A big RELIEF

Remember in the previous post I mentioned that I have two presentation this week~~..Well..Alhamdulillah both of them are done! First presentation tu memang tak berapa prepare sangat because I was informed in a very short time, so sempat prepare in just one day jer..tapi quite okay sebab topic tak la besar sangat..and in the middle of presentation I open any contributions from audience..bila audience dah bagi feed back I pon macam dah comfortable nak continue the presentation..

Then for the second presentation, I was quite well prepared..Tapi biasa la kan bila dah stand up in front of a big crowd mula la ketar lutut and apa yang dah plan nak cakap pon boleh lupa..Overall it was fine..Alhamdulillah..

Another big news for today isssssssssssssssssssssss...............

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I'm going home in just a few days time!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeay!

It's one week earlier than date yang I plan nak balik..Today my manager called me up..At first I thought he wanted to give a task or whatnot..Rupa-rupa nya dia cakap I boleh balik awal sebab job yang sepatut nya I kena pergi was postponed in 3 weeks time..what a big relief!

I memang dah homesick sangat ni..I miss my son so much!..Encik suami saya rindu kamu juge..*grin*

Stage fright

I am under pressure now!!

I have two presentation this week..One of them was given in a very short notice!..D*mn..

The last time I did presentation was like 4 or 5 months ago. It was long time ago..I memang ketar lutut la each time nak buat presentation ni..Sometimes memang dah prepare dah but once I stand in front of crowds I tend forget what I have to say!

According to our former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir, he was saying that he also has a stage fright each time he is about to give a speech. Semua orang rasa macam tu ker??

*Picture from google

Here's the top 7 tips to overcome stage fright which I took from here:

1. Know your stuff! The best thing you can do is to be overwhelmingly, thoroughly, and completely prepared and in mastery of your material. Much of the fear comes from wondering if you will make a mistake, or if the audience will know more than you. There is one sure way to beat that and that is by knowing your material inside and out.
   
   
2. Focus on getting through the first five minutes. That is where the problem lies. Rarely do you see someone who seems fearful all the way through his or her presentation, do you? No, they settle in and get comfortable after a while. Don’t look at it as a fifty-minute speech. Look at it as a five-minute speech.
   
   
3. Breathe! Fear is a bodily reflex and one that you can overcome. When you get afraid, you start to breathe in short, fast breaths. Before you speak, or while you are being introduced, you should sit quietly and breathe slow, deep breaths.
   
   
4. Tell yourself that the world won’t fall apart if you do a rotten job. Face it; unless you are delivering the State of the Union Address, the world will keep right on revolving if you don’t do well. Even as a professional speaker there are times when they don’t do as well as they want to. People usually appreciate it anyway and you’ll keep right on going.
   
   
5. Understand that you are your own worst critic. Most people aren’t going to come to your presentation with the goal of picking you apart. So you shouldn’t pick yourself apart either. Obviously, this is mainly for the one giving the occasional talk, not the professional speaker.
   
   
6. Understand that most of the people in the audience would be scared to death to give a speech too, and are glad that it is you and not them! For the occasional speaker, it is okay to say, "Excuse my nerves, I am not used to this."
   
   
7. Make ‘em laugh. That is the best way to start with a crowd. It is a guaranteed laugh and always settles the crowd in. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the topic and just say, "What does that have to do with my topic? Nothing, but I just love that joke!" Then go into your speech, and we are all a little more relaxed because we have laughed together.
   
   

I hope everything will be smooth sailing..Pray for me people!

*Need to review back my slide show..daa

Like father like son!

This is what happened if you leave your son with his father for 5 weeks..

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Ooooohhh noooooo........................My son turned out to be a PS3 freak!!

But there's one thing yang buat I terharu is sambil Emir asyik main game tu gambar Ibu ada dekat tepi dia..Good boy!

Offshore Survival + Free Vacation Malta, 2009

My trip to Malta was on October, 2009. It was not really a vacation trip though and this was my second time in Malta. I was attending an offshore survival course (for those whom work on the offshore rig needs to attend this course) which happened to be held in the most remarkable country in southern Europe. Malta is one of Europe's smallest and most densely populated country.

I arrived in Malta International airport on 18th October 2009 after a long flight from Kuala Lumpur. Usually, if I travel anywhere for business purposes, my company will arrange everything from flight ticket, hospitality and assigned driver to pick me up when I arrived. As soon as my luggage was clear from custom, I walked happily, expecting someone waiting for me outside the arrival. In the same time, I crane my neck looking for someone who holding my name.

After waiting for like half an hour, still no body came to pick me. Gosh..I started to become panic. Dah lah sorang-sorang and the place pulak I was not really familiar with. I tried to calm down and still waiting. 1 hour passed. Still no body. I need to do something. I tried to call the person who in-charge but no answer.I reckon it was Sunday and they are not working. D*amn..

