perseverence, patience and passion

the outcome of today's performance review/appraisal left me smiling all the way home. biar lah orang kata i syok sendiri but the truth is, i'm really proud of myself and my achievement thus far. the year before ada hiccup sikit and i promised to myself that i wanted to improve and so i did. some of the review comments:

• on my teaching & subject taught :" Excellent feedback from student survey" my boss admitted that its not easy to teach the subject that i'm teaching.
• on the new module that i taught :" good feedback from module leader"
• overall comment : "an excellent year;  finishing the MSc will be a sound foundation for further research & study"..

Alhamdulillah.. it couldnt have materialised without peserverence and patience and also support & encouragement from family & friends; plus i have a good team at work.
what do i get out of this? ££ wise - nothing.. we dont get a bonus or payrise, unlike working in the industry or in corporate world (my previous employer). all that we got is recognition for our hard work. it wud be nice to be rewarded but somehow the money doesnt really matter much,  as long as i enjoy what i'm doing.

next thing - he asked me to be registered as mrics .
and i told him of my next plan after i complete the MSC - to do masters in education (by research) which he is extremely supportive. 

my boss said there's a cause for celebration.. well, i did it my way - bought a maxi dress which cost me £10 from my kedai peberet, ada sale. nak pakai kemana, thats a different story.

The Dark Knight Rises

who would have thought our pondok and playground in my backgarden  suddenly menjadi famous..

Wollaton Hall & Park puts Nottingham back on the map, when chosen as Wayne Manor, Batman's family house in The Dark Knight Rises. dalam banyak2  historical houses and manors dalam dunia ni,  WH  in this quiet kampong jugak yang dipilih.  The Dark Knight Rises is due for release on July 20th 2012, stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine; is the conclusion to the previous films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight

the following 2 photos were taken from http://batman-news.com/2011/06/25/iconic-batman-scene-to-take-place-in-the-dark-knight-rises/#!prettyPhoto[Iconic

and these are from my own  collection.

inside the hall

   front

rear

read more about the stars dining out in the city. http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Hollywood-stars-dine-city-Batman-movie-starts/story-12849189-detail/story.html

each time the bus passes wollaton park,  almost all passengers would turn to look at the hall & park, mana lah tau kut2 ter-spotted the batman, cat woman and batman's Lamborghini Aventador. .the hall and parts of the park are closed to public until saturday 2nd July.


btw EFS, how do you feel being a proud owner of seketul Wollaton Hall fridge magnet??

the truth is..

i'm so jealous and turning green with envy..full stop!

the fingers

before she fell asleep on my lap (as usual), little missy asked if she can stay up just a bit and i let her do it but not too long. and she said "i promise" and asked me to wrap my pinky to hers and said "pinky promise". and then we were joking about pinky promise and the next thing i saw, she stucked out her middle finger and said "naughty finger".. i was shocked!!

i asked "who taught u that?" and she said her sister.. i called big missy and she denied it (i believed her).  little missy burst into tears and said no one taught her. she said she got it from cartoonito, her tv channel. i wasnt sure and asked her again and she said " i dont want to get into trouble..i'm telling you the truth".

so i said to her " i wont be mad at you if you tell me the truth but if ever you lie, then you will be in trouble. never ever show "the naughty finger" at anyone  or i will cut off  your finger!"

i'm pretty sure she doesnt know the significance of  sticking out the naughty finger.

time tunnel

where has the time gone?

i digged out old pix of aisyah & lauren  taken in 2007 when they were just almost 8 yrs old and compare with their latest pix taken last friday..

aliyah & atan were born 4 months apart and have been best of friends since they were babies. main, gadoh, makan,  hisap susu  together gether bila berjumpa

 hope the kids will  remain bff. 

jump!

current trend - ambik gambar lompat lompat...

me at clumber park

 me & murni at clumber park

aisyah & lauren at wollaton park

nak lompat tinggi2 sangat tak boleh jugak, gravitational pull is too strong!

landscape

thanks to my friend Jam for introducing us to Nex 5. we absolutely love it! the best feature i must say is the Landscape mode and i just love taking pix of landscapes..here are some samples of my 'artistic' trials

Old (golf) Course, St Andrews, April 2011

view from parking layby, somewhere in Kingdom of Fife, Scotland, april 2011

serene view of Loch Tay in Kenmore, Perthshire, Scotland, April 2011

Loch Lomond is a 'must' stop whenever we go to Scotland.

 enjoying the view of Loch Lomond from Luss Pier.

