Summer is here!

Yes, the spring semester is over, and for students like me, its an indication that summer is here. The sun is out and smiling again, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and the deers are out and about running in the wild. As the nature surroundings becomes alive, the Kent State University oddly becomes dead. People are on their summer break, parking lots are empty and there is nobody left in the department except for foreign graduate students like myself who dreading the research work that we have to do and administrative staff who just can't wait for the day to be over.

Because of the summer break, some facilities in the Kent State University are close.  They are temporarily close or their hours of operations are shorter. This includes the gym, which is currently closed for maintenance and will reopen on the 26th of May with shorter hours of operation. But that did not stop me from my daily routine. So rather than going swimming, Paul (my exercise buddy) and myself started the habit of running. At about 6.30, I would park my car at the department, and we would run to a reserve park own by the biology department for ecological research here in Kent. I believe the park is used by the ecology and biology researchers, but it has  a nice trail for the public to use and run and enjoy the outdoors. The trail brings us all the way to the Kent State DIX football stadium. 

Along the trail, there are blooming flowers, and sometimes, we are lucky enough to see a deer enjoying the green during the summer. We tried to get closer to the deer, however, it got scared and ran away disappearing in the midst of the forest. I guess, deers are not very social beings. Along the trail, there are also a few rabbits, ducks and gooses running around. We are not the only ones running though, some people cycle, some veterans walk romantically together, and there are also young couples walking their dogs. Most of the time you see single jocks running with their Ipod.

We usually head back before 8 since it would be almost dark by then. Anyways, can't wait for the gym to be open again. While it is nice to run outdoors, i do suffer from allergies, and outdoor running just make my eyes puff up and my nose clog up. :) So that's it, a short update from me. I know I haven't written anything in my blog for  a while, I have been busy with research work and all. So buh-bye for now...and see you later on my next blog entry.

Back to work!!!

Its been a while since I've wrote anything on my blog. The last time I wrote anything was right before finals. Then I got too busy. Nope, not busy with work, but busy having fun. I traveled back home to Malaysia and had a good time. They say home is where there is people thinking of you. Yes, I miss home, I miss my family, my cousins, I miss the weather, I miss my friends, I miss the food.

But it was not long and I had to go back to Ohio and start work. But before I started work, I just had to get the vacation mood out of my system. So I went snow boarding. Yes, I figured, I have to do this first before I really start work. And so I did.

I used to remember being really good at snow boarding. Or maybe I thought I was good at it. For some reason, snow boarding is easier to me than skiing. I've learned a while back that me on skis can be very clumsy. I just can't handle two pieces of planks stuck to the bottom of my feet. I feel like a duck learning how to walk. But snow boarding comes naturally. One plank is definitely easier to handle than two. A while back I remembered falling many times and feel no pain. A while back I can go down a double black diamond with no fear. A while back I can flip in the half pipe with no concern in my mind other than how cool I'd look at the tip of the pipe.


But I soon realized that maybe I was not so good before. Or maybe the air here is like kryptonite making me weak. Or could it be the snow here is far different from Philly. Or could it be, by a remote chance that I am getting old? Neah.....that couldn't be it. So after a few tries on the staging hill, I figured I'm fully calibrated and ready to handle the fiercest hill in the valley. I used to be able to handle a double black diamond. So how much harm can a single black diamond hill do to me, right? So after taking the lift up the hill, I went for the advanced black diamond hill called TIGER. It sounds fierce enough.....and "ONE" should be careful going down a black diamond hill....especially "ONE" who comes not from a country where there's a winter season. But maybe that "ONE"...is not for Joey. Me being me arrogant self again thinks I'm superman and was eager to fly down the hill.


I slowly approach the tip of the slope and position myself in a cool stance preparing myself. As I cut the snow down the hill, the first few seconds, I was looking good. Then suddenly the speed catch up really fast...and I.....wooopppsss....Well, I flew alright...I flew down the hill like no other. I flew down the hill backwards and upside down.....Like Jack I came down the hill tumbling over and over, just without the bucket.

