C'est la vie!

By now, you've probably know that I'm back in this bad-a** town, Kuantan. Nothing new in this town; the same as how I left it two years ago. I met few friends. Oh boy, nothing beats the excitement of meeting an old friend. I haven't seen them for more than 4 years! I was gone from the blogging scene for quite a bit eh. From May to today, my head is still wobbling from place to place; as if I'm still looking for a place called home. Haha. Koya or not, I'm at home and something still feels out of place.

...that's right, I don't have my things! My closet is still empty, I don't have my shoes, bags and most importantly, NOT ENOUGH CLOTHES! A few of 'em are still on their way from Canada (maybe, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean) and some were left in KL cause our 5 bags cannot fit a Honda Fit. Sigh.

___________________________________________________

I'll tell you this much, for two months I was everywhere in North America.

So, here is my recollection of the trip.

Itinerary:

Miami - Cruising the Caribbean - NYC - Toronto - NYC (again!) - Montreal - Tobermory - London - Niagara Falls

Since this is gonna be so damn long, I'll just break 'em down to two parts. Right now, I'm beginning to think my blog talks about my travel bits and nothing else. You know, the kind where if I don't go to places I have nothing to write about (errr, maybe work stress sometimes?). This blog might as well becomes a travel blog (Harun, you there? Does this ring a bell to you?)

PART 1: Miami - Cruising the Caribbean - NYC

I went to these places with Izzy. We decided on this trip in a computer lab while trying to understand the different chemical properties between the Icelandic volcanoes and ....I can't remember what else. A lil influence from Pisau Cukur may tick it off too! (or, maybe it IS because of that movie...lol).

Miami

Miami is HOT! Everything about it is H.O.T. If you're not in ur bathing suit, you are at the wrong place! Errrr, that's me then :P No worries, if you are like me, just wear whatever you feel like wearing. So what if you get a few stares. At least you turn heads. LOL

We stayed in Decowalk Hostel (http://www.decowalkhostel.com/), which is located along Ocean Drive. Personally, this is the most luxurious hostel I've stayed in. Cheap and facing the beach, it was definitely a good choice. Ok, the restaurants around there were pricey. No doubt. But I know some people don't even bother to check 'em out. Here's the trick I figured out.

1. Sometime during dinner time, they give away coupons to dine at their restaurant. Usually, 20% discount or BOGO drinks. Some even have more. That's why we would walked from one end to the other and collect all coupons. HAHA.
2. Each restaurant has unique Chef's creation of the day. Go check 'em out. They are not that cheap, but if you like us, you can share. And that's #3.
3. Share your food! Trust me, the portion is huge. I can't finish 'em myself.
4. Try the Giant drinks, boleh share jugak kalau kedekut! They are alcoholic beverages, but we asked them to make it virgin ;) Terasa nak try drinks gedabak tuh haha. The only negative comment I can make is, the food at every restaurant is the same; making it harder to make the decision where to eat.

Ok, what is Miami without the beaches eh? South Beach is the place to be, but we had a chance to take a drive to Coconut Grooves and Key Biscayne. Both places were amazingly gorgeous! However, if you watched Anthony Bourdain's South Florida episode, you would see there are more to Miami than just the beaches. That is the food! Especially the caribbean food - the Jamaican, Haitian, Cuban and so much more. Too bad I didn't get the chance to experience all this! Damn it, what was I doing for 4 days in Miami?!! We swam sikit2 and oh wow, salt water... it couldn't get any better than this. I swam in lakes/swimming pool/hot springs/artifical pool at waterpark for the past 2 years and so, it was a nice change. The only thing is...sand got trapped in my bathing suit :(

Ocean Drive a.k.a Deco Art district.

At the tip of South Beach.

