Safe & Sound

So many things happen during my absent:

• Yes, now I am living in Batu Pahat & luv it here. 
• Just got back from my sis wedding in Turkey without hubby. Was really an exhausting event. Since all wedding is a 'syok sendiri' event & as long as the married couple happy. So who cares what I think kan?
• Harris is currently going to a tabika KEMAS near hubby work place. So far the best teacher we met. I seriously dont care what ppl think if it is for ' anak2 orang bawahan'. Screw double standard!!
• A biawak or what ever ppl call that creature, tried to get into my house. So now, I have to secure my house not only human (pencuri) but also animals.
• One more last thing, tomorrow I will go for a work interview in an university nearby. So wish me luck :-)

Moving....

Sorry miss blog (yes, my blog is a girl), I had been ignoring u for a couple of weeks. Been very bz looking for snow b4 it melt and need to pack all our belonging. Moving back to Msia very very soon. Look at all the boxes from my movers and you'll know what I am dealing with.... Those things occupied half of the room already. I need to think wisely where to put all my stuffs after they are pack in the boxes.... 

 

I am also sorry to tell u that I am going to ignore u for another couple of weeks. Next week we are going to Hokkaido for our very last holiday in Japan :D Then after coming back I would be more bz packing again... 

Bye for now and see u whenever I see u....

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.....

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!

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!

Survival

I can still remember, the moment I set foot at my house in Osaka 15 years ago.
My mother told me, "The first thing u need to remember are Katakana & Hiragana".

That exactly what I did. Writing and remembering katakana & hiragana like there was no tomorrow. I cannot remember how much paper I used to write all the Japanese alphabet. I managed to remember them all after a few weeks of arrival and of course during that time I was already admitted to a Japanese junior high school. Can u imagine everything was in Japanese!!

This entry will never finish if I write my tough and hard experience then.

Anyway, I got so pissed when ppl have been living in Japan for more than a year but still cannot write katakana or hiragana. I am not talking about kanji here. Those two must be learn by heart (thats what one of my teacher told me). I just wonder how do they survive here.

Come on la, sampai bila nak berharap kat org!

*Gambar hiasan: Pamukkale, Turkey

I am Counting...

7 more days b4 going back to Malaysia.

Lost 1 kg in 2 weeks of Ramadhan. (Hubby tak puas hati so dia pun start walking at nite utk buang lemak yg berlebihan ;p)

Sudah 2 hari x larat nak puasa.

Tummy is already 120 cm.

Weight +2kg from normal weight.

112 days to delivery.

6 more hours to get my hand on my new Kitson Sequin Tote Bag :D

Baru sampai :D

Its September Already la!!!

Cepatnye dah bulan 9. So that mean 12 more days to go b4 going home!

YES! This year we are coming home for Hari Raya. Howa long was it for me not celebrating Raya in Msia? More than 12 years I guess. I stop counting already...

This is also our first time celebrating Raya as a family and we are celebrating it in Kelantan where the celebration is much more merrier than in KL where my family is. Celebrating Raya in KL has always been boring for me. Plus my family members pun xramai.

At hubby village, there are so many ppl! Bayangkan la if his father has 10 siblings then tambah wife or husband then children lg. I luv that kind of environment. Mcm kenduri jek everytime they meet up. Something I shall never experience in KL. Boring la jadi org KL nih. Thank god I married a Kelantanese. At least now I have a kampung :)

Just a little update on Harris:

He understands most of what we are talking about both Japanese and Malay and sometimes English too. We kinda campo adok sentences most of the time. I know its not good but we just cannot help ourself la. But we kinda try to speak Japanese more with him so that he can communicate more with his sensei at the nursery.

His fav songs are "Kaeru no uta" (Frog Song) and "Zou san" (elephant song). He pronounces it "Dou tan" though. Sgt cute ok!

Harris trying to do a split with a peace :)

And some more update on my pregnancy:

I am currently missing sleeping on my back. I sleep on my right side most of the time and now my right shoulder is killing me. I just dont feel comfortable sleeping on my left side. I just dont know why though...

This Friday must go for a maternity massage. Dpt massage muke dan tgn pun oklah. I wish I have a massage chair!

Kerepek Pedas!!

KEREPEK PEDAS!! was the only thing I wrote at my status in Facebook. Then terus dpt msg saying that she would like to post me some. I was sooo happy bcoz even my mother never send me kueh raya ok. I had never ate kueh raya on hari raya for 12 years already. She said, "Alah, biskut kat Jepun kan lg sedap." Thats not the point la... Anyway, a few days ago. A parcel came taraaaa! Tgk kotak kat bawah tu. Full of my kerepek pedas and she even bought not spicy kerepek for Harris. Thanks a lot Che Yah :-)

Kerepek pedas yg best!

