Its Winter & Real Snow!!

It was snowing up in the mountains of Oita. Since this year is our last year here so we went up with the other Malaysian. Our first time driving on a snowy road was really challenging and exciting! Look at the picture u will know... After coming here, I felt like I am in Hokkaido or maybe even better!

Road to Chojabaru. Jantung bunyi duk dap duk dap. Specially lepas tgk keter yg pakai rantai snow pun bleh terbalik....

Baby Ryo with his snow suit. Dah besar dah Ryo ni, rase mcm baru jer bersalinkan dia :-(

Harris bukak payung sbb snow dia kata hihihi

Kerana kejakunan maka kena amik gambar ni. hehehe ;P

Dan juga gambar ini. Nak buat angel la konon hehehe 

Mr. Lepad in freezing process...

I used to regret buying this Hally Hansen jacket but not anymore. I was warm the whole time there :-)

It has been 6 years

Today is our 6 years anniversary. We had had our up & down during these years. Kinda normal I guess. I hope for a more joyful years ahead of us.

This was in 2003 right after we become a couple. It was a first trip to know each other la konon.

Our solemnization day. December 24, 2004. Pegang dagu mcm nak tercabut! hahaha

Wedding reception at UIA Hall. Dec 25, 2004. Dont really have a nice pictures coz our photographer that day use a non-digital. Gambar cantik ada kat Msia...

 Then in 2007 we become 3.

Now, 2010 we are a total of 4!!

How time flies! Looking at our pictures together make me feel how I am unable to live without him & my babies beside me...
Abg thank you for loving me never end and accepting a very difficult person like me. Lets grow old together! Love you!

December is about....

December is all about winter, holidays, weddings & anniversaries. This remind me of my wedding anniversary this Friday.

Like always we will take a lunch at our favorite French restaurant beside the beach. It is supper nice food and view there. We used to celebrate by eating at night but after Harris was born. We changed it to lunch date instead. Malam2 xde sape nak tlg tgk anak. Nak carik baby sitter pun susah kat Jepun ni.

We also exchange present on this memorable day and I've been thinking of what I want this year.

I would love to have a key case by LV. The below red one is nice.

This multicolor also nice. Tapi....

Kopak la poket laki aku... Then I've been thinking maybe could stay somewhere cold during this weekend. Then I found this cottage at Kuju Highlands.

The room look sooo comfy kan?

The onsen also seem very nice. I think it would be very cold la with lots of snow around. I think this pic was taken in summer...

This weekend going to be super cold & I am hoping to find a place as white as the picture. Can wait!! :D

P/S: Pictures were taken from several websites.

I like it on my lap

Last week xtau nak pi mana dah sejuk2 ni, we all decide to go to Nitori. Shopping place mcm IKEA tp from Japan. Brg2 murah & quality pun ok. Saje pegi nak beli barang utk bawak blk Malaysia...

Mase tgk2 brg terjumpe tempat lapik laptop. I dont know about others la. I like my laptop to be on my lap. Dah nama pun "LAP TOP" kan! Sy sgt suka duduk atas sofa & main computer. Kalau dulu xbleh riba lama2 sbb panas. Tp skrg bleh duduk atas sofa sambil tgk internet. :)

Dah lama dah carik benda ni. Last time mase blk Msia, nampak dlm buku catalog IKEA. Pegi carik kat kedai. Dah habis katanye. Frust jugak la mase tu sbb.

I love it so much! Setakat gerak sikit2, pc xakan jatuh punye sbb mcm ada grip sket. Span kat bawah sgt la fit dgn peha. Nak duduk bersila pun bleh tau!!

Lastly, yg penting skali harga nya yg sgt la berbaloi. Only 699 yen! Tak sampai 25 ringgit tu.

 

Mr. Lepad

We recently bought a second hand car. We named it "Mr. Lepad". There ada gambar kat bawah.

We bought it at a very reasonable price of about 1.2 million yen (about 40k duit Msia), tax nak bayar kat Msia nnt pun almost 40k including shipping etc. Total on Msian road approximately 80K. Kira oklah sbb kalau nak beli kat Msia mmg tak mampu...

Skrg kena tanggung 2 kereta. Satu lagi keter Honda Fit. Kami dah pakai lama dah. Almost 5 years kot. Honda Fit ni best sbb very fuel efficient. Sebulan minyak about 10,000yen (RM360) jer, siap hari2 naik bukit A*P*U. Skrg minyak sajer dah double dr dulu. About 20,000yen (RM720) a month. Padahal gune Mr. Lepad weekend jer... 