It was a nice session snow boarding. However, I was aching all over. I seem to have hurt my wrist much from the impact I take during a fall. And the moment I reach home, I was so exhausted I slept straight away, only to wake up realizing bruises here and there.

The next day was even worst, besides the bruises, I got myself a flu and fever.
Well, I guess now I need recovery time before I start work. This sick time will help me get out of the vacation mood definitely.

Dad with courage, mom with love.

This is a continuation from Family Visit (part 3)

From South Dakota, we drove back to Kent, Ohio on the 23rd, August and arrived back in Kent on the 24th. I was in a hurry to reach home for classes on the 25th. While being back home, I brought mom and dad shopping a lot. Mom and dad was particularly fond of the Outlet malls where mom got herself shoes from Hush Puppies, sandals from Crocs and handbags from Liz Claiborne. Dad got himself a really good deal on Samsonite travel luggage.



Also we had a chance to go to Cleveland. Particularly, to get more food. There is a really nice halal store here in Cleveland and many Asian stores that can help an Asian Muslim like myself go crazy stocking up on spices.
Mom wanted to have a gathering here for some of the nice Malaysian folks who have helped me out when I first arrived.


My small apartment is hardly a complete kitchen. I'm a bachelor so cooking is hardly a priority. Which makes a season cook like my Mom feel a bit uneasy trying to cook and entertain about 10 Malaysian's in Kent. So we also had to run to stores and get a few things like a nice serving bowl, a serving spoon, and a blender to blend the chilly. After all that, she was all happy as I helped out what I can to help her prepare the food. As always, Mom's cooking is the best.


So fast so soon, and they were already gone on the 31st. The night before, I helped them pack their bags. I was indeed sad, but always had problems showing it. Mom was emotional about it for a second, as my Dad remained calm and stayed macho.
Even all grown up, being independent for so many years alone in a foreign country, I know now that Mom never felt comfortable for me being away. I guess to her eyes, I'm still her boy. Undoubtedly, that's what a mother's love is, unconditional and always full of love. And I also realized, that Mom's strength comes from Dad's courage. I know he feels sad too, but Dad had always been good in showing a brave front, as he remain calm and assured Mom with his demeanor, that this is a parents sacrifice.

To Mom and Dad, thank you for coming and visit me. I miss the both of you a lot. I might not show it well. I guess like father like son, but I assure you, inside, I wish I could just keep my parents here in Kent. This entry can hardly utter the words of what I feel. Love you Mom and Dad, and come again next year yea....:)

Family Visit (part 3)

This is a continuation from Family Visit (part 2)

We also heard a lot of stories about the Devils tower. The devils tower is a unique monument. It is also the first
National Monument declared by the US. "Devils Tower (Lakota: Mato Tipila, which means “Bear Tower”) is a monolithic igneous intrusion or volcanic neck located in the Black Hills near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises dramatically 386 m (1,267 ft) above the surrounding terrain and the summit is 1,558 m (5,112 ft) above sea level", wikipedia.


What interest me about the devils tower is that a lot of people climb it. Once I hit my ideal weight, I will join a climbing club here. Hopefully, I will find friends crazy enough to climb up Devils tower nie.:)



After all the adventures at the devils tower, we also went to Crazy Horse Memorial. Crazy horse is the Red Indian general who defeated General Custer. He was then killed in a treaty, stab in the back. Though, some records written by white historian claims he was accidentally stabbed.
Crazy Horse memorial will also be carved in a mountain like mount Rushmore, it has been 50 years now, and only the face part is done. Eventually, the mountain will depict the exact replica on the left.

Of course, we also had to visit the South Dakota Aviation Museum. Dad was happy here. He was excited to see the aircrafts that he had flown before and the kinds of aircraft he never had the chance to fly. We also learn a lot about the nuclear rockets that was installed during the cold war. We were given a tour of the missile silos and its history.

Family Visit (part 2)

This is a continuation from Family Visit (part 1)

Being in South Dakota, we just had to go visit Mount Rushmore. The picture to the left is the faces of the famous 4 presidents of the United States. From the left, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

We had a lot of pictures here, and also learned a lot about the history of America. I shall reserve what I think of their history, because it is full of violence, but I must respect, good or bad, they have never forgotten their ancestors that helped build their nation. Yang keruh (the muddy waters) they throw out, and they just keep the good values of it. Wish that Malaysian people will learn how to cherish our history and respect our elders for the contributions that our forefathers have given us. I guess without knowing our history, it will keep us in ignorance.