Dinner. Paella and deep-fried calamari with complimentary bread. It was sooooo good. We added Alaskan King Crab leg too ;)

Virgin Mojitos. This is the giant drink I mentioned before! We were out every night in Miami, trying different drinks at different places; but, mojitos was my favourite! Humff, I look weird in this pic. But it is the only non-blur picture I have with this monstrous drink. As you can see my lips were Jolie-ish in this picture and that's cause I tried a lip-plumpin'-lip gloss at Sephora before that :P

Cruise: Port of Miami - Key West - Cozumel, Mexico - Miami (Carnival Imagination)

I give this 6/10

It was pretty damn boring. Sorry. Other than the food, everything else is just "okay lah" and I'm being honest here. The fact that we got to spend only 5 - 7 hours at each pit stop was the reason. So, I became a tourist, not a traveler during this part of my vacation. The things that we can do onboard were pretty limited. The pool, you say? Err, too crowded. Plus, Americans are seriously overweight. Call me insensitive, but I'm not the first person to say so. Every night, I'd go to the Karaoke lounge. It was not that bad, but since we went there every night, the same people kept trying to prove to the world they can sing (more than often, they can't!). The so-called shows were at 10.30pm and I enjoyed them. The stand up comedy thing at 12am was quite okay as well. I don't get the joke for the most part. Even so, nothing beats the food.

So, I just wanna put up the food photos :p

Ahhh! Mee kuning!

(part of Lunch buffet)

Dinner on day 1 was a casual dinner. I was waiting for Kosher food, but I ordered some appetizers first. Just some fruits. When my (pre-packed) Kosher dinner arrived, I wasn't pleased at all :( I think it will be much better if it wasn't pre-packed.

Appetizer

I didn't ordered the fish, but the server just brought me the fish and said "try the fish, it's good!". When I got my "actual" dinner, I was already very full. Tapi betul lah, the fish was good! Was it tilapia?

Our server that night was an Indonesian. He gave me the fish and said "Mau nasi putih ka?" I was like, "cis..."

Lava chocolate cake for Izzy. Somehow, the server was so nice and gave Izzy extra bowl of vanilla ice cream ;)

A typical looking house in Key West. I actually love this town 'cause it has a lot of character. Just look at this house.

Key West is famous for its Key Lime Pie. I looked everywhere for it. I can say it now, I'm not a big fan of this particular cake. Sorry! But do try it anyways ;)

Izzy had a key lime ice cream. This was much better than the cake.

LOL at Mallory Square.

Dinner day 2 was fine-dining. So, you have to dress up. I kinda took it too seriously, maka make-up sikit tebal. My appetizer that night was strawberry mousse. Humff, what's up with me and fruity appetizer? Fruits fall under dessert, right??? I don't know anymore...

Lobster tail with shrimps and deep-fried broccoli in butter sauce. That's one mouth-full name. I had two servings! ;) I bet everybody that night had this. It was beyond perfect!

Docked in Cozumel, Mexico. I don't need a visa since I stayed there for only a few hours. We decided to go on a catamaran tour. The tour took us snorkeling and we had a beach party after that. I wasn't too impressed with the "coral reef" or shall I call them rocks? Sigh. They took us to a 20ft water, so the only good thing to see is the fishes. At least they were awesome fishes! Sorry, I want to think my snorkeling trip in Tioman Island seven years ago was by far the best!

Disappointment...

Beach party la sangat. But it was fun. They had kayak, those floating things etc; all free for us to use. We tried kayaking and it didn't go so well. LOL dah lama ni tak kayak. We also tried the water slide thing you see in this picture. We had to swim to it (can't walk cause amat laa dalam for a thing close to shore!). Me and Izzy slide down together and we had to swim back to shore cause neither one of us know how to float. hahahahahahaha (I'm not even a good swimmer!) Best!

Another round of lobster in Cozumel. Murah juge.

Oh, I asked Izzy to try ceviche. I tried 'em in Peru and I absolutely love it. The Mexican ceviche is different from the Peruvian as this one has cilantro and tomato. I like the Peruvian ceviche better ;)

And, the complimentary nachos served with salsa and guacamole (avocado) dip was heaven!

New York City

Is fourth time a charm? Yes!

This time, we decided to finish up all whatever is left of NY that we didnt't visit just yet: Brooklyn Bridge, Washington Square, NYU, Columbia University, Metropolitan Art Museum, the American Natural History Museum, Wall Street. Haha. Of course, still pergi Fifth Avenue, Times Square, SoHo, Rockefeller Centre, Chinatown, Central Park and all the other "must see" places! Berbekalkan map yang dibeli 4 tahun lepas yang by now dah lunyai and almost koyak, we went to all these places and I must say no city in this world excites me more than New York!

