DisneyWorld - Part 1

The Spring Break trip's (March 2011) main destination is Orlando, Florida (Fl.) but how each of us plan to spend our time there was made flexible by the organizer.

We moved from campus on Sat, midnight, reaching Jacksonville, FL on Sunday morning, where we spent the day in Kennedy Space Centre. Evening, we went down south to Orlando, checked in our hotel, and for the following 4 days we were given a few options on how we'd like to have the trip. The organizers did encourage to take the 2-days pass to Disneyworld, coz if we had enough people, the group rate wud be cheaper for each individuals. Of course, some didnt. There are a lot more other fun things to look fwd to in Orlando, which include SeaWorld, Universal Studios, some other fun parks like Wet n Wild, Ripleys.. etc. You have to have more than a week if  you were to cover all of these places.

First.... I was not very keen on going to Disney as I thot I am over the disney phase of life. Man... I couldnt be more wrong...

After considering it... I opted for the Disney 2 days pass....

Fyi, Disneyworld is very huge, compared to Disneyland (California). Both are special in their own ways, Disneyland being the original and Disneyworld for being huge (and has many more parks).

There are 4 major theme parks in Disneyworld - [Magic Kingdom], [Animal Kingdom], [Disney's Hollywood Studios], and [Epcot]. I was determined to cover all of them since the 2 days pass allow us to hop in between parks for 2 days. So, I thought, 2 parks a day can be possible. I didnt  have friends when I first joined the trip, but met some in the process :-) At first, Uyanga and Xinrong both planned to just go for 1 day Disney trip and then decide on next, later. But, if they were to do that, it will not be as efficient as they will only be allowed to do one park a day, and it costs around $80+ per day for one park... whereas it's only arnd $130 for 2 days park hopper (can hop between parks). I seduced them into joining the 2days pass, and go together to try cover all 4 parks in 2 days.....and yey! We did!

First day started a bit late as we had to wait for all the rest to gather (causing some delay), as well as there was some ticketing problem that cost us some time as well. As soon as we got our tickets (at the ticketing centre), the 3 of us ran to the bus area, to catch next bus to Disney's MGM Hollywood Studios. Felt like we were in a Amazing Race or some sort.. haha.

*shuttle bus within these parks are free.

the centre of MGM studios (the magic hat is the centrepiece for this park),

Pixar studios, Disney animations
the Indiana Jones show - best gile

I carried a pamplet that has map of each of the parks. So every park we 'touched down', we go by the map. This was to ensure all parts of the parks were covered :P However, we were not able to go on all rides. Actually, it was almost impossible as it was during SpringBreak, crowd was crazy and most of the Rides have almost more than an hour waiting Time! We were not going to waste our time waiting. Though some Rides seemed to be interesting, but they are merely Rides.... more or less like any other Rides in theme parks. Ok... ok....  but with some interesting twist to it lar. I would have taken all the rides if I had one whole week to spend in Disneyworld :P Anyway, we did cover all the places, managed to catch some shows (ouh, I especially love the Indiana Jones show... coz I love Indiana movies so so much since I was a kid), hop on some rides and took a lot of pictures :-)

We arrived at this park at around 10.30am and left the park at around 1pm...... and headed back (by bus) to the Ticketing Centre.... our next destination was Magic Kingdom, and we had to take either a monorail or a ferryboat from the Ticketing Centre to this park.

Monorail sounds faster.......but oh wait... we toook the ferryboat :P

... because the monorail was closed for a while when we arrived.... No waiting policy, we went straight to the dock, and it took about 10minutes before the next ferry came, and about 15minutes to get to Magic Kingdom. It was just perfect.... at least we get to take the ferry ride. Wonderful ride, it was windy in the scorching sun and excitement racing through my inner childly imaginations as the boat get nearer to our destination.

I was so excited.... Ouh I felt like a Kid again....

the Main street Philharmonic was playing when we arrived.

as I walked to the centre... where the Magic Castle stands...

suddenly... I felt some drop of tears.....

I miss my niece and nephew so much!!!!!! This is something I would love to do with my family. Then, I remember my unfulfilled promise to my niece to bring her to Universal Studios Singapore.... ouh, it breaks my heart! :( And I am here all by myself.......... *cricket sounds...**

I was awaken by the sound of the moving crowd, kids shouting in joy. I quickly got back on my feet. Ouh, I was not going to ruin the day... so I decided to enjoy to the fullest... on their behalf too rite, hehe... and also, the child in me deserve it just as much :P

Back to disney advnture.