Skrg minyak kat Msia naik lg. Ape la nak jadi nnt. Gaji hubby mase tu ntah brape pun xtau. Kena budget btul2 la nampak nye.....

Coach Calendar & Salam Maal Hijrah

Again it is the time of the year to think about new resolution. Happy Maal Hijrah everyone!! My new resolution would be to do more good deeds this year.

As a start I will be a volunteer at the nearby elementary school as a translator to the new msian students there. I really pity them having no translator. I really understand how they feel because I was in their shoes too some 15 years ago...

But then I had a translator that really help me go through the hard time studying at a Japanese Junior High School. All in all, I luv doing things that really good for my heart lah.

Ok, enough about that actually wanna show off my goodies from a magazine I bought recently.

 Its a Coach calendar collaboration with the WITH magazine. 

I love Coach and also calendar! Who can live without a calendar kan?

I luve it when they sell their calendar with extra month. 

This one start from this year December. 

Senang terus bleh guna lepas beli.

 What I dont like about this calendar is its May section. 

My birthday month.... Tak chantek laaa... :(

Other month sections are just nice!!

Dok pk2 bleh show off if I have deskwork nnt blk Msia hehehe ;P

P/S: Picture quality not so good. iPhone 3G la, nnt kena update yg baru ;-)

Minyak oh Minyak!!

As a consumer, I never like anything that I am buying to increase its price. Specially the necessary things. Kat Jepun mmg susah sgt nak jumpe anything yg naik harga dlm masa satu tahun. Aritu derang nak naik kan harga mayonnaise 10yen pun dok tunduk2 mintak maaf. Itu pun dia naik harga after 10 years not doing so...

Semlm tgk hubby bersungguh2 tgk computer. Ingat tgk fb ker blog org ker. Rupe2 dia tgh baca report pasal Proton sbb dia nak tulis something dlm note fb. Kalau la thesis pun wat camtu kan bagus!!

Anyways, his writing was rather interesting & I would like to post it here too. Selamat Membaca!

===========================================

♪　Enjit Enjit Semut..Sapa Punya HIDUNG Naik Ataaaas...♪

Minyak oh Minyak, seme tgh kecoh bincangkan isu hidung plastik minyak naik lagi.
Sampaikan yang bukan pakar ekonomi pun sebok bahaskan apa KERAjaan kita perlu fikirkan demi Rakyat yang Didahulukan.

Dahulu sungguh!

Maka, aku pun nak jugak jadi pakar ekonomi tak bertauliah since ada kawan2 lama aku wondering kt Japan ni tahap inflasi dia mcm mana.

Nah, aku kasi ko beberapa info kt sini, then ko agak2 inflasi dia teruk ke tak. AKu tak khatam lagi kitab utk aku definekan tahap inflasi negara hipokrit mata sepet ni.



*Yen have been converted to RM for better understanding

=====================================
                                        JAPAN
=====================================
Gaji Univ Fresh Grad : RM8,000/month
Petrol : RM4.80/Liter
Gula : RM6.30/kg
NEW Honda Fit (JAZZ) RS 1.5 : RM65,000



---> Untuk disamakan dengan gaji univ grad kat Malaysia yang puratanya bergaji RM2000,
maka semua item di atas akan dibahagi 4.



=====================================
                                        MALAYSIA
=====================================
Gaji Univ Fresh Grad : RM2,000/month
(SEPATUTNYA) Petrol : RM1.20/Liter
(SEPATUTNYA) Gula : RM1.60/kg
(SEPATUTNYA) NEW Honda Fit (JAZZ) RS1.5 : RM16,250


Setelah di analysis menggunakan hukum Probit di dalam SPSS:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Pernah senior Oita Uni PhD cerita, zaman dia dulu awal 90-an fresh grad gaji (about) RM1,800, tp skang ni pun fresh grad baru RM2,000. Sedangkan, dulu Teh Tarik 60sen, Proton Saga xsampai RM20,000 pun.