Brooklyn Bridge. Very iconic to NYC

Washington Square. If it wasn't because of the Sunday crowd, I would totally hang out here cause I just love its vibes! Instead, we decided to go to Union Square. Bought a frappucino at 1/2 price (lucky!) and lepak there. The best part is, the park has free wi-fi. Humff, just look at the world we live today! Be grateful y'all!

The flatiron building. Imagine trying to fit the whole building into one frame! It was a tough one ;) A must shot, nonetheless.

At a second hand bookshop. I was looking for 1984 by George Orwell. They did have it, but the condition was really bad; so I can't bring myself to buy it.

Columbia University. I would be a happy kid if I go here for school! Bought a copy of 1984 here lol (baru page 17!).

@Mets! Paid whatever you want at this this museum (applies to the natural history museum as well). Ok, I enjoyed this museum much more cause I've seen lots of mineral, fossil, dino reconstruction by now; so, another visit to a museum to see similar items was very demoralizing! But not for Mets. I paid $2 je and I got to enjoy the beautiful art works. Kedekut sikit lah :D

Humff, that's all for now :) Letih tau tulis nih. Another quick update, got a call from petronas and Alhamdulillah they offered me a job. I'll start my PIPE orientation program next week. Wish me luck y'all. I'm actually excited for this! Yeay, my first real job!!

p/s: sejuknya rumah bile hujan lebat!

Back in Kuantan

wow, ramai yang masih melawati blog ini walaupon takde update!

oh teramat sorry. i will give u an update real soon. baru dapat internet dalam rumah di kuantan :P sebenarnye, internet dah ade tapi tak ingat username hahahaha. mmg noob punye mistake!

ape2 pon i'm back in kuantan. i don't know how long i'll be here, but i told petronas the earliest date i can start working is july 15. so, lets see what happens :)

if you happened to be in kuantan, give me a shoutout eh. i'm still using my old number. pls tell me you still have it! if not, pm me dekat facebook.

p/s: tengah addicted baca dragonball, hahaha. mentang2 now adik dah habes collect all 43 buku. weee! sampai barang2 dalam bag pon belom habes keluarkan!

Bag for sale

Ok, I'm back in Canada after my two weeks vacation to Miami - cruising the Caribbean - New York. I must say, as much as I like Miami and the cruise getaway, the highlight of my trip is still New York. That city never fails to fascinate me! I'll put up pictures and tell you more bout my trip later cause right now, I don't even have photos to brag about the trip. Haha, I gotta get them from Izzy later!

Anyways, I'm in Toronto right now. Crashing at Sarah J's place until early June. So, right now nak jual barang! But not mine, tapi Sarah J punye.

It's an authentic Coach Parker Hobo bag. It retails at $269 + tax (RM900+), but Sarah wants to sell it for RM600. It's cow leather, new with tag and it comes with a dust bag. The size is just great, big enough to put all your personal items (cellphone, purse, iPod, lip gloss etc). In terms of functionality, it is a great bag for day or night purposes. Shopping to a fancy dinner, boleh sangat kot pakai bag ni. The bag is in grey, so pretty much fit/suitable with any colour.

Let me know if you want it a.s.a.p! Sarah is going back to Malaysia in July, so you can have it then :)

The bag with the dust bag. You can have the paper bag too if you want it. Haha

More pictures...

New with tag :)

Later gators!

-FZ

dream drama

a dream is a dream

i woke up the next morning wondering why it happened the way it happened

and i must know why it happened

cause i was happy

very happy in my dream

everything was cute, to say the least

everything was right, to say the least

and everything was just insanely perfect, to say the least

i woke today feeling like that

although, the truth that still remain is

i don't even know this person personally

....insane

p/s: i want you ugly, i want your disease. Huh. that's bad romance y'all

Tripping Headache

My mom and sister are coming over in about 1 month! I am excited, but little that I know planning a trip for them is a headache! Mainly cause I have to rent a car and in Canada, you cannot return the car at a different location than the pick up. That is headache #1.

Headache #2 comes from time. My sister is such a genius she plans to stay for only 10 days in Canada. Not a problem if Ontario is the size of MALAYSIA or UK. With time constraint, more factors weighed in, especially bus schedule. When I told her everything is not within 3 hours like Malaysia and UK, she said "Apesal Canada ni besar sangat?"... Sigh to that.