 Albert Dock, Liverpool

the many views of Clumber Park & Lake, Nottinghamshire

sabun melayu

dulu2 kalau tengok drama melayu  tu kena branded as 'belia', tak rugged lah konon nya.  kalau tengok pun curi2 takut kena kutuk dengan kengkawan.

i think that negative perception about malay dramas/soaps (direct translation=sabun melayu) and movies need to be retracted. since we moved  here,  i've watched a few drama melayu online and also managed to get hold of malay movies cd/dvd.  just when some of my friends said "eh..u r watching malay movies/dramas ??" its like unheard of kan? well, as i said to my friend on fb "dah boring tgk cerita omputih day in day out. kena jugak tengok cerita melayu, nanti karang asyik tengok cerita omputih, cakap  omputih je, terkehel pulak lidah i..u jugak yg pengsan"

lately there have been lots of good malay dramas on msian tv and i was 'lured' into watching by my close friends and relatives sampai terjebak.. selalunya drama2 ni come in more than 20 episodes, aired on tv probably 4 nites a week so for me to catch up, kena lah tengok like 10 episodes per nite. macam tak ada kerja lain kan?? well, once you are hooked, thats it, you need to complete the series.. luckily encik suami wasnt bothered that i didnt go to bed until wee hours in the morning, usually after solat subuh at 3am. the most, he would ask in the morning "what time did you get to bed?" hehe..

it first started with Gelora Dihati Sarah, upon recommendation by my friend Jam; the main actors were Rosyam Nor and Fauziah Latiff.  at first i wasnt sure about Jee but i was wrong..she was a good actor. the story line was very 'menyusuk kalbu'. 2-3 nites asyik berpeluh mata.   then it was Adamaya;  some people said its a bit corny but  i enjoyed it. then almost everyone i know was talking about Nur Kasih & the latest phenomenon  Nora Elena..

ramai betul orang update pasal 'Seth Tan' or 'Atan' and menyampah dengan 'Jebon'; so out of curiosity, i started watching Nora Elena and true enough..i got HOOKED! good story line which was adapted from novel, main characters - Seth and Nora Elena were simply charismatic & awesome - good actors and of cos hensem & cantik respectively lah.  Seth especially became a household name sampai ramai lah yang angau and berangan to have a loving husband like him..well, as the saying goes "it only happens in the movies" but apparently Aaron is a family man in real life.

Ombak Rindu, a movie coming out in August will see him acting with Maya Karin and i can bet its going to hit the jack pot.

 its also adapted from a novel published about 10 years ago. soon as the new movie was publicised, ramai lah pulak berlari ke bookstores looking for the novel, even those who never read a malay novel ..dok gitu nik dy??  malu nak cakap but nik dy bought one for me too !!

now that nora elena dah habis, ganti dengan Stanza Cinta but that is shown only on sundays, lambat nak tunggu between episodes. meanwhile, last nite i started Nur Kasih.. real tear jerker.. and i finished 10 episodes and only got into bed at 3am..still banyak lagi episodes to watch..

ouch!

 we went cycling at Clumber Park this afternoon;  the last time we went was in july last year.  this time tak cycle jauh sangat due to limited time.  so we rented the bikes for 2 hours and took the lakeside route. cycle 2 hours pun dah cukup to feel the aches and pains here and there ..ye lah, last year we were 1 year younger..

and just when we thought that it wont be so busy as it was a cloudy day, we got it wrong. thats what i like about the people over here, come rain or shine, they will just go ahead with their plans regardless

this summer ada concert at Clumber Park. wish i cud go and see the artists from the 80s perform again - Level 42, Nik Kershaw, Human League and also Katherine Jenkins the classical singer. but it will be in august; kena lah respect  bulan ramadhan.

 dah janji dengan these 2 girls to take them here after they finish their summer exam.

 i just love the serenity

 yeay!! after 2 hours cycle.

 returned the bike and...

time for icecream treat..

  .

raspberry beret

who remember that song by Prince or TAFKAP The Artist Formerly Known As Prince or simply The Artist that goes like this 

"She wore a raspberry beret

the kind you find at the second hand store

Raspberry Beret, I think i love her"..

oh i was a BIG fan of Prince and The Revolution with all the big hits in mid 80s - Purple Rain, When Doves Cry and of course Kiss..

well, this post has something to do with Raspberries; our one & only raspberry plant, which we planted more than a year ago..

this year the berries are not that big cos the weather has not been good, not much sun. i picked some this afternoon and they are sweet...  

bottoms up

i bought these Jamie Oliver quirky mugs at my peberet shop; saja lah dah nampak on the shelves and reasonably priced.

As Jamie quoted on the box "these bottom line mugs are great as a gift for my mates - i really enjoy choosing the right one for the right person".. i kinda have in mind who will be the owners of these mugs..

i like this one the most. to those who are still single and ada pulak makcik2 kaypoh sibok nak carikan jodoh, just show  the bottom of the mug to their faces...

new hair do

how do you like my new hair accessories and wigs?? do i look like i'm growing old gracefully??