2. Jepun TAKDE LANSUNG sumber Petrolium, tapi bleh jual minyak lagi rendah pada kita. Kerajaan Jepun ada jugak tetapkan harga syiling pada bahan api, tapi memberi kebenaran kepada setiap syarikat minyak utk untuk tentukan sendiri harga minyak masing2. Hasilnya, healthy competition melahirkan persaingan yang sihat. (Eh ape ayat aku ni ...)

3. Gula jepun dah tukar dah buat dari ubi, bukan tebu lagi. Tu sbb dia bleh jual murah kot. Dan antara top 3 terkaya kt Malaysia adalah taukeh gula, Robert Kuok.

4. Menteri kita asyik2 dok keluarkan statement "..harga minyak kita jauh lebih rendah kalau nak dibandingkan dengan UK, US dan negara Asean lain..". Salary tak gheti pulak nak buat perbandingan? Kawan lama aku sorang ada keje kt Spore, skang siap pakai SUBARU Impreza lagi. Aku rasa kalu brader tu keje kat Muar je, nak angkat Proton Inspira pun ketar kepala lutut..

5. Antara sebab2 sebeginilah ramai tenaga professional rakyat Malaysia yg berkhidmat di luar negara agak liat utk pulang ke tanah air.



ps: Pesanan kepada kerajaan Malaysia, sayangilah rakyat marhain anda sebelum rakyat berubah kasih, buruk hidungnya padahnya nanti...

Fit (JAZZ) RS 1.5 Modulo Spec.

 

University Accreditation

When I decided to go to A*P*U in 1999, accreditation never once came across my mind. I decided to go to A*P*U because the university program is totally different from other local universities in Japan. My university courses are conducted in dual language both Japanese & English. I was at that time a Japanese basis student. I also received an honors scholarship due to excellent achievement in high school.

Even after achieving my BBA, accreditation never really matter that much because I worked with a non-governmental agency for a year before going back to Japan for MBA.

A*P*U accreditation problem came across me when I was in my first year of PhD study. A Professor here, that has a triplet son, one of the triplet applied a job at U*N*I*M*A*S. He actually got a job but suddenly got a rejection because our university is not accredited by JPA. Only then, I realized that accreditation is really a big deal. If I want to work in a Malaysian university, A*P*U better be accredited!

So after his son experiencing this difficulty, he made an accrediation committee including me, hubby & his other triplet to make a paperwork to apply for accreditation. Later the money I received from this part time job was transform into a brown Guccissima shoulder bag hehehe ;P

That was in 2007 and its going to be 2011 soon. Still no accreditation!!! An insider informant said that "pakcik" (nama dah kuar dah aritu..) from JPA simply cannot do his job properly and because of that I am in trouble if I want to find a job in the government service.

Its weird right? When almost all the Malaysian grad school students here are government officer? Well, for them its ok because there is this 'pekeliling' saying that Master degree and above do not need accreditation. Only, bachelor degree need accreditation by JPA. What a bummer!!! Always something for u guys!

 

During a festival on campus...  

Going Home Soon...

I have been living in Japan from the age of 14 and now I am 30. At last, next year March we are planning to go home for good. I have a very mix feeling about this. Half of me saying, "Yes! Finally I am leaving this place for good!" But another part of me saying, "How I am going to cope living in Batu Pahat!" Yes. There is where I am going to live soon!! A place very alien to me. I still do not know what I am going to do there... My PhD work is going no where. Hubby said I can apply a lecturer job with my MBA at his university. But the thing is that I dont really want to work at the same place as his. Most probably we will be in the department if I go work at the university.

Plus, I really need my university to be accreditized by JPA as soon as possible. The officer at JPA, En. Ali Jabar (kan dah kuar name!) is not so helping... What else that u want la for that senate meeting? All information we gave already!!! Ckp berabok but when its work time tetiba jer itu xbleh ini xbleh. Sabar jer la dgn mereka2 itu!!!

Or, maybe I can start a business when I go back. Start a Japanese language tuition ker for a start. I can start small and see how it goes....

Aiyo! So much to think & I better stop now!

Gambar hiasan. 

Baby Ryo yg dah ada lesen L utk berjalan!

Can U Spot The Different?

Kat Jepun skrg ni tgh musim luruh, kat mana2 ada byk sgt daun yg berbagai warna.

Since kami pun dah nak blk tahun depan & keter Lepad pun baru sampai maka kami pun tiap2 minggu akan pergi tgk daun momiji di sekitar Oita.