We got another pamplet from the park, that listed all shows / attractions, and we were just in time for the "Dream Along with Mickey" show, that took place at the Magic Castle.  So kiutt.. hihihhi.... njoyed it very much :D

After the show, we proceeded to another area but keeping close to the 'parade trails' as the Parade was just an hour away. We got a shady spot, and waited... and there they were again.

Then we spent the rest of the day in Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom is sooo big, hoho... adeh... and has the most attractions compared to other parks.

The crowd was just crazy...... too many people @_@ but well... we brushed through anyway. Again, some of the rides could take forever just for waiting. We did some rides and went in for some shows, we even enjoyed ourselves with the flashmob they had.

And nite folds in.....

Its time for the Main Street Electrical Parade.

It was getting chilly.... but everyone waited in patience, getting a good spot to see the parade. Fortunately, it was worth the wait (sambil mengetap bibir kesejukan)... :D

Then the fireworks!

The problem was, we were told to be at the bus parking lot (which is at the ticketing area)... by 9.30pm. I kinda feel it was a bit inconsiderate since magic kingdom opens until midnight. They could have made it 10.30pm or 10pm.... because the "Wishes Nighttime Spectacular" (fireworks) starts at 9pm every night, and take about 15 minutes.

Would we have enough time to get back in 15minutes time??? We didnt even know how long the monorail would take to get back to the ticketing centre... but we took the risk... confident that we would make it on time. So we quickly strategized our exit plan. We started to walk back on Main street heading towards the exit but making sure we didnt lose sight of the magic castle, where the fireworks would be fired from. Main Street has a good view..... but the challenge is the thousand or zillions of people in the crowd...so we really had to tiptoe or find the best angle.

As the fireworks splashed some colors in the dark sky....we walked... we stopped to admire.. then we walked again... until we were quite near the exit.

It was a perfect ending for the day!!

We waited until the firework show officially ended.. Looking at each other....
.....

"Ok.... LET's RUN FOR IT"

And we ran.... the crowd were moving too, some walking fast to reach the exit... but we ran like we were running for our lives... hahaha... while searching for the monorail....and raced to the monorail. We got in the monorail, without having to wait in a long queue... constantly checking the time.
9.20pm.

We walked fast / ran a lil back to the bus, and we made it right on time 9.30pm sharp! Haha....

But... we had to wait for others, who came after 10mins and the last guy... it was 10pm++ by the time he made it to the bus. Then we were informed that for the next day, our bus would not be driving us there, instead we could catch a shuttle bus from the hotel. Only then, we knew there was free bus service going to/from the hotel, and the latest bus from the ticketing place was at 11pm. What? why weren't we informed earlier? Hmmm.... welll..... it's ok... We did really utilize our time to the best and did everything we wanted, so no regrets there. Kinda adventurous now that I think of it.... hahahaha....

amazing race asia, anyone? :P

SpringBreak 2011 - Kennedy Space Centre

SpringBreak 2011.
Trip to Florida

First Stop. Kennedy Space Centre - 7thMarch2011.

Lawatan sambil belajar yg menarik.
more info?   here

An experience not to miss: (more-info)

Real gadjets used for Apollo/Saturn V (from 1967 until 1973)

the Saturn V rocket

Kennedy Space Launching Pad

:D :D :D :D

How to make and improvise Sambal Telur.....

It started from this picture of my sambal telur.... which I think look very premature, I mean it's still in the pan... so cincai looking.... But Jessie got teruja with this and wanted to make Sambal Telur too... to surprise her hubby some more... I was so flattered. She wanted my recipe... auwww...

I took the recipe from a few web... I was reading a few recipes and picked out ingredients that r available and suited me, cewah :P... since some igredients are hard to get here. So I came up with my own version...and I didnt have it written anywhere.. so when she asked, I quickly came up with a recipe... and passed to her.

And... while making the sambal, she did her very own alteration and came up with her version of sambal... which I think loooked more Sexy and tempting....

Alteration are needed as some ingredients here i.e. the chillies do not 'taste' the same like back home.. not as spicy  or etc. the trick with sambal would be playing around with the amount of chillies ( i think) ... which I myself havent mastered yet :P But the experiments we had... between Jessie and I.. was fun... haha... the recipe keep improvising....