I hope Headache #3 doesn't last forever, which is problems with online booking. I tried twice to book a flight ticket for me and my mommy from New York back to Toronto. I hope you know that I won't be flying at all if time is not a limiting factor. I don't mind a 10 hours bus ride to Toronto. Urgh, please be okay tomorrow Travelocity!

So, in order to show my family what Canada has, I am taking them to Toronto, Montreal, Bruce Peninsula and Niagara Falls. Cukup lah tuh :)

Headache #4: I haven't pack my stuff to leave London Hall for good yet.

Headache #5: I haven't fix my thesis and send it for printing.

Headache #6: I haven't write a report and thank you note for the companies that gave me their samples.

Bahahahaha number 4,5,6 is entirely up to me.

I think sleep is good remedy for all my headaches.

Later gators,

FZ

p/s: I bought Brave New World yesterday for $17. Good price! I am still wearing the same tshirt as workout just now. Siap terlupa nak mandi :( FYI, I am working on toning my arms. LOL

Times stops now

I am lazy.

I am allowed to be lazy.

I AM the definition of lazy right now!

Even writing this makes me lazy.

But I can't afford to be lazy right now cause I want to tell you this:

UNDERGRAD? Done!

April 23. Friday. 5pm. Done. Done. and Done

I can't even described how I felt at that time. I wanted to shout "Exam whaaaaaaat????", but Somerville House is way too elegant for a freakish undergrad kiddo to scream her lungs out. I giggled instead while covering my mouth with my jacket. Izyan cakap Hishhh. Tak otai laa tak jerit. Blehhh.

That night was great for so many reasons. Not only I stuffed myself with perogies+fries and yummy Choc+Strawberry milkshake at a 1950s themed diner, I also went next door to a Lebanese restaurant and had BBQ chicken Shawarma! Muahahahaha! Man, I was so bloated after that. If I had Marble Slab coupons with me, rest assured that place is next!

After many unsuccessful attempts to bug people with my "I'm done!!" phone calls, I ended up watching my favourite TV show, Survivor. Oh I love this show. After every episode, I'll read Jeff Probst's blog. Then, Stephen Fishbach's blog. Then, I'll take a look at Addicted to Survivor group on Facebook to see thoughts and comments about the latest episode. Crazy much? You can bet on it. And most of the time, Izyan lah yang terpaksa dengar my craziness for this game. Anyways, last week's episode was insane. I never said WTF and sh*t so much to my lifeless-laptop screen ever....until last Friday night. Even when Yau Man made that ill-fated deal with Dreamz I didn't shout WTF. What happened? LOL Parvati gave both her hidden immunity idols to Sandra and Jerri. Bold move? YES YES YES! Nak elaborate tp nanti I get carried away. Again, terpaksa explain kepada Izyan kenape ade suare2 kasar dan kurang sopan pada malam tuhhh......

_____________________

FREE TIME:

Now that I'm all done, I'm looking forward to do some reading, believe it or not! I've always been a fan of non-fiction books. You would not see a fiction novel at all in my room. All scientific books and magazines (plus traveling and cook books!). But now that school is over for me, I'm thinking of reading something other than non-fiction books. I shall start with the Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. A book given to me by my dad when I was 13. It has been 10 years since then. I read but could finish it as it was too complex for me. So, this is my redemption...must read this book!

So, any other suggestions?

______________________

Two weeks ago, I attempted to write about Glaciation in Malaysia for my glacial term paper. Little that I know, Malaysian articles/journals/bulletin are so hard to find online. I had to switch my topic to Glaciation in the Tropics with a short review on Mount Kinabalu. Yes, our beloved Mt KInabalu, which is NOT the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia, had glacier before. I was very intrigued about this, but the only pertinent paper on this was not available and it dated 1967! Ohmigod! I wished I could write more, but I just don't have the source. Instead, while googling for this topic, I came across some of the most stunning photos of Mount Kinabalu.

The picture below is from Jimmy Chin, an experienced climber during a climb called Borneo Big Wall in Mount Kinabalu. This was no easy climb as you can see from this picture! I called this the route less taken (tak original sangat :P)

For more Jimmy Chin Borneo Big Wall photos: WEBSITE

Now I wish I can climb!

