could indeed realize my dream :) Insya-Allah, 10 years time! :) And the reason why I was so open during this program of exposing my strength, weakness, and especially my ultimate dream (I knew I was pouring my heart out! XD) even though there were quite a few people who attended who I was not 100% familiar with, was because I knew that was the only time I could be transparent without much judgement. And I knew that that was my only chance to get a REAL feedback of myself, and what I will do with my life. This chance may not come along again for a very, very long time. And Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for giving me that strength :')

*Change Begins with Choice :')*

- well, hurt myself again in the kitchen :P this time with a can; the lid of the can was lifted up and I was jabbing the ghee oil with a spoon because it was hard (right out of the refrigerator) and *CAK* wohooo :D *WARNING! REALLY EXPLICIT PICTURES :P*

*tadaaaa :D*

*it's closed up already, Alhamdulillah :)*

- had our very first Thanksgiving dinner that we made on our own (I only helped just a little :P)
managed to get halal turkey! :D and I went to Philly Premium Outlet, Crossings Outlet and Nittany mall for Thanksgiving this year (yessss shop till u drop!)


*otw to Phillyy! :D*

*Subuh in Philly :) Then dropped n slept in the car for like 2 hours :P*

*tadaaaa Thanksgiving dinner! :D*

*Things I got for myself ^^*

*Correlle for my future home, insya-Allah :)*

Some might say that I had fun shopping for so many cheap2 Corelle, but the truth is, I think this lot is a serious statement I'm making that I will one day, insya-Allah, be able to stand on my own two feet, have my own home and be independent. :) Insya-Allah, Allah knows what's best for me :)

-had a rather busy thanksgiving, with 4 upcoming exams and 3 papers to write, with 2 presentations! XD

*while practicing my speech for 416, I had a visitor XD*

- Joined the LionDance team of MSC! :D
We practiced almost every weekend, and Mei San is such a great teacher that she taught us almost EVERYTHING! :D Well for me except on how to be the lion because the head is soosooo heavyyy T.T But so far I had the privelege to perform using the cymbals :)


*First performance was an audition for THON, and we got through Alhamdulillah! :D*

*2nd was for UNICEF: Universal Language Event! :)*

*3rd performance: International Awareness Week! :)*


- Did the poster for 421W with my partner Izmer, and we unexpectedly won the best poster! :D Alhamdulillah, it was a complete surprise! Worth the extra effort we put into it! ^^

*tadaaa :D*
* Dr.Sillman and us! :) I will miss ur sarcasm XD*

- Finally got myself a jewelry box!
Always wanted to get one, but either didn't have the time or what I saw was not of what I wanted because I had a lot of RINGS and chunky crystal bracelets :) Found this through Amazon and was at around $90, where I accidentally clicked on a link and found it at around $49. *Click* arrrgghhh aftermathh of black friday! HORRIBLE ONLINE SALE :P but Alhamdulillah, the box is so finely made, with wood like the piano wood and when you open the lid, the drawers open as well! :D (ptotla mahal skit haha XD)

*tadaaaa :) I like!*

- Took part in THONvelopes, where we decorate envelopes that will be sent to friends who are kind hearted to give donations for kids with cancer :) Thank you very much to these four very special individuals who are willing to give donations!! :D

*Envelopes for: Sritaran, Shasha, Firdaus kanak2 manja, and Gee :) <3*

- First time eating at Babys which is behind McLanahans! not bad, with actually smaller portions than usual ;p

*oreo milkshake! :)*

*sweet potato chips! manis2 :D*

Well I guess that's it with stuffs with pictures! :D

Other events that I had without pictures were that I had the chance to present in my Family Disorganization class (sociology class) on the marriage and divorce rules on Islam, which most of my peers are not well informed of! ^^ Other than the technical difficulties, my oh so kind lecturer said it was a good presentation :') *shiny eyes*

I also had the chance to sort of do speed drawing in front of 500+ people? XD
There's another sociology class that I'm taking which had 'commercial breaks' during the class; instead of just having 5 minutes break, Sam (my awesome lecturer!) let students do performances during that 5 minutes :)

So I inquired whether I could do one commercial break, and Sam wanted me to draw while he is lecturing instead; he said it was for me to have more time to draw on the projector. Well I just agreed with his idea but I had no idea when he wanted me to do this.
So a few weeks later just before class started, he came up to me and asked whether I could draw for the last 20 minutes of classes; he was to talk about politics and tea party (OKIE POLITICS YALL :P)

There I was sitting in front of the class when he introduced me to the class (which I did not think it was necessaryyy aaahhh malu2 XD) and I started to draw while he continued his lecture. He asked the class "Can you concentrate on what I'm saying while she draws?... *short pause* No you can't." and the TA Erik switched the projector off and only turned it on when I finished my drawings hahahah XD *I knew it was a bad idea to just leave the screen on while he lectures*

Soon Erik was helping me a lot on giving me ideas on what to draw (Because u really can't get a lot of idea from POLITICS :P) and when I finished a drawing, Sam was like "I like that. Draw another one!" XD

Alhamdulillah, I think I did my best but mcm terkantoi2 jgak sbb I REALLY HAD NO IDEA WAT TO DRAW until Erik gave me ideas XD Thanks Erik! :)

N yes, ade org later on came up to me and said u were awesommeee aaahhh maluu2 XD Alhamdulillah, this actually do give me more inspiration to be better, insya-Allah! :D

Well I think then this is really IT! :)

Officially done with Fall 2011, just a semester to go before graduation.
But before that, West Coast+Muktamar 2011, here I come! :)

Take care everyone, and have a good winter break! :)

Assalamualaikum :)

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

One fine day..