Ok so here's the edited original message of recipe I sent her...
haha as you can see, the writing is not professional... not food blog worthy :)) Hahaha
manglish some more wor... waakakaka...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Main Ingredients:

~ 4-5 hard boiled eggs... fry for a while... until kulit kembang2 a bit :P
~ 4 potatoes- cut into smaller pieces... fry lightly

Sambal Ingredients:

~12 pieces of dried chili (cabai kering) - cut, boil a while to get rid most of the biji2, then blend....
~10 cili merah - washed, blended...  or if u dont have, substitute with 1tbs of ciliboh /nyonya sambal cili
~Red Onions... depends how many u want em.. cut em into small pcs
 (if med sized onion- use one, you have shallots, use 3-4-)
~ Salt
~Asam keping or Air asam - 1/4 cup (pure Tamarind Juice)
~ Coconut milk - (if the ones in cans, 1 tablespoon).

 Method:

-Heat Oil on heated pan
-Add the blended chilli.... kacau-kacau until naik bau... haha (stir well..)
-Add the red onion... stir until onion becomes yellowish/masak
-Add air asam... if u dont have this.. its ok.. but if u still want a bit of masam taste, can replace with squashed tomato (use 1 here)
- add some maggi chicken granules (Jessie's touch :P)
-Add the eggs and potatoes.... stir stir n keep stirring... please shake and sing too if u like.
- add hot water a bit...just to make sure sambal not too dry.
-Add salt a bit too
-Add santan (coconut milk).... and stir the sambal until all kacau nicely...
- try taste sikit, if too pedas for u, alter by adding sugar a bit n water
-let be on heat for a while... then wokay.. stopppp

U can present the sambal, by cutting the each egg into two... (dont cut before cooking, if not all come out :P) if u have celery or daun bawang, can add as hiasan haha....

DONE !
 
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= The Italic font shows Jessie's alterations... and if u have those items, do add them... coz it will make your sambal look sexy like this:

The cilantro (sekadar hiasan) adalah hasil tanaman jessie...

 
NyAM Nyammmmm.....

Satu kali makan
Mesti nak lagi....

:*

Evolusi memasak di lembah amarika sarikat...

Mari kita cakap pasal memasak....

Once upon a time, saya adalah 'agak' rajin memasak... especially sambal, dan sambal udang saya adalah disukai ibu. Tetapi ianya berubah!! apabila penyakit keliatan menular dalam diri saya kerana diri ini begitu bergelumang dalam dunia siber dan dunia menjadi seorang pelajar (dan juga dunia tapau-menapau, dok hostel...). Akibatnya, feel itu agak lari. Tapi saya sentiasa memasang niat untuk kembali ke arena dapur dan masak memasak... 

Sejurus selepas saya tersadai kt lembah amarika ni sorang-sorang, maka nya... haruslah menjadi rajin memasak. Hahahhaa... kasihan diriku.... dah takdak makanan dimasak ibu, nasik kandaq, pasemboq, thai tomyam, ikan bakar dan sewaktu dengannya. Adalah sgt wajar saya menangis dan meraung sekuat hati kerana terbiasa hidup dalam sorga makanan yakni di pulau pinang, pulau mutiara.. Tetapi tidak... anak pak kassim ini kekal tegar dan mula mengushar2 alternatip-alternatip yang ada. Pada mulanya, sebelum tiba di sini, beliau agak bersedia untuk berubah menjadi vegetarian selama 6 bulan kerana tidak dpt mengagak situasinya bagaimana. Siap kononnya, mahu membawa nasi impit dalam peket sebab takut tidak jumpa nasik... walhal hakikatnya, berlambak-lambak dan bermacam-macam jenis beras dan nasik ready-on-microwave di walmart dan swaktu dengannya. Nasib baik tidak dibawak bungkusan kecil nasi impit itu dalam luggage, tak pasal-pasal nanti ditahan imigresen disangkakan dadah jenis baru :S

Pada minggu kedua, peralatan memasak telah dibeli...

Attempt masak Paleolitik:
Salmon Sausage di potong-potong + Tuna  --> dimasak dgn sos cili dan kicap dan bawang
di-iringi sayuran yg ditabur italian dressing.