Check out the video of the climb:

Part 1 of 8:

Borneo Dispatch Video #1 "Kota Kinabalu"

(From borneobigwall.blogspot.com)

I have more things to write about but I'm lazy, remember?

Take care, enjoy your summer!

Later gators.

FZ

PS: I hope I've given enough credit to these people as I used their vid and picture here. That's why I had only 1 photo and video and for more, you have to visit their website!

Of papers and books

Sebenarnye, sikit je bahan bacaan untuk final exam. This pile is for 3 exams: Petroleum Geology, Glacier and Vertebrate Paleontology. ALL ARE MY ELECTIVES. Well, now I better don't take this for granted. The more I study, the more sleeping time I'll have.

- FZ

p/s: lets cut down our paper fetish! use recycle paper! they can be a lil pricey, it's all for a good cause.

KT at 16 and otai-ish

Back when I have not seen the rest of the World.

It was a weekend trip to Kuala Terengganu (KT). I went there with my siblings and my dad; I don't remember why my mom didn't join us.

This story has loopholes. Mainly cause it was 7 years ago, right? Hehe.

Awi Yellow House, Pulau Duyong (Duyong Island).

This is the equivalent to a hostel. Nonetheless, I do think all the hostels I've stayed in are more elaborative than this. This place has the BASIC of everything. You walk into the small hut (as in this picture) and all you see is a double bed. That's all. Maybe a few shelves, if you lucky to get a room with it. No fans, just windows. Considering you are on an island in the middle of a river, it is quite windy and I don't remember complaining about the heat.

The room is RM15/night, murah dowh. The price could have changed over the years. There is a kitchen that you can use, a mini library, a just a few benches for you to hang out (some things might have changed since the last time I went there). Worth the money lah. I stayed in Hotel Seri Malaysia and some fancy hotel in Batu Buruk Beach (I can't recall the name) before, but I have more stories to tell about this place than the other two.

Anyways, you may not think highly of this place, but I'd say don't judge a book by its cover. This place attracts more foreigners than other places I've been in Malaysia. Ok, my memory is not that good, but I remember meeting a few Japanese here. My dad met a few more, and he even went cycling with them. I was a shy bunny dulu (Ngeee) I don't really know how to communicate with people from other countries. My dad jer semangat. They typically stayed in Terengganu for 1 month, so a RM15 room is good for their budget. Agree!

Pulau Duyong is a boat maker island!

I can't say for sure if these two were built in Pulau Duyong, but if you are here, you can just randomly walk into somebody workshop and see how it's been done. I did, but I didn't have any photo :( If I knew I'll be writing about it 7 years later, I probably would have taken the photo. Haha. From my very vague memory, it is just a open workshop. You'll see the body of the boat there. Since it's so big, you have to be on a platform to see the interior. Quite an experience. I don't know many boats made in Pulau Duyong, but I remember one boat in particular 'cause the boat docked at the yellow house and I can see it's name clearly, Burong Bahri. I actually googled it, here.

You'll find some photos of boat making as well in the website. Probably, they make miniature boat as well, that'll be cool to have :)

My dad and a local, at the jetty

I was just standing there thinking, we could have taken the car. But it's so typical of my dad making us walk to everywhere our feet can take us!

Boat. Ngee. It takes you from the island to mainland for 50 sen. Cheapos.

Daddy berbajet best with his Nikon D100. I have this camera with me right now.

Hah, he gave the camera with the zoom lens attached to it. Now I can't take "normal" photos, without being too close to it. Sigh. He said, that zoom lens is the lens he's been using all this while. Then I saw this picture, AHA! Kantoi, the lens in this photo is not the same as the one I have right now. Adoi. I'm still playing around with the camera, so, the photos are still not that good. Muahahahha.

btw, Kurus dowh my dad ;)

My brother at 14 and muka selenge. Hurm, he was carrying a Deuter 30L (or 25L) backpack and right now, I'm wondering what could he be bringing in it? Huh. Banyak nye barang...

Well, like I said my dad is big on walking, so we pretty much walked everywhere that day. It would be nice if I remember, but my memory is the worst. Fardia has a better recollection of our childhood. Haha. I remember walking all the way to some hill in the middle of Kuala Terengganu where you can see the view of whole KT from up there (equivalent: Bukit Bay Route, Kuantan). You don't need some fancy skyscraper for this ;)

A mosque. I was in a beca when I took this photo....