A long time ago, there was about 20 million of these native Bison in the land of the Indians. They were hunted by white hunters to make coats and boots. Today, known as S.Dakota, America, there are only about a thousand left, and they are in the endangered species. This is the land where the Sioux and the Lakota tribe Red Indians used to live, the black hills and the Bad lands. There is a lot of history here and we sure did learned a lot.

They call it Bad Lands because nothing green can grow up in the Bad lands. In the olden days, the US government tried to give the land by government vouchers, which cost about a dollar or sometimes free. They tried to make people come here and build farms. But all who came failed to produce any vegetation in the Bad lands. They did managed to bring people here anyways, when they found out that there was gold at the Black Hills close to the Bad Lands.

Family Visit (part 1)

Mom and dad came and visit me in Kent, Ohio. So I've uploaded some pictures. I arrive the airport, right on time, but apparently, their flight arrived much earlier, due to a tail wind, and they have been waiting for about 15 minutes.

So by the time I arrived, I saw dad waiting....
He looked tired and pissed off. Mom then appeared from the rest room and they both looked tired. So I wasted no time, took the bags and led them to the parking lot. I put their luggage in the trunk and drove ahead to my apartment. I'm sure they wanted to rest. We rested and they slept like a baby that night.
The next day, mom's friends, Auntie Marie Jane from Toronto came all the way to Kent to meet us. They drove 6 hours from Toronto, Canada. They met in a tour trip in Europe, and have been friends ever since through email. Finally, they met again, here in Kent. So we had dinner at a nice restaurant here in Kent. After the meal, we headed back to my house, to let them try some of Malaysian specialty, the Keropok.


The next day, we had lunch with Auntie Marie Jane, and her life mate at a Thai restaurant. After the meal, we continue a journey of 1200 miles towards South Dakota. It was a long drive, and it took us about 3 days to reach there. We also stopped along the way. Here are some pictures of the BadLands and me posing infront of the National Monument, Mount Rushmore.

Chicago, Illinois

Here I was in the middle of Chicago City, at the Union Station(left). Standing and acting cool in front of the river thats flows to Lake Michigan. I found my way later to the Field's Museum(right), it was said to be the must visit place.


The museum had a couple of interesting artifacts, it was very huge, but an interesting exhibit that caught my attention was the Inside Ancient Egypt. It was said that after researchers in Saqqara, Egypt, excavated two of the original chambers from the tomb of Unis-ankh, son of the Fifth Dynasty ruler Pharaoh Unis. The mastaba (tomb) of Unis-ankh forms the core of a spellbinding exhibit that realistically depicts scenes from Egyptian funeral, religious, and other social practices. I put on my Dr. Indy Rizal hat and tried to decipher the heliographic writings on the walls. When I was younger, I always imagined to be the adventurous historian and archaeologists Dr. Indiana Jones.

After helping out pulling the large slab of stone from the pyramid's and discovering the secret of Unis-ankh and the book of the dead (me imagining again), i found myself hurrying off to search for another dangerous mystery. But I did, take some pictures before that. Here I am taking some pictures, with the Chicago City background. Think you can see Sears Tower behind me, disappearing in the clouds.



My other dangerous mystery was actually my growling stomach. I was told that a must try in Chicago was the famous Deep Dish Stuffed Pizza at Giordano's World Famous Stuffed Pizza.
I walk there and Giordano had already a bunch of people queuing up. I had to stand for about 30 minutes to try the famous pizza.
I had a great meal of cheese, tomatos, mushrooms and a really thick pizza. It was alright....it wasn't like amazing, but it was good. Good enough for me to save myself from hunger.:)

GPS to help me go around

When thinking about going for a vacation, knowing where you are and how to get there can really save you time. So since I'm going to Chicago for a visit, I was thinking about getting a GPS to help me save time from getting lost with my bad sense of direction. So I went to Best Buy to look for this electronic device people call GPS, and I found to my liking, the Magellan Maestro. It was affordable and also had some pretty interfaces and nice features. The Magellan Maestro has about 3 million ++ Points of Interest in its database and contains GPS maps for America and Canada.