Bertambah indah hidupku apabila mengetahui kedai "gandhi international market" berada berdekatan rumah saya, menjual barang-barang dari India dan jugak Asia tenggara. Di situ telah ku jupe frozen roti paratha a.k.a roti canai made in malaysia lagi u.... terubat duka lara. Di situ juga terdapat beberapa jenis rempah ratus yang boleh digunakan... tidak perlu risau pasal kari lagi, tidak perlu ibubapaku mengepos serbuk kari cap Alagappa's atau Baba's.

Evolution memasak kita trus melompat ke zaman neolitik:
Salmon sausage lagi.... (nampak sangat masih ketandusan bekalan ketika itu)...

Dimasak dengan smoked oysters dengan BBQ sauce.... alamak.... sedap la plak..... tahniah! :P Di iringi dengan sup ayam cambell, yg dibawa dr Mesia (dlm peket).

Dan mereka yang prihatin telah membawa ku ke Halal Market di mana aku mendapatkan bekalan ayam-ayam ku... dan baru-baru ini di kedai Gandhi itu juga telah mempunyai bekalan daging dan ayam frozen dari supplier muslim....makanya bolehlah berjalan sendiri mendapatkan ayam dan daging itu beserta rempah beratus ratus :)

Telah kita memasuki zaman besi sekarang.....
Kari Ayam... tapi ketika ini menggunakan kari yang sedia dalam botol... tapi ditambah sedikit dengan bebrapa bahan lain supaya karinya menjadi kari yang lebih kaw mengikut citarasa saya...
di-iringi Terung masak kicap.... i lyke... hahahaha...

Dan... zaman semakin maju... kerana mempunyai lebih dari 2 lauk... hahaha

Dan dituruti lagi dengan pelbagai percubaan lain.... termasuk kari ayam yang lebih original... (tapi saya masih merasakan rempah kari Shan itu tidak sesedap rempah kari Alagappas mahupun Baba's) tapi bersyukurlah jumpa rempah kari ayam, toksah komplen2 ok... :P

Tetapi ada sesuatu masih tidak lengkap.....

Sambal! Ya sambal..... dan tidak ada sambal peket yang ku temui di sini.. oleh sebab itu...

zaman pemodenan: ku mendapatkan sebijik blender yg comel... blender yang sepatutnya digunakan untuk membuat smoochies.... telah menjadi blender cili ku... harharhar....

.. akhirnya bahan2 yg ku perlukan telah ada!!! yey! sambal telur :D

Begitu teruja tak tunggu letak di pinggan... hahahhaa..

Lepas ni boleh lah masak lebih byk sambal...wee... sambal Udang... yahuuu... dah beli udang! mahai udang dia kt sini... menci i! Oh ya, dan jugak masak daging... yeahh...

dan of cos, sekali sekala memasak spageti dan sewaktu dengannya, kerana bahan-bahannya lebih mudah didapati ;-)


Kesimpulannya, walaupun saya adalah tidak Terer or terror memasak ...
tetapi berkat skil memasak basic suatu ketika dahulu.... adalah amat membantu saya dalam meneruskan hidup seharian di sini... memasak adalah lebih menjimatkan dan juga memuaskan hati (sedap tak sedap i sowang je tau, hahahhahaha).

So...gadis-gadis, jejaka-jejaka, bapak bapak ibu ibuk semuanya...jgn heran kalau leena sedang goyang...
oppps....
silap lirik :P
yaa.. gadis-gadis, jejaka-jejaka semuanyaaa... marilah rajin -rajin menjenguk dapur untuk kecerahan masa hadapan di arena masak memasak ;-)

Sekian... tenkiuuuu....

jom ke DuPont State Forest plak...

Howdy blogiedy.... Since hiking has made its way to my heart (fuyyoo...) as one of my current 'hobbies'... I decided to look for similar activities here. :D It does feel good to 'struggle', "sweat" and 'smell', to be in touch with nature :-) and bonus point if these places have spectacular views. perfekto!

Hiking kt Malaysia- the weather, Hot and humid, rainy sometimes. So, when u hike, u sweat a lot.... For me, it makes me feel so healthy and bergaya gituh (while hiking and exercising only, hate it when it happens in daily life :P). Having said that, I wouldn't say I dont like it otherwise... (pulak dah :P) Kinabalu climb was superfun because its colder and u dont really sweat as much, until Laban Rata... but it was too cold for my likings from LabanRata to the top, about 2-4celcius I think? gigilllll....