It was a Wednesday, and I didn't have to go to lab that day because N9 had Isra' Mi'raj. So I planned to meet up with an old friend of mine who lived not very far away from my temporary 'home' in N9 :)

I remembered waking up in the morning

But was not rushing to have my bath and get dressed as I will always do before my housemates and I head to the lab either by bus or by car.

It was indeed a very relaxing, non-rushing morning.

We planned to meet up in the afternoon, hence I had the whole morning to myself to rest at home.

It was really very cloudy that morning.

I remembered heading downstairs to find two of my housemates, resting at the lounge in front of the tv.

I joined them, and we enjoyed the cool breeze from outside that came in through the sliding door. And it started to rain heavily, which is something that I have not experienced in quite a while since I started studying abroad.

After having breakfast and enjoying the heavy rain, I headed upstairs to have my bath and get dressed.

I was already ready around 11 that day, and my friend texted me to say that the rain might cause 'em to be a little bit late.

I really didn't mind, because I didn't have any important agendas for that holiday :)

So I lay down on my bed while waiting. It was still raining heavily outside, but I truly enjoyed it to the very last bit.
*:)*

It was also one of the days that I will never forget.

It is because I was not distracted with the internet as I would usually be if I were to finish my final examinations and spend all my time playing the internet and stuff.

But since my 'house' in N9 didn't have any internet connection, I really didn't have anything to distract me from myself, from actually enjoying the silence and peacefulness that I could not have had with all other distractions.

As I lay there on my bed, waiting for my friend to arrive, enjoying the heavy rain, with no internet, no work to do that day..

I fell asleep.

And yes, my friend did arrive later and we had a longggggg chat to catch up on old stuff over lunch XD

But I could never forget the feeling that I had when I was laying on my bed, with no distractions, no due dates, just waiting and enjoying the calm and cool rain that morning.

If that was just a little bit of taste of what it will be like in heaven, oh Allah, I definitely do not deserve such a wonderful feeling and memory, but I will always cherish that You have given this little servant of Yours to feel it :')

Alhamdulillah :')

Friday, September 16, 2011

Choosing Pennstate

*This was one of my blog post for my SOC 119 class :)*

Question was: How did you come to choose Pennstate?

*berpura2 nak melintas haha :P*

Truth be told, I had never actually envisioned myself to be at Pennstate when I was doing my foundation degree back in my home country. During that one and a half year, we were given the opportunity to choose universities that we were interested to apply at, depending on our majors. Only certain universities were available to us, as we were under scholarships.

So we could only choose 3 out of the many many different universities to choose from, to actually submit our application for. I had chosen Rochester Institute of Technology, UC Davis and Pennstate. Out of the 3, my housemate and I were aiming for UC Davis as it was one of the best Biotechnology universities available in the US. And it also required us to take an additional examination to even get into the university!

SAT 2 was not all that bad, but it wasn't easy either. And the standards that the university was looking for were definitely much higher than our scores.

In the end, I was accepted in both RIT and Pennstate. Even though I was not able to get an offer from UC Davis, I was very thankful that I had two other choices to choose from.

Only then, that I started to seriously consider Pennstate as the university that I will go to get my degree from, as well as RIT. After a lot of pondering, asking my friends and parents opinions, most of them were encouraging me to go to Pennstate. My parents reason was that Pennstate is not as cold as RIT during the winter (my country does not have four seasons, it's summer all year long XD) while most of my friends told me that they were going to Pennstate because their close friends were going there too.

But ultimately, I made my decision to go to Pennstate final was when I seeked guidance and help from Him, and all Praises goes to Him, I received a clear and heart-warming guidance. :)

So there I was, accepting Pennstate. And I am now in my senior year. I certainly have no regrets choosing Pennstate, as I know there are so many things that had happened over the past three years that I cherish that I would not have received have I not chosen to go to Pennstate. I was able to travel a lot with my friends, explore a different part of the world, get to know my religion at a much deeper level as well, and make new and great great friends. And yes, my friends and I didn't know that Pennstate was a 'party school' until we got here XD

*on the way to pennstate in the plane :)*

*late night in the HUB! :)*

*photo for merdeka in front of old main :)*

All in all, I am grateful to have chosen Pennstate, and I am grateful to my family, friends and Him for all the love and support, and I am definitely looking forward to graduating in the Spring of 2012. I will surely miss Pennstate, and the US as a whole :) It is true that there are many factors and forces that influenced my decision to choose Pennstate. But in everything that happens to us, regardless of whether we choose it to be in our lives or not, has a blessing in disguise. :)

"Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not." (Qur’an 2:216)

*biscuits and I are INSEPERABLE :P*

:)