Even from my 1st pregnancy, I had been craving for kerepek pedas but at that time I didnt get any. Hubby mcm dengar tak dengar je n I was not that eager searching for one. Padahal hubby have lots of friend at Batu Pahat. Ntah la kenape xterpk nak mintak tolong derang pos kan....

The morning when the parcel came, I ate one whole big pack of kerepek pedas! Hubby pun tumpang sekaki gak hehehe

Then a few days back, I got a msg from Auntie Abriza, that her friend's Tunku Isteri Shalita (wife to Tunku Besar Tampin) gave me a present. A cute baby bag that I shall claim when I visit her home during raya. My father is a business man n he knows many BIG ppl that usually I dont really care about. But this one present really surprised me bcoz another person that I dont really know personally gave me or done me something special.

I am very glad and happy to received from both of u though I dont know how shall I return them back....

Happy Ramadhan to all.

Pregnancy 101

I have never really blog about my pregnancy. Tup tap I am more than half way to go! I am currently 22 weeks and 3 days pregnant! So fast!!! Even today at Harris nursery, one of his sensei said my tummy is big after knowing my due date. Oklah, I know perut Jepun kecik! But I just smiled back at her.

Unlike my first one. We didn't plan for this one. Well, we did plan but not this year maybe next just b4 going back to tanah air tercinta. Giving that fact, I was so trilled to know about my pregnancy. Sgt sgt happy. No wonder, when hubby made his usual maggi goreng I felt like throwing up! Kesian kat dia ingat aku tak suke masakan dia. I didnt know I was pregnant at that time. My period had been late so many times dan tidak teratur for so many months.

I even had my yearly medical check up during very early pregnancy. Siap x-ray sume. My gean said its ok though but still I cant stop worrying.... Then I even had so many trips overseas. To Malaysia, Sabah, Kelantan, Korea, Turkey and this coming raya to Msia and Kelantan again! This baby is soo strong! I scanned last time its going to be a BOY again. Kicking and somersaulting inside my tummy like always. I can feel him kicking as early as 18 weeks. Seem so early than my first one.

My mom was not really so happy about my pregnancy. The 1st thing that came out from her mouth was "So how r u going to cope?"Well, she said something like that la. In my head, "Cant u be more happier mom? Why cant u say something else?" The only thing I can reply at that time was "I will try until I cant do it anymore." The truth I also dont know what to do... I will submit my candidacy papers b4 delivery. Then see whether I can write a full thesis afterward.

My supervisor was at shock when he knows. He knew by accident. I purposely wear loose clothing in front of him bcoz I know what he also going to say. But there was this one day, he accidentally saw me and pop up that question. "Are u pregnant Farah?" n giving me a look. When I said, "Yes". He said "How's that going to effect your work?" I told him, I am going to extend. He didnt argue much afterward.

What ever ppl think about my pregnancy. This little one is very specially by his own way. He strengthen our marriage relationship even more.

Mama , papa and abg Harris lov u so much little one. Come out strong and healthy. Amin.

Beso sgt ke perut gue?
At Yufu River Ravine

RM7000+-

RM7000+- that the amount of money we had spent in Malaysia on our trip back 2 weeks ago. We were there for just 3 wonderful, enjoying and fruitful weeks. If I still remember one of my dear friend also said she spent that much when she n her family went home for holiday.

Now I realized that living in Malaysia is freaking expensive!! Well, leaving as freely as I want I mean. Spending without thinking much. Buying foods like everyday. I never cook when I was in Malaysia. Holiday mood, mana bleh masak hehe (alasan semata-mata)

This is the first time I ever keep track on my spending in Malaysia. B4 I always thought that Malaysia cheap so it is ok to spend a little bit more that in Japan. But now, everything is so different.

This also make me n hubby realized that we seriously need to earn at least 10K to live in Malaysia comfortably. If hubby graduate with a PhD he will get at least 7K. I need to work too la kan. Maybe not in the beginning. I will have everything settle down first b4 starting to work.

So the moral of the story.....

FARAH get your hand moving and start being serious with your PhD work!!!!

P/S: Has not been writing for some times..... Just releasing some stress after soo many things to do hehehe No hard feeling ;-P

(A breath taking sunset view in Kota Kinabalu)

What the difference?

Amaran: Entry yg agak kontroversi!

One day,

"McDonald tak leh mkn la sbb ada McPork."

Another day,

"Jom pi mkn kat Freshness Burger ke Lotteria ke?"