I joined a hiking trip organised by an outdoor group in the campus. They organise trips for small group of people  - usually around 9-11 slots, depending on the activity.

We went to the DuPont State Forest, near a place known as FlatRock village located in Hendersonville N.Carolina. Its about 2-3 hours drive from Charlotte. There were 11 of us. I was worried I might not able to keep up as I have not been in shape or in good stamina lately.... but it was ok since it was a mild hike, not very strenuous kind.

The sceneries are just breathtaking! This place is known for its beautiful waterfalls.
Upper Left: Triple Falls. Upper Right: High Falls.
Lower LEft: getting nearer to the triple falls. Lower Right: The HighFalls upclose.

ashlyn, mallory and i with Highfalls as background.

So Tempting... feel like nak melompat masukkk.... but water was freeezing cold. nehi nehiiii

Kuda breed "Tennesse walker"... cara dia jalan adalah sgt seksi okk
Besides hiking, people come for horseriding, fishing and  mountain biking as well....

 

Further up: Covered Bridge

After HighFalls, we followed the trail that goes pass covered bridge (which is on top of the HighFalls), and hike to this Lake, known as Lake Dense. Cantekknyee... if only airnya tak sejuk banget.

 

Ayaq clearrr kaan!

After spending an hour plus here, for lunch, solat (for me) and sunbathing :))... we headed to the next and final falls for our trip that day, the Grassy Creek Falls

Left Upper,Lower: at Lake Dense

Right: Grassy Creek Falls (the final waterfalls)

Then we followed a different trail back to HighFalls. From there, we hiked back using the same trail we came from back to the parking lot!

It was tiring... what more with the bulky camera I brought along... which I'm glad I did :-) Coz the sceneries are too good to pass for shots :P

On way back.... lotsa Farmvilles along the road :D

It was a great experience.

The weather was good dat day, temperature around 10-12 celcius, not too windy and not too sunny... just nice :D

The trail for the day:

Yellow line: trailing forward
Pinky line: trailing back.
Arrows: The stops :-
Triple Falls, High Falls, Covered Bridge, Lake Dense, and Grassy Creek Falls

Side Refences  (Hiking in Penang):
Kerachut Beach
Monkey Beach + Muka Head Light House
Bukit Bendera
Bukit Mertajam Hill / Tokun Hill
Bukit Jambul
Mengkuang Dam (jogging not much of hiking)

Mai pakat- pakat pi Tanjung (penang) :D ngeh  ngeh ngeh

@ Iklan tak berbayar
Sekian...

Holiday on Ice

I had this childhood fantasy of "holiday on ice" talcum powder... haha... I laughed when I figured how relevant it was when Mardhiyah asked me if I wanted to join a skiing trip. Though in present i don't fancy the idea of skiing, (I prefer sports that require less equipment handling), I did it for my childhood memories... plus a little bit of 'new' adventure once a while will be good, rite :P

I joined this program organized by muslim student association of NC unis, to the Beech mountain ski resort,  NC. We can choose between Skiing, Snowboarding, and Tubing. Snowboarding sounds too scary, Tubing sounds too cute, so Ski it is! :P senang tak buat decision?... hohoho.

Look at the crowd... since winter is ending soon, I guess ramai berpusu-pusu to njoy as much as they can :D

and they have ski school for beginners (like me). But I kan berlagak terrer, haha... tak aar, amik syarat dpt ski pun cukup, even dengan gaya ayam itik skalipun :P

kaki terkepak kepak

Apparently, I dont have any inborn talent or superficial powers for skiing! Keep falling which is quite common for beginners... so that's what I happily did for most of my time there. Seriously... it was fun falling on snow coz its soft...but of course later u deal with your muscle ache la kan. Then, knowing me, I even felt when I was not skiing. on earthground, not on snow... passing by the cafetaria when out of sudden, a girl gleefully asked me "Did you have great time?!!" Kedeboom, jatuh!  grrrr... And again knowing me, I am good at 'speed recovery' and got up, gave a bimbotic laugh (cover malu), "yeahh, I guess I did, huhhh"  and kontrol macho... dalam hati, huwaaaa..............why whyyy

so lesson learned... to all of u out there: Toksah dok gempak mami laghu tu noh...  haih...adeh... well hidupku tanpa drama adalah tak sah, kan.....