Tahun ni sbb tetiba jer cuaca jd sejuk, maka daun merah pun mcm kurang menjadi sket.

Tak sempat nak properly tukar warna dah gugur...

Ni gambar kami utk thn ini...

 Ni di Futago Temple. Budak sorang ni xbleh kalau xberlari..

 On the way naik Beppu Ropeway. Dlm cable car.

 Ini pula di Kyusuike. Tempat glamor di Kyusu ni.

Ini di Oka Castle, baling2 daun.

Ini Yujaku Park. Can u spot the different???

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?

?

Jawapan: Itu reflection pokok di dlm air....

My First Self Made Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki with Recipe

This is my first self made Hiroshima Style Okomiyaki. I usually make a normal Okonomiyaki. This one is more challenging coz need to have use 2 frying pans and have to flip flop so many times hehehe We even make the sauce too because the normal Otafuku sauce have meat flavor... 

THE RECIPE

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

1/3 Cabbage

1 bag bean sprout

4 bags of yakisoba noodle

1 bag squid tempura (or sliced meat)

5 eggs

1.5 cup water

1 cup flour

1/4teaspoon salt

Green laver (Aonori)

Dried bonito shaving (Katsuo bushi)

Green Onion 

Okonomiyaki Sauce

Salad Oil

Direction:

1. Shred cabbage.
2. Beat 1 egg in a bowl, add water and the flour and mix them well until smooth.
3. Heat oil in frying pan A (you need to use 2 frying pan!) and thinly spread one full ladle of mixing (2). Put one full hand of shredded cabbage, bean sprout and squid tempura or sliced meat. Then drop half ladle of mixing (2) on the top to glue the vegi.
4. When the mixing of the bottom gets brown, turn it over.
5. Heat the oil in frying pan B and cook with okonomiyaki sauce the yakisoba noodle, Put (4) over it.
6. Break an egg on frying pan A, break the yolk using a chopstick and put (5) over it.
7. Turn it over and put it on a plate. Sprinkle okonomiyaki sauce, chopped green onion, green laver and dried bonito shavings.

Sauce:

Kicap ABC + Tomato Sauce or,
Tonkatsu Sauce + Tomato Sauce + Sugar
Combined them until you like how it taste.

The Last Aidil Adha in Beppu

Salam Aidil Adha to all Muslim people out there!!

As always, our family photo after the morning prayer at Tanoura beach.

It was very cold and windy day though the sun was very bright.

Then I had mini open house. This year menu was Nasi Ayam & Sagu Gula Melaka for dessert. 

About 30 to 40 people came. Alhamdulillah!

At night we had tahlil with M*E*B*I friends at the mosque.

Again makan-makan lagi lah :D

This is Ryo bento I made this morning. He have a trip to Mochigahama Park.

I really had to think what to make for his bento. Even bought a bento for babies magazine!!

The very right is sweet potato dessert I bought with a face of Anpanman.

It has been a Very long time...

Almost 10 months I havent been updating. Well, the normal reason would be I was VERY bz doing everything and of course there this FB that making me more bz than ever. Seems like FB is the new necessary thing in my life! Just cant live without it....
So many thing had happen in my life these passed months. Happy things, not so happy things, irritating thing, biasala masalah kehidupan specially dlm community kecik ni.... Benda kecik pun bleh jadik beso...
Anyways, since its autumn and life is getting back to its normal track. I hope to write more here. I really miss writing here though I know I am not so good doing so... Do enjoy my pic below taken last Saturday at Oka Castle Ruin in Taketa City, Oita.

WE ARE FOUR!

That Day He Was Born

My due date was actually on the 28th Dec 2009. But on that day xrase ape pun. Siap pegi class aerobic lg nak bg cepat bersalin & senang beranak. Akar Fatimah pun dah minum beberape kali. Even my sis yg tinggal di Saga tu pun dah sampai & dok tertunggu tunggu bila la baby Ryo nak kuar. We even went for karaoke lepas hantar Harris ke nursery ;P

 

Me & my baby sister

On 31 Dec 09', went for another check up in the morning b4 Mr. doctor go for his holiday. Kat Jepun ni, derang sambut New Year cam kiter sambut Hari Raya. So byk tempat yg tutup awal on 31 Dec and close on 1 Jan. Pagi tu xde contraction yg kuat just sket2 saje. Doc pun expect mcm lambat lg kot. So lepas check up, all of us include Ejey, Harris and my baby sister went up the mountain to take picture with lots n lots of snow hehehe

The last pic of us in 2009.