Then I remember that Ochee once told me, he met a Malaysian couple who's staying in Malta last trip he was here. Immediately I called Ochee, he gave me the phone number. I dialed the number. Pheww..I was lucky they answered my call! After a long explanation, convincing her that I am Ochee's friend, Shah came to pick me up. Shah was my savior!! I rasa kalau Shah tak amek I sure I tidur dekat airport hari tu.

Shah brought me to her so called home. Shah and her husband,Jeff dah duduk dekat Malta for almost 5 years. Her husband's taking care one of the boat in Malta. They even live in the boat!! Boat ni bukan boat yang kecik tau..Boat yang besar! The boat named Blue Leopard and its belong to one rich guy from one of the country in Europe which I don't remember. Basically Jeff does the maintenance work on the boat. According to Jeff, Malta has 3 harbours and well known as tempat parking luxury boat, ships and ferry.

Yours truly dengan pose ayu tapi muka sangat lebar masa ni..Hmmpphh..

It was spring season when I was there. So the weather agak sejuk but still bearable.

Gzar..banyak boat2 yang parking dekat sini..

A bit information about Malta,

Malta is a group of seven islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Only the three largest islands - Malta, Gozo and Comino - are inhabited. Malta, in the heart of the Mediterranean, is a melting pot of civilisations with a history stretching back thousands of years. The country has been inhabited since around 5200 BC and a significant prehistoric civilisation existed on the islands prior to the arrival of the Phoenicians who named the main island Malta, meaning safe haven. Later the islands were for centuries the seat of the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St John and then part of the British Empire. Malta became independent in 1964.The national language is Maltese, which is part of the Semitic language family that includes Arabic. English is also recognised as an official language, and many Maltese also speak Italian.Tourism is important in Malta but the island also has an expanding services sector.*Source

Jeff and Shah took me to dinner and later they sent me to the hotel. I was staying in Vivaldi Hotel which located in Saint Julian, Malta. The room was quite spacious for only one person. There's two queen bed and my room's facing sea view.

My room

I tak banyak jalan-jalan sangat since my course started the next day and it was from 7 in the morning till 5 in the evening everyday. By the time I reached hotel it was already 6 in the evening and most of kedai close at 7 except the restaurant and pub.

The next day during breakfast, I met two guys who are working with me in Libya. So tak la boring sangat. They are very good companions besides being my loyal bodyguard. *wink*

Matheus and Anwar..Teman Tapi Mesra @ Kawan ber'camwhoring' masa dekat Malta..hehehe

But dalam tak de masa tu, I sempat la jugak visit few places sebab ada geng yang nak pergi jalan-jalan sekali. Kalau I sorang memang stay dekat bilik jer la..On the second last day. We took a bus from Saints Julian to Gzar (Jeff and Shah place) sebab Mahtheus nak tengok boat. Then we off to Sliema. From one to other places actually tak berapa jauh sangat because Malta pon tak la besar mana.

Admiring the beautiful scenery

Rock Jungle...Malta congested with building..

In Halfar..Seronok tengok makcik-makcik ni fishing..

During the course,

I was the only girl in our class. My classmates came from all over the world. From left Australian-Libyan-Italian-French-Canadian-Brazilian-Malaysian Truly Asian..=)

The water was so cold. I was shivering the whole time

The last day in Malta, was on my birthday. Sangat sedih sebab celebrate sorang-sorang. At that time, I really wished my husband and Emir were around.

Overall, it was a great experience and I would recommend Malta to be a place you must visit if you are coming to Europe.

Thank you for reading!

Emir is officially becoming a toddler!

Up to date, Emir has turned 1 year 4 months old *yeay!*..I know it's a bit late to blog about this...Well, we celebrated Emir's first birthday twice because on the exact date of Emir's birthday I was not physically in Malaysia. So haruslah sambut sekali lagi. Story pasal birthday celebration Emir I will update in next entry, because I forgot to transfer all pictures on Emir's birthday from husband's laptop. *sigh*

Alhamdulillah Emir's officially becoming a toddler now!! *clap*clap*clap* Nothing can described how happy I am to see my son growing healthily even thou I am not always around him all the time. Deep down in my heart I know that Emir knows I always think of him and loves him.

Let's see Emir's progressions as we speak:

• Alhamdulillah...Emir walked his first independent steps on February,2010. A week after I arrived in Malaysia.*yeay* Actually before that, Emir dah boleh jalan sikit-sikit but he needed us to coax him while he walks. But now Emir dah boleh jalan on his own!
  