This is the lift, that goes to the highest trail... erk, tiba-tiba acrophobia looking at this. nehi nehi. There are 'less extreme' trails, and separate lifts for that. Unfortunately (for me), when you hop on this lifts, u have to ski/snowboard down... u can't hve the return ride on this lifts. I really wanted to go on it, but since my skiing is bad, (I can't stop while going down slopes), I can't jeopardize my safety as well as others' on my path.

Anyways, I had fun learning how to ski at less steeper areas. When I got tired, I played around with snow (tindakan refleks bagi org khatulistiwa yang jupe snow kan) and went to check out the snowtube side... oh my, looks fun and cute :P tubies tubies teletubbies cute :D but i heard from those who did it, it was kinda rough as well :P

Last but not least, it was a great experience.

A part of it was also coz I met bunch of new friends, all young and energetic!! They are juz so cool... made my day! Thank girlss ;-)

winter's gonna be over soon... its getting warmer these days..yeahhh!



A ride to the fantasy world

I was hanging out with a girl who's 11. Both of us kept each other good company. The girl warmed up to me very fast, and when she find that she was comfortable talking to me, she couldn't stop. Haha... she reminds me of myself, trillion years ago :P Ouh....I was so talkative...  (wait...IS it past tense?)
and she makes me miss my niece even more...

She's full of fantasy... she loves the movie harry potter and 2012 so much that she tries to believe one is and one will be true. Most likely she already knew they are fictional but choose to believe otherwise. I told her they are not true and she said 'yeahh but I really believe it will be true... you know it's so cool....(she continues with her imaginative narrations)...' Then I realised, I was that girl once upon a time. I guess I woke up somewhere along the way. Anyways, back to the future. I had to share my take on 2012, but made it as light as possible for her. But she was so excited about harry potter that I couldnt bring myself to dash her childhood fantasy. And  then she started asking whether I think harry potter exists. Alamak... it's a trapp!!. Now now, how should i tell her? Finally, I replied 'dear, i don't believe in harry potter...  (she looked a bit disappointed) but, I like the movies (grin). Though i'm telling you its not real, it's ok for you to keep your fantasy alive..." she looked kinda happy with my answer... but I can never tell whether it's the best answer...

.
This is like telling kids santa does not exist.
And its the same like how I had to explain to my niece that animals don't talk in real life.

On the other hand, as much as I think we should impose reality from time to time, I think we should give them some space for imagination and fantasies as well. I dunno, maybe for them to be more creative-thinking in future?

I still remember how imaginative I was. I would be telling my younger sis all about it and make her believe my fantasy world. Funny how I still remember some of them in detail.

I loved this talcum so much when I was little. I told my sis once we touch it, we will go into the other side of the world and reach this place. oh ya, can even choose which one will be our 'house' here. After "going into this bedak", we would be skiing tak ingat dunia... (walhal masih atas katil!) and sometimes I would be staring at it, with the hope that staring hard would make me kepooofff to this place... hahaha....

pic courtesy: http://koleksioldskool.blogspot.com/

Hmmm..I better not write all of them here.. I should just keep em to myself huh... haha....sharin Holiday on Ice fantasy is embarassing enough :P

My childhood years are long gone... the memories, some of em, are still strong....I am not sure to what extent my childhood imaginations or fantasies might have influenced my life's journey... Any comments from children psychology expert? But I still remember the feeling of having hopes and dreams about the impossibles or the wonders the world has to offer.

As an adult, its our responsibility to teach kids about the reality of life... (according to their age)

but once a while, i guess it won't harm us to ride into their fantasy world ... right? 

Listening to kids telling stories is so entertaining...

Ainaa.. aunty miss you so sooo much..... :'(

The start of my Charlotte's adventure

The first 2 days were dedicated to get over the jetlag, but we did drop by the college on my second day, and I was introduced to Kak Ieta.

Thursday 13th, I met my supervisor and was shown around the department and lab, and on that same day, I confirmed my apartment, and moved in. I had to make a quick detour to Walmart again to get some important stuff (supaya tak menggigil di malam ari):

Friday 14th, marked the start of my days in Charlotte all by myself = to be independent and resourceful (i hope!) There are few people who have offered to help (especially rides) if I needed any... like Fifa who teman me to get the 'hidup bujang trang tang tang' starter kit - which consist of a lot, lot of stuff like periuk, sudu, pencuci muka, pencuci mangkuk tandas, kain lap meja, roti, susu, ubat gegat, bakul sampah, butter, rice, air freshner... bla bla blaaaaaa.... 