After getting the electronic GPS device, I was excited to use it. Immediately I mounted the GPS device into my car. The GPS came with a mounting kit, which has a rubber sucker that would stick the mounter to your windshield. Then you can clip your GPS to the mount, and this will you keep looking forward while driving, at the same time have the GPS help you give directions. The sweet thing about it, the GPS talks to you. It shows you the directions on the GPS and at the same time talks to you and tell you which turn you will be expecting to take. It would say something like, "Right Turn in 0.5 miles".

It was all good, but after a while the rubber sucker doesn't work that well anymore, and the GPS mount keep on falling off. It still gives directions but I've learned that the GPS does not really gives you the most efficient route all the time. I guess technology is no substitute for human intelligence yet. :)

Anyway, will post more about my visit to Chicago later. Over and out.

Classes in the snow....

I arrived the Akron/Canton Airport, in Ohio at about 10pm. luckily, there was also another International Student from Italy, Aurora also waiting for the shuttle that we were suppose to take to get to Kent. I stayed over night in the temporary housing until Kak Shima came and pick me up the next day. I just had to try out living in the dorms for one day. It's been a while since I was just a freshmen student living in the dorms. But I'm a graduate student now, so I had to move out and find an apartment somewhere.
When I arrived, it was all nice and sunny. The weather was not so cold and surprisingly for the beginning of January, it was not as cold as I expected. Thank god for that. I don't think I can stand the cold weather that well anymore. I think its age. As one grows older, the body just gets weaker. But spoken too soon. After the first day of class, I managed to get an apartment, but then it started snowing. Kak Shima's kids however got really excited about the snow, so we went out and took some pictures. Above is a picture of Kak Shima's kids (Syasya, Zahin) and myself.


So I slept in the house after the first day of class and woke up early to go to class the next day. My house is damn empty for now, and I had to do a lot of shopping just to get some necessities--will talk more about shopping later. As I walk out of the door, I was surprise to see how much snow have accumulated. And it was really windy. I stop to take the morning air and took a picture.




I finally had to rush out and walk towards Kak Shima's house. Since, I'm currently a bagger who gets free rides to class for now. Thanks to Kak Shima, my rides to class are now free and I get to escape from the torturing wait in the cold for a bas. As I was walking alone, in the cold, I took a picture of myself. Well, thats an awful closeup, but thats the best shot i can take. I tried to smile, but I was trying hard to control the shivers.



Here is the walkway towards the CS department. I still had a lot of things to settle at the Student Center. So after my first class, at 9.15-10.30, I ran to do some errants. My next class starts at 12.30, so I ran to make my student accounts, and settle some other stuff that I had to do.





This is a picture of the Math Science and Computer Science building. Its the building in red, with the curvy roof top. I guess this is the building I will be spending a lot of my time doing don't know what..... Hopefully it's something to do with my PhD. hehehe

Well, that's some pictures for your eye candy.



Well, I will talk more about shopping and the pursuit of happiness soon. I really feel like a bagger here in the States. But, one needs to survive, and we have to do things to survive right....
Keep you posted later.....

Transit in China

On my flight to the US, I had to transit at Beijing, China. What I thought was unfortune, is that I had to transit at Beijing and wait there for 12 hours until my next flight to Chicago, USA. My flight from Malaysia, would reach Beijing at about 5.30 am, and the next flight out to Chicago, was at 5.30 pm. So I thought, maybe I can walk around the airport to kill time. So the moment, I reach Beijing, I got a transit pass, and the Chinese immigrations issued me a one day visa. I did try to walk around in Beijing Airport. I walk around and tried the Starbucks....
However, at 7.30 am, I was already an expert around the Beijing airport.
I figured, I will die being in Beijing for the next 10 hours. So finally, I approach the help counter and ask, how do I get into the city. And the helpful lengloi told me that I can take the bas, and visit the forbidden city. Say what.....forbidden city....get me on the bas.