• He can say 'Naakkk' towards everything he desires simultaneously pointing his finger to what he wanted. If he declined on something he sometimes says 'anakkkkk'..Lebih kurang macam 'tak nak' la bunyi nya..
• He understands the meaning of kiss, when I ask him to kiss me, he will lean towards me and kiss my cheek. But this is very much dependent on his mood.
• Character wise, I would say Emir is quite a friendly boy..He has never been afraid to strangers!!..There's one time we went out for dinner, Emir suddenly waving his hand to budak yang duduk sebelah meja we all sambil cakap2 in his baby-language..macam nak ajak budak tu berkawan dengan dia..
• Emir has quite a bad temper sometimes. If he wants something, not only would he want it regardless of whether you allow it or not, he wants it immediately.
• Emir like sharing things with others. Tak kedekut. If you asked him "Emir nak sikit" he will come to you and give to you whatever in his hand at that time. Good boy..
• Emir sangat banyak makan sekarang..He can finish up one bowl of porridge in one go jer!! Susu pon dah kurang minum..He loves drinking water! Kalau pergi mana2 kena make sure bawak his water bottle.
  
• He's so active nowadays. Tak boleh duduk diam. The moment he wakes up from sleep, he will play sampai la dia tidur balik.
• He will raise his hand each time I said "Siapa Emir Faiz angkat tangan!"
• Emir now has 8 teeth all together *yeay!*..always waking up his ayah by biting ayah's nose. hehehe
• Emir started to show his interest towards reading. Bila dah bosan Emir suka jugak gigit buku dia..ishh..ishh
• He loves watching advertisement and not to forget Upin Ipin, each time nampak advertisement or Upin Ipin on TV he will immediately stop playing and focus on TV then after that sambung balik main.
• Unlike me, he likes cat. Pantang nampak kucing nak pegang. Each time he sees cat he will says 'cinngggg'..kucing la kot..My husband dah few times cakap nak bela kucing but I give him a big "NO" sign. Because in the end I know I will be the one yang nak bagi kucing makan, mandikan kucing dan sebagai nya..I don't really have time for that..and I risau Emir kena asthma because of cat's fur..better avoid it..
  
• Recently, he's trying to imitate 'peace' sign each time we try to snap his picture. But tak berapa nak jadi sebab it looks more like 'talk to my hand' sign..;)

2 days

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

12 months..Up until now Emir is still a free-pacifier baby *yeay!*

12 months

Emir's reading his favorite book..13 months

Emir's attempted to show "peace" sign...13 months

In rabbit park..Emir amazed while pointing to a group of rabbits..he didn't notice there's a rabbit trying to poke him from his back..;)...14 months

Ibu always loves you..You are always be the apple of our eyes..*hug & kisses*

Family Escapade: Krabi, Thailand 2009

I have been procrastinating to blog about this trip for like..ermmm..let me think..almost 6 months!!..hehe...I edited all pictures and uploaded in FB but I don't really have time to blog about it.

Well..This trip was on September, 2009. Right after Eid Fitri in 2009. Trip was well planned by my husband. Each time when I got back home, he will arrange a family trip to somewhere far from hectic Kuala Lumpur. It was my second *rotation from work after I delivered Emir, my husband chose Krabi as our vacation trip. *the drill is if I work for 6 weeks, I will be having 3 weeks days off..so on and so forth..

We took AirAsia Go Holiday Package which consist hotel accommodation and flight tickets for three of us for 4 days. It was quite a good bargain and if I book hotel separately, the cost will be a huge different. With AirAsia Go, you can choose your hotel rated from 1 star up to luxurious 5 stars..If ada budget lebih boleh pilih hotel yang mahal sikit..It all depends on your itinerary. As for us, we don't really spend our time at the hotel sebab according to our plan banyak jalan-jalan and site seeing, so we opted hotel yang average jer..

Our flight to Krabi was early in the morning, I reckon it was 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning...We need to be at the airport around 1 hour before departure to check-in and stuff. Journey from the airport from our house roughly will take 45 minutes to 1 hour depends on the traffic, therefore we need to bertolak from rumah around 5 o'clock in the morning. Just imagine, me and the baby getting ready at 4-5 o'clock in the morning ain't that easy..To make things become worst, we woke up late!! If not because my son woke up crying, I think we might miss our flight and forget our hoilday trip. I gave gazillion kisses to Emir sebab kejutkan ibu that morning. Ni semua angkara last minute packing..typical me!

I was also lucky because my MIL was at our house on that day. So while me and husband running to the counter, I'd got someone to hold Emir. Thanx Mak!!Otherwise, memang semput or else miss the flight. Lesson learned from that incident, pack your luggage as early as possible, recommended one day before you travel especially if you're having a baby. I will never forget what happened on that particular morning for my whole life..hehehe

This trip was a third time we traveled with Emir by plane. Emir was behaved well in fact he was sleeping as soon as the plane took off all the way to Krabi. Good boy. As we arrived in Krabi, it was around 10 or 11 in the morning. Thailand time is one hour late than Malaysia time. The flight took about 2 hours and 30 minutes. At first we thought of renting a car, then plan changed and we just took a cab to the hotel instead. Lagipon tak familiar dengan jalan-jalan dekat situ and I was worried that we might get lost. Airport and our hotel is not that far, just 15 minutes drive.