Other than settling down, there's some adaptation I need to make.

1. The weather!

When I have to walk out when it's windy.... yikessss! when the temp dropss, even the heater's not helping (still afraid to tamper with it)... masa tu la terbayang-bayang suasana penang tercinta tatkala elektrik takda... alangkah nikmatnya! Haih, rindunya nak berpeluh... huhu.... After 2 weeks, I'm getting used to it now :-) not that bad after all.
Cabaran: waking up! hybernating under the sheets n comforter iz juz irresistable.

2. The measuring units.

awatla depa tamo pakai metric system? everything needs to be converted, fahrenheit to celcius (ooo skang rajin cek temperature n weather...) then gallon to litre..... miles to km... pounds to kg....

pros: trus la jadi terer mengkali darab bahagi segala skang ni :P

cons: I will look confused and blur .. i.e "its not that far, just half a mile from here..." So I'll be like... a mile... yeker not far? (and start converting and calculating)....

3. The road system
this one pun, its oppposite way than us... and since I walk most of the times, I've got to be more cautious and alert.

4. Language

It's ok, but sometimes some of them talk too fast plus accent lagi, and I'll be like lost sikit coz takleh pick up exactly wht they are saying.  This one time, at the store's counter, I said 'pardon?', and the lady gimmie a blank expression, and when I rephrased it "i'm sorry, what did u just say"... and she got it and repeated. They understand if u say pardon, but it's not very common here..
I was having a chat with my labmate, I told him about my accident with a lorry.. he was like "Lorry? how's dat??" (he thought a girl named Lori hit me)...only then it striked me "Ouuhh... u dont call it lorry right... aaaa its a truck!"  haha... And also I figured that they dont say "black coffee or white coffee" here... just go by with cream or no cream/milk... Since we are brought up with british-english, there are some differences but not that obvious I guess :) 

5. Food

I am not very fussy when it comes to food... and I have always loved to try new food. But there's one restriction though... it has got to be halal :-) So I cant just rush into Walmart and pick everything I want, but must check the labels and ingredients first. So far, I don't have problem with food, and I am starting to cook my own meals... haha... masak ntah hapa2 ntah.... There are few Halal Meat stores around, and there's few asian stores as well.. selling spices and stuff... However.... I kinda misssssss the food we have back home. I am from Penang weiiiii!!! what do u expect?! :P

Hmm.. well... that's about it.. for now!
plus minus plus minus.... I kinda like this place :-) hope to make the best out of my time here.

merentasi lautan pasifik...

Dear Blog, (cewah)

I have safely arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina and after a week here, I have found myself an apartment near campus and have settled most of the things (habis harta beli barang2 basic jaaa...swipe swipe pastu menitis air hingus tgk baki).... and have started my day at the lab.

A big thanx to Prof and his wife, as well as Kak Ieta, a Malaysian and her daughter Fifa, for their helps and concerns to get me settled.

Before this, I never travelled further than south east asia, with Bandung, Indonesia being the furthest city I've been... So when my attachment has been confirmed, I have been warned about long haul flight. Erk...yikes!

Then the weather... Charlotte shouldnt be that bad coz it doesnt snow dat much, so maybe not so cold down there :P I guessed wrong. Lucky thing, I did get one winter jacket!

Saying goodbye... its hard... away for 6 months?? and to a location where I can't get home in just few hours of bus-ride? Oh my.. Ok, Its not a big deal, ppl do this all the time, but kan... for me, who have been in the comfort zone for almost 3 decades :P
Tho I can be a lil unpredictable every now n then...I usually prefer to be "Safe and Sound" most of the time... so I shocked myself with my decision. The thing that worries me is that I'm leaving my parents. But, them being positive and supportive gave me enough confidence to go through with this.

My Flight itinery:

Penang -- KL(KLIA) -- Taiwan, Taipei Airport (transit 1 hour plus) -- LA (LAX) -- Charlotte (CLT)

= 40 mins + 3 hours (at KLIA) + 18 hours 50 mins (include taipei transit) + 4 hours (at LAX) + 4 hours

= 30 hours 30 mins !!

Penang to KL... didnt sleep

at KLIA...
I met my sistas and kiddos...second round of saying babai

Oh ya just as I reached KL, I got a text from my boss... she forwarded an urgent email frm Prof.