So I went a head and changed some US dollars to Yuen. Paid 16 Yuen for the bas ticket towards the city. Apparently, a lot of people in Beijing knows only very little or absolutely no english words. So while buying my ticket, I had to speak a little mandarin, which was also as bad as their English. At the ticket counter, I told them I wanted to go to Beijing City, and stop at the Forbidden City. They look at me blur, and responded with an annoyed tone, ni yao shenme. So I responded Wo yao qu Beijing City, Wo yao kan Forbidden City, which in English means I want to get to Beijing City, I want to City Forbidden City. Amazingly, they understood what I'm asking for and gave me a ticket. Happy me, I got on the bas with a little fear that I might get lost in Beijing city.



At first it was scary, cause nobody in the bas spoke english, and I don't know where to stop. So I waited until I saw a red building with people around it, which make me suspect that this is the forbidden city. I came down and started walking towards the forbidden city. The forbidden city is located at the Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are 9,999 buildings. It's amazing place to visit, unfortunately, a lot of the things here are in Mandarin. So I had to get a guide to show me around. Plus its a huge place, and one can get lost in the forbidden city.




There is a river running through the forbidden city. It was so cold during this time, and I am shivering. Luckily there was no strong winds in the forbidden city, however, it was cold enough to make the river frozen. There were 5 bridges crossing over this river and if you have seen some Wong Fei Hong movies, you'll notice that people will have to walk across the river to meet the emperor. Its amazing what the emperor built a long time ago and yet it is still admired till today.







Thats the forbidden city and the large court where a bunch of soldiers used to stand infront of the emperor. The women in pink is my guide. Well, I didn't really find a guy, I was hunted as a naive tourist. She came to me, and told me that I needed a guide. She tagged along with me until i gave up and let her be my tour guide. I should have known better, but I am an inexperience traveller. So I was cheated to pay a guide who was not so good in english and can hardly understand what I wanted to know about the city. Anyways, she managed to entertain me for maybe like 2 hours until we finally came out on the other side of the forbidden city. Outside the forbidden city, was another guy who spotted a naive tourist.



And again I got suckered into going on this ride through the hunan village. The hunan village is where the mongolian settlement used to be. Here I am taking a picture infront of a hunan style house. I was told that the status of one resident is by the size of the door. A bigger door would mean you are richer, and the smaller the door is, the poorer you are. I guess it is still the same here, if you have a gate like the Sultan's house, you are royalty. But it doesn't holds true if you are living in a expensive condominium in KL.....well, times has changed.

So finally it was already close to 2pm. I needed to go back before I miss my flight. Although my flight was at 5.30 pm. I'm taking no chances, I was afraid that I might get lost.



Indeed I got lost on the way back. The rickshaw guy drop me off without giving me any sufficient clues as to where to get the next bus shuttle to the airport. I tried, but either he pretended not to understand me, or just wanted more money from me. I walked around trying to find the shuttle bus stop to the airport. But after half an hour talking to people who didn't understand me, I gave up and took the cab. It cost me 75 yuan. I didn't know the word for airport in mandarin. But luckily i got a picture of the airport. So I just showed the cab driver the picture, and told him, wo yao qu zheli (i want to go here).....showing the picture. Finally arrived at the airport and just in time to get on my flight with United Air, leaving Beijing, China to Chicago, US. What a fortunate turn of events. And an adventurous one.:)

Leaving on a jet plane...

I'm finally leaving on a jet plane and the thought of going off for the next 4 years can make one in a state of ambivalence, tearing the heart into two. So heavy hearted to leave the ones you love, but yet excited to embarked in a new adventure in life.

Since my flight was on the 8th at 12.30 am in the morning, we left the house at about 9pm. Mom, Dad, Kak Leila, Emil and Abg. Fariz came together with the same car. Kak Lanie came later, from her house with Abg. Rizman and Aryanna. While waiting for my boarding time about 11.15 pm, we took a family portrait picture. Kak Lanie and Abg. Rizman is not in the picture, cause Aryanna was already sleepy and moody, and she had to entertain her to sleep on the bench.