Harris refused to look at the camera.

Petang sket baru rasa contraction kuat sket. Mula2 every hour then every 40min then every 30min. But bile contraction setiap 20min, kejap sakit tiap 30 min, kejap 40 min. Mmg tak consistent. Then call la clinic, ckp pasal keadaan mase tu. Terus pegi clinic for check up dgn doc ganti. Doc cakap just dilated about 2cm. Lambat lg kate nye. Dia suruh blk dulu dan dtg blk if contraction every 10 min. Actually, dlm hati mau baby kuar lambat sbb doc ganti ni xbest. Kasar betul cara dia check... :-(

1 Jan 2010, Dr pagi lg dok rasa contraction but buat xtau jer. Kemas rumah, tukar cadar sbb lepas bersalin xleh nak buat dah. Then masak utk mereka sume. Masak spaghetti simple2 jer.

Dalam kol 10 mlm, dah xleh tahan lg n contraction pun dah every 10min. Pegi clinic, doc ckp dah terbukak 4cm. Dah tak lame dah ni kata nye sbb 2nd pregnancy cepat. Masuk bilik dan tunggu about 4 jam sampai contraction gap jd 5 min.

2 Jan 2010, kol 4 pagi camtu, mid wife dtg check dah terbukak 7cm dan kepala baby dah turun kebawah dia kata. Lepas tu baru lah bleh masuk blk bersalin.

Ni dlm labor room. Mase tunggu mid wife preparing for delivery.

Dlm kol 5 camtu, rase mcm cepat jer sume benda berlaku. Ada skali tu terasa contraction kuat sgt, rase mcm tulang terbukak. B4 tu muntah sket. Tanda2 dah nak bersalin sgt tu.

Bile dah bleh teran, bile teran utk kali ke2 tetiba midwife kata jgn push lg dah. Sgt la confuse mase tu. Sbb baby tak kuar lg tp kena xbleh teran. Nurse sorang lg ada kat tepi dan pegang tangan dan suruh bernafas slow2. Menjerit2 jugak ckp sakit, mana tak nye, kepala baby still stuck kat situ. Bleh rase kepala baby kuar sket2 mase contraction. 20 min lepas 1st push. Baby Ryo kuar dgn selamat nye.

 

Kat Jepun, doctor hanya potong tali pusat jer. 

Mid wife yg byk buat segala procedure.

He weight 3256g

Lepas dah cool down. Tanye mid wife tu, kenape tak bg teran td. Dia ckp, "kalu teran nnt baby terbang kuar dan nnt terkoyak besar.!Lagipun baby dah turun bawah sgt2 mase contraction." Patut la tak sakit mana. Next day dah bleh duduk mcm biasa dan tak sakit sgt. Tp kali ni sakit pinggang sangat2. Nak dekat sebulan jugak la sakit pinggang.

 

Me & baby Fahren Ryo. A few minute after he was born.

Setsubun & Toilet Training

Yesterday was the day of Setsubun or The Bean Throwing Festival. On this day, fukumame or roasted soybeans are thrown either out the door or at a member of the family wearing an oni (demon) mask, while the thrower says"Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" meaning "Demons out! Luck in!".
 

This was taken at Harris's nursery on that day. 

 

Harris has been toilet training on and off for quite sometimes. 

 

Look at that, Oni dgn satu tanduk. So cute!! 

 

Ok done!!

Both Papa & Mama are soo happy for your achievement, Harris!!

Gambarou ne!!

Assalamualaikum

 

Assalamualaikum.

Nama saya Fahren Ryo.

Fahren maksud nye "Glory" dlm bahasa arab. 

Papa saya dah confirm maksud ni dgn prof Jepun yg fasih bahasa arab.

Ryo「 遼」 maksudnye "Endless".

Nama ni same dgn pro golfer paling muda & kaya di Jepun ni.

Mama saya kata nnt dah besar sket bleh main golf dgn Dato saya :)

Saya lahir pada 2 January 2010, jam 5:57 pagi.

Saya lahir lambat 5 hari dr due date.

Berat saya mase tu 3256g.

Sekarang dah 4400g.

Mama saya kata, senang sangat nak lahir kan saya.

2 kali push jeeer.

Nnt citer lain kali yer :)