"Please note that due to possible snow storm in North Carolina, especially in Charlotte area, your flight from Los Angles can be delayed! Therefore,  keep my home and cell phone numbers handy so that you can contact us. We will try our best to arrive at the airport by 6:30 am, it will be still dark and early morning! , But it is also a possibility that due to snow and ice some roads may be closed and that can further delay our arrival at the airport. Please be confident and stay calm, you can make phone calls from the help desk at the airport to inform us or checking our arrival time. Be confident and Insha’Allah, you will be received at the airport. Have a safe flight"

Alamak.... oh ooh.... Kept praying that it wouldnt be that bad....

KL to Taipei...
I got a seat by the window and there's no one beside me... ahaaa.. yey! Didnt sleep.. sibuk melayan movies berbagai...

at taipei airport... went online while waiting at the transit room.. haha sempat lg tuh

Taipei to LAX, no more empty seat beside me..

Put some songs in the playlist and kebummm...Zzzzzzz... ilang dibawa hangin pasifik melayan mimpi indah...slept for a few hours... Oh yaa, the flight attendant and kapten pun announced dat we would land an hour later than the scheduled time...beacuse of the weather.

Dalam dok bangun sat-sat, jenguk luar a few times - sometimes its dark, then cerah balik then dark balik, sbb melawan arah time zone kan. There's this snow flakes on my window... nyaman terasa, ahaks :-) Ok, sambung tido.... then sampei lah kt Los Angeles Airport @ LAX.

Passed the security with flying colors.. hihik... even my bags are spared...which is a good thing coz I didnt bring anything sangat pun except for packed food, but if they were to inspect in and out... would be a headache for me to reorganize em back....so dat was a huge relief :-) then my next flight was from Terminal one via Us Airways. I had to walk out from the current terminal and 10-15mins walk to terminal 1 which was like 2 buildings away.

ok la gak jalan, layan blues jap....

aaaa... dekat dah....

....

I had roughly 2hours plus after custom clearance, checking in with us airways and all... so I entertained myself with a cuppa of kopi and just looking at people moving in and out... but  buat expressi monotonous je coz didnt want to look like budak sesat sorang2 or terkebil-kebil excited dengan environment baru :)) hoho

the next flight was on-time... no delays... legaa....

Off we gooooo to charlotte... and bubye LA for now....

Tried to sleep in da flight but mcm tido2 ayam aje....

Then d plane landed safely... but took somtime to look for available gates coz most of the flights out were cancelled thus many planes still hybernating in the airport.

got all my bags... ok now... where do I go now from here?

My phone was roaming but restricted any calls out, or maybe I didnt put the right country code or somthing. I did try calling him from 'what looked like a public phone' but it didnt get through as well. There were 2 ladies seated somewhere near and they were kind enough to give me coins change and when dat failed, one of them borrowed me their phone to make a call to Prof and it got through. It seemed that the weather was kinda bad before I arrived and they couldnt drive out from their house because there were frozen ice along the pathway. Ok... cuak sket dah time tu :P They asked me to take a taxi from the airport and assured that it will be safe (I had doubts coz I don't really take taxis back home... hoho...) ouhh well... Man vs.Wild 101 - go and get a taxi now already will ya!

And the taxi driver was alllll grumpyy when I told him that the address would lead him to a housing area. He at first thought that I was heading to the uptown area.

He kept on driving though... so I just have to tahan sikit dengan all his grumbles... but deep down inside, I berdoa-doa dah... please, just take me there! and was practically preparing myself to embrace the 'wild'.. haha.. in case he were to drop me off somewhere in the middle of the road...

Lucky me, I didnt have to go through Man vs.Wild 102.... phewww.... He brought me safely to Prof's home, he dropped me off by the main road in front of Prof's home coz the pathway to his house was all icy and slippery... prof and his wife were there to welcome me. sempatt la ber "ice-skating" bbrapa meter utk masuk ke dalam rumah...  Alhamdulillah, selamat sampai.

the housing area. p/s: not prof's house

So cosy inside.... and warmerrr... legaa ok.
Had breakfast....with this as the view....

Lovely....

 

Went online and one of my friends was online, asked her to call my parents to get online...though I had called them from prof's place and sent sms to them... I still wanted them to feel more assured...so we Skyped... they looked happy that I arrived safely.... but I can see tears in their eyes.... I know they have already starting to miss me... coz I have been missing them too since I depart from Penang...