Although I didn't invite any friends to the airport, cause if I were to invite my friends, the airport would be packed, and I would like to concentrate most on my family during the last few hours before leaving on a jet place, Syirman and Afrezal came anyways. Syirman sneak out from work and Afrezal came right after work from cyber. Thanks guys to drop by and see me go off.






Also who came by was Uncle and Auntie who was very supportive to see me go off, also donated a book in doa-doa. Which will help me pray for guidance whenever I'm lost in a foreign land.








Finally a group picture, dad was not in the picture, cause he's the one taking the picture. Syirman and Afrezal had to leave cause Syirman got to go back to work before his office realizes that he is not around. And I had to get on board on the plane since it was already boarding time.


Just as I was going through immigrations, I look behind at my family as they wave me off. Already now, I'm feeling so lonesome I could cry. While on the plane, sitting in economy class, I looked through the window, staring at the airport, as images of my family, my friends, my belongings, my country flashes by in my mind. All that I love whom I will be leaving behind, all that I care that I will miss a lot, and all that I know will have to remain as memories. I know I will miss all of it a lot, I know that I won't be able to be part of it anymore for the next 4 years or more, and at that moment my heart feels broken, teared apart and shattered.

All I can say is, I'm leaving on a jet plane, and I don't know when I'll be back again. Ohhh, I really hate to go........

Last trip with friends, Bandung

Now that I'm waiting for the semester to start, looks like I have some time to do some writing in my blog.
So let me talk about what I did before leaving for the states. About 2 weeks before leaving for the United States,
my friends and I went to Bandung just to have some fun. We were a group of 7 people, Ayin, Syirman, Suzie, Apai, Rizduan, Afrezal and myself.

Our flight was about 9.30 am, so we were suppose to gather at the LCC Terminal at about 7.30 am in the morning. And so we did, except for the few of us. That cause some delay in our plan. Anyhow, we took our own sweet time and by the time we realise it, it was already 9.15am.

Anyway, they called our name for about 10 times and we had to hold everybody before we get on the plane. Everybody looked pissed as we were the last few to walk towards empty sits in the airplane.



So we finally arrive at the Bandara Husein Sastranegara Bandung. And so the first day in Bandung, I called my cousin Ismail, who is studying to be a doctor in Bandung. He arrange a van and a driver to bring us around the the interesting shopping places. Later on, we extended our drivers contract to drive us around for the next 3 days. I didn't shop much mainly because I had not a clue of what to buy. I'm not a shopping freak but i'm sure my childhood friend evelyne would enjoy it very much. But after going to the FOS spot of Bandung, we went to Paris.....Not Paris France, but Paris Van Java....a Paris like environment in Bandung. It was indeed a cool place to be, the cooling air, the sweet crowd....literally, they were sweet, the cool environment and of course accompanied with cool friends.

The second day we went to Jakarta.
A we managed to have some fun at Hard Rock Jakarta. Afrezal sneakingly told the band about me leaving for my Phd. and tomy surprise the band called me up stage and I had to go upstage to sing leaving on the jet plane with the band.

We like the band a lot, so finally, Afrezal and I, looked for our favorite singers and took a picture together with the band.




The third day we went to the summit of TangkubanParahu, a dead volcano crater. We didn't know it was going to be cold, so we left that morning wearing t-shirts. When we arrived the summit, we were pissed of at the driver for not telling us that it was going to be cold up the summit. We only realise that we were dope by the driver, as soon as we got down, where scores of men surrounded us to sell cold weather items. It was very windy and cold. Finally we gave up, and we had to buy cold weather clothing to stop the shivering.





After the interesting experience up the mountain, we continued to go shopping. After tired shopping for items at Pasar Besar for kain and baju melayu, we then stopped to have some dinner. It was all very interesting.










The 4th day came so soon, we had to pack our bags and went to the airport early. Its unfortunate that we had to leave so early, but all of us had to go back to work and back to our lives we call reality.

It was an interesting experience, and I shall always remember it....
It's not really the place, not really the people too, but i guess it was a synergy of these two elements, that makes it unforgetable.