Terengganu Museum. Correct me if I'm wrong, but somebody told this is the biggest museum in Malaysia. I kinda like this museum. They have cool stuff in there. But don't bring big bags, they don't allow you to bring in it. We couldn't go in during this trip cause of that.

Since we couldn't go in, we hang out around the museum and saw the "outdoor" exhibition a.k.a all the boats. I remember Fardia kene gigit something....bengkak2 after that LOL

A Boat. You can actually go up and see what's onboard.

Is this a fisherman boat or what? Can't tell, but it sure don't look like it.

Onboard.

Sabar T28 boat.

I think I have to go back of the sake of completing my story ;) BTW, these photos were taken from my Fujifilm 1.3 Megapixel camera. Huh. As sad as it sounds now (that it was only 1.3 Megapixel), that camera is the BEST first digital camera anyone can have (my dad bought it for me when I was 14)!

You might be wondering, where is me?

Haha, too bad I didn't wear tudung yet back then, so I can't show you my picture. Anyways, just imagine a tomboy in a baggy tshirt, jeans, cap, Adidas sneakers, Oakley sunglass (the fancier the better!) and a backpack. I thought I was cool. Linda said I was very "otai" back then. Now, I'm "Paris" to her. LOL

OK, here me out, I must go back to complete this story! Makan part tak masuk lagi :( that's cause I don't remember. I think I had Indian food, lots of seafood and really old coffee shop. Oh the bread shop at Kampung Pulau Kambing is the best! Freshly made bread ;)

Probably you'd say, then why write this story if I don't remember most parts. Oh well, I wrote an entry for all my other trips to Orlando, NYC, California and Peru; so, this is a must as well!

So y'all, tak nak ikut?

This could be my last post before my final exams next week, unless I want to bug you with my "stress nyeeeee" post.

GOOD LUCK gators

and I'll see you when I see you.

- FZ

The end

It's just around the corner. I can almost see the finish line.

After this, no more student discount...

Good Luck in your final exam lovelies.

-FZ

p/s: One more essay due this Monday. Tadi due satu essay. Ini test shot, belom order grad photos lagi :D So many muka pelik to choose from. Humfff

(PHOTO: by betaphotos.com. I had fun at the photoshoot LOL)

23

This post is meant to be short.

I turned 23 two days ago and I can already feel that this year is going to be crazy! With 2 weeks left of school, I'm grabbing all the time left to enjoy the last few remaining days as an undergraduate student. I still don't know if I'll be hired by Petronas or not, but I want to keep a positive mind about it.

Birthday

Kak Asiah invited us over last Sunday for a bday celebration. Sarah baked me a cake (Yeay!), we ate Bakso (a.k.a Mee Sup with meatballs) and we watched 2012 (OMG!).

I love all my friends for remembering my bday; a few called (even all the way from Malaysia!), but most of them wished me through Facebook. Either way, I'm happy. As for more bday celebration, Izzy made a reservation at Dragonfly Bistro for dinner (http://www.dragonflybistro.ca/). It's a Dutch-Indonesian restaurant. Later, we went for ice cream at Marble Slab ;) Thanks again y'all for the bday wishes!

My bday cake! Thanks to Sarah B.

"I want to arrange the candles"

The kids wanted to have 23 candles on the cake!

Time to sing the "Happy Birthday" song!

...still singing

Make a wish (but, I forgot) and blow the candles!

At Dragonfly Bistro. This is what you call "Don't eat and talk at the same time". Well, I still love this shot! (c: Izzy)

I had Lamb ribs with potato and veggies

DELICIOUS~!!

Izzy had Steak Diane with potatoes and veggies.

Good food. Good place to dine.

A bday gift from Izzy.

Love it.

A bday gift for myself: Moleskine Limited Edition Woodstock notebook.

A new diary to replace the old one that's running out of pages to write.

Maybe this was taken 23 or 22 years ago :)

That's my bday story. What's yours?

Later gators.

- FZ

p/s: In my opinion, 2012 is a really bad movie. As a (future) Geologist, I guess I will be safe, if Earth ever succumbed to such disaster.