Just arrived. Emir was sleeping from Kuala Lumpur to Krabi due to kena bangun awal on that day.

We stayed at Maritim Park & Spa Resort. The hotel located in Muang Krabi. The hotel is so-so la. Not as luxury as it claims to be a four stars hotel. The grounds and the exterior of this hotel are imposing, very impressive. However our room, though very spacious and with a pleasant view from the balcony, was dingy. Lighting was feeble, the bed was hard, and the decor was tatty. We also thought the breakfast was poor , everyday was the same variety of foods and not as we are expected. Once maybe a good hotel with a very special garden/lagoon environment with large potential, but it is not well maintained and very scruffy. Me and husband quite disappointed with the hotel.

View from our balcony. Dekat belakang tu ada Lagoon..

First day, we just stayed at the hotel sebab sangat penat as a result of slept late and rushing to the airport. After late lunch, we all tiga beranak terus dozed off. The second day was not really our lucky day, sebab hujan selebat-lebat nya from the afternoon until petang. After the rain stopped, we all get ready pergi jalan-jalan kejap around lagoon which is in the hotel compound and then getting ready to Krabi town for dinner. It is quite hard to find halal food in Krabi, we end up with seafood jer. Tomyam goong in Krabi not as tasty as in Bangkok TomYam in Bangkok sangat berlemak and pedas. As a TomYam lover, I was quite frustrated la.

After a long rainy day, we finally out of our room and jalan-jalan around hotel and managed to shoot some pictures..

On the third day, the weather was excellently bright and sunny. We decided to check out Ao Nang beach. It took us around 15-20 minutes from hotel to Ao Nang beach. Ooh lupa nak cakap yang our hotel takde beach. Another down side of the hotel. That was the first and last time we all stay kat situ!

Oh boy..I was jawed down the moment we reached Ao Nang. Kept telling my husband why we didn't choose to stay in Ao Nang. Along Ao Nang beach there's a lot of hotels, restaurants, clubs and Spa. Memang ramai tourist dekat sini compared to our hotel area. Mainly because it much closer to the beach. Nak makan pon senang because you have a lot of options. There's a lot of activities that you can do in Krabi other than sunbathing like island-hopping, scuba diving, snorkeling or kayaking.

Okaylah, let's pictures do the talking now. *scroll down please*

On the way to Ao Nang. We rode a so call bus. It seems more like a lorry to me.

Ao Nang Beach

We decided to take a boat and island-hopping. There's few island around Ao Nang.

Emir's first experience ride on the boat! Minah Brazilian in front of us is so damn hot!

Emir's snagging Ayah's shirt all the way to the island maybe dia takut boat tu macam tak berapa nak stable sangat.

Emir's wailed his lung out sebab tak nak duduk atas pasir tu. On the other hand, Ibu sibuk nak buat pose gedik di situ..

Breath-taking scenery.. See the blue water and white sand. I will definitely visit Krabi again!!

My first attempt snorkeling. Hehehe. I almost drowned at first, then my hubby showed me the right way to paddle my feet..

Emir recharged his energy. He was such a sport and behaved very well.

Krabi was affected by tsunami. I saw few "Evacuation Site" sign along Ao Nang beach.

Our flight back to Kuala Lumpur was in the afternoon on the fourth day. So after breakfast, kami bawak Emir mandi in the swimming pool for his very first time. Emir really enjoyed it! Sampai tak nak keluar from swimming pool.




Eventhou the trip was not like we expected due to the weather and hotel condition, we somehow did enjoy our trip to Krabi. It was a great experience and looking forward to return back to Krabi. I would highly recommend Krabi to bakal pengantins yang tengah plan for honeymoon.

Some tips flying with a baby/ an infant (for 1-2 hours flight):

• Allow plenty of time at the airport for check-in. (Lesson learned!)
• Get on the plane first and off the plane last to get a better chance of assistance from cabin crew.
  
• Pack a small bag with just one diaper, a few wipes, a perfumed nappy sack and some rash cream if needed and place it in the seat pocket in front of you. Kalau boleh salin diaper siap2 before departure.
• Don't forget to bring finger food if the baby started eating solid food.
• Wrap toys to add to their entertainment value. Rattles or any kind of toys that is light and easy to carry or the last resort your phone also will do.
• Don't let your baby sleep right before departure, kalau boleh kasik baby penat betul2 and for sure baby will doze off on the plane.
• Travel light. Kalau boleh bawak apa yang perlu sahaja on the plane. Yang tak perlu sila letak dalam luggage and check in.
• Forget about style when choosing your traveling clothes - go for comfort, ease of wear.

Thank You for reading!