The truth, I am not that strict about mkn2 ni. I eat ape yg jelas di depan mata. No meat and no pork. Dan cukup tak suke org yg sampai call company tanye sampai ke akar umbi product yg jual kat kedai tu.

Just kinda weird org yg tak mkn kat McD but mkn kat tempat lain padahal kedai yg derang pegi tu pun jual pork gak....

I Have a Friend...

I have a friend....

She is actually my English student. Bile tulis student mcm budak la plak bunyi nye but actually she is older than me. About 3, 4 years older.

This happen a few months ago, right after she gave birth to her son. Me, hubby n Harris went to visit her at the hospital. Hubby kat luar layan kebuasan Harris tu. Harris ni mana bleh dok diam dlm bilik lama2.

Then baru la kuar girls talk pasal bersalin. She said it was so painful coz the doc had to cut her so that she can deliver the baby on a holiday and her hubby is already there. Doc kata xpayah la hubby dia dtg Beppu lg. My student ni balik kg dia kat Beppu ni utk bersalin. Laki dia keje dekat ngan bandar Fukuoka. Jauh dr kg tempat dia nak bersalin ni.(Jauh pun just 2 hours driving je) So kesimpulanye everything was sooo painful la sbb badan tak prepare utk bersalin lg.

Mase citer2 tu la, I asked her, laki dia ada tak dlm labor room. Dia kata ada tp bile dah sampai satu tahap yg dia dah tak boleh remain clam. Dia suruh laki dia kuar dr bilik. Sgt la pelik. Then I asked why? She said she can't remain normal anymore. Dlm hati I said, tak kan lah minah ni malu kot sbb nak bersalin. But it seem true la. Many Japanese women do not want their hubby to watch them give birth sebab malu menjerit kuat sgt. I mean nak malu ape? Benda camtu kan normal. Sape yg tak menjerit atau meneran mase bersalin? Sometimes I just can't understand them la.....

Well, this is Harris when I gave birth to him.

(Sape yg tak leh tgk darah tu sori la ek)

(Ini ibu mertua ku di depan bilik bersalin.
My mom said she cried when she heard me in pain.
My mom is not that crying type....)

(Harris a few mins after delivery)

What I did last Friday...

Dear blog,

Last Friday, I went to the tax office for the 1st time. I am a student so I supposedly would not have anything to do with the tax office. Ever since I lived in Japan 14 years ago, I never pay tax other the than consumer tax la kan. I only received scholarship derived from tax payer money. Thank MEXT for the every month installment ;P

Actually, I went there to refund tax in Japanese it is called "kakuteishinkoku" for my dear adik that used to work in Osaka for 5 years and decided she need to go to Turkey to be nearer with her bf and change her profession from an officer and becoming a elementary school teacher. She is happy with her life so I just let it be and support her every now and then.

Ok, back to tax refund. Even though, adik n kak Hanny said that the office people will do everything but still looking at all those unfamiliar kanji on the application form just make me confused. I just dont understand them that good coz I just never use them before. So what I did was to be as blur as possible. As if I can't speaks Japanese and asked hubby to play along. And the play, worked! I didn't bring my inkan (stamp with my name on it) and they just made a conclusion that foreigners don't have inkan. If not, I have to go home n take my inkan. It was my 2nd trip to the office n I surely do not want to have a 3rd trip.

Adik tax refund is about 18,000 yen and to be spend on Harris on his trip to Turkey this summer. Kalau jadik la. At least, after all this complicated procedure I get to go shopping for Harris. That's seem fair enough :D

I spent about an hour at the tax office and then I made a move to my hairdresser. I needed a hair cut and decided to cut, color, perm and do treatment to my hair. How much does it cost? Itu rahsia kerajaan negera Jepun hehehe I was there for about 4 1/2 hours.

So, I was this before

(Sorry dont have a better back view photo)

And this is a new me



After 27 years of straight hair, I finally say bye bye. I loved my new look and I am wondering why I never did this before....

I am the "Finance Minister" of my country hehehehe

Trying to be bz la konon.
I am starting book keeping again for my household after a short 3 months break. (Maklumlah blk Mesia 3 bln dan joli katak tak hingat dunia)
By doing this, I can simply know how much I spent and how much I earn
I bought this book with a software that can help me more with my book keeping.

Simply loving it :)



(The software doesn't have expiration date of use so bleh pakai sampai bile-bile)

Assalamualaikum

My 3rd attempt to write a blog since none satisfied me yet. Maybe I am a hard person to be satisfied. Hmmm, I don't know.....
This blog will be a place for me to write about anything and everything other than my thesis work. It could be a place for me to practice my writing since I hate writing. I hope I can overcome my feeling about writing.
I also welcome comments of what so ever.....