Hello 2014

Assalamualaikum and hi!

It's been a while and without me realizing, it's already 2014! I would just like to update a number of things. First of all, the reason that I've been busy is that I have a job now, alhamdulillah :) The job is nothing fancy and is very basic-level but I'm grateful that at least I have earned my first income now. And I am grateful that after a long, long time (years) of looking forward to the day that I receive my first paycheck, the day finally came. On that day, I had given a part of my hard earned salary to my parents as a gift and nothing felt better than that particular kind of satisfaction. All praises to Him. :)

Next update, is regarding my physical health. People closest to me would know that I have been suffering from severe period pains every month which have costed my body weight and overall physical health to plummet. Usually when the period pain strikes, it would basically be hell for me. I would be given shots by the doctor, vomit every 10 minutes for a whole day, toss and turn and cry for help, and (just occasionally if not rarely) overdose on painkillers and my family would have to rush me to the hospital. Oh and I have fainted too once. So a couple of months ago I figured that something has to be done to get me fixed. I needed to know what's really happening inside of me. To make the long story short, I went to see a couple of doctors recently and they found that I have a cyst grown inside my womb close to my left ovary. Good news is, it's just a cyst and not a fibroid which is more dangerous and complicated. Bad news is, if after 3 months of consuming the medications prescribed to me and the cyst is still there, I will have to undergo a surgery to remove it.

When I first knew about this, Tuhan saja yang tahu segala rasa dalam hati ni. Scared, blur, anxious, lost; all kinds of mixed feelings. But mostly blur lol.

I know I can't rely only on the medications prescribed by the doctors, I have to find extra ways to help myself. Thus, I'm taking natural health supplements in my diet. I'm a firm believer on natural method of healing especially through a healthy diet. Other than that, tawakkal and redha.

Okay to lighten things up, I have decided that this year, 2014, I will do more of the things that I love which is handcrafts and art. So, I will make more felt art cushions, sew more and express my creativity more through various ways.

I don't know what the future has in store for me, but I really hope that this year would bring more happiness and rezeki in my life. I'm looking forward to all the good things that will cross my path. To those reading this, I wish you a happy new year and I pray that you will meet all your new year's resolutions. Thank you so much for taking your time to read my humble blog.

xoxo

Buttermilk Prawn

Hi!

I have never been up-and-about when it comes to cooking, but there is one dish that I am getting better at making: buttermilk prawn. It's a simple dish with simple ingredients. My little niece and nephews absolutely love this dish. It's easy to call them to the dinner table when they know I'm making this. So let's get started, shall we!

What you need:
1) Udang (ikut suka nak berapa banyak)
2) Butter
3) Susu cair sejat
4) Susu pekat
5) Garam
6) Daun kari

1) Bersihkan dan kopek kulit udang, letak tepi
2) Cairkan 1-2 sudu butter dalam kuali
3) Masukkan setengah gelas susu cair sejat (kalau guna banyak udang atau saja nak kuah lebih, lebihkan sikit susu cair), api perlahan/low simmer
4) Masukkan 1-2 sudu susu pekat (sambil gaul) sehingga dapat rasa manis-manis buttermilk yang diingini
5) Masukkan beberapa cubit garam (jangan banyak sangat) sehingga cukup rasa
6) Masukkan udang tadi dan daun kari, gaulkan
7) Tunggu sehingga udang menjadi merah/cukup masak
8) Tutup api, siap!

And then it's supposed to look something like this:

If you don't want to make it on your own, here's a suggestion of places that make really good buttermilk dishes: Gold Chilli, SS15 Subang Jaya and Thai Asam Fish, Pusat Komersial Seksyen 7, Shah Alam.

Okay then, I hope this recipe helps. Good luck!

xoxo

My best friend got engaged

Hi!

How many of you girls feel that time flies as fast as a giant unicorn on fire especially when your best friend is getting engaged or married? I know I do. A few weeks ago, My best friend - my soulmate - got engaged to the perfect guy (literally Prince Charming (who wears braces) to her eyes) whom she met just a couple of months. A fairy tale-come-true. I know right.

Aww look at her. How much prettier can this girl be? Words can't describe how much I love and appreciate her as my best friend. When I had a tiny little cold, she was my warden. When I was bed-ridden, she was my nurse. When I cracked one of my lame jokes, she was there to laugh. When I needed a shoulder to cry on, she was there; along with her calm consultations. She was my room-mate for three years and although we saw each other everyday, we would stay up almost every night for hours and hours on our bed just talking about things. People don't understand the relationship that we have. It's special. As I said, we're soulmates.

Just seeing her on her engagement day looking as radiant as ever, brought me to think how much she has grown, she looks like a mature lady now! And I'm sure, she will make a beautiful bride one day.

I hope she enjoys every single day of being someone's fiancee, because this delicate moment of being engaged to be married, is just a short period of time in one's lifetime - and I think precious times like this should be preserved. 

I should thank Faris for driving me all the way down south to Johor Bharu to attend the special occasion. He sacrificed his time, sleep, energy and money to do that. And I think he was very sweet for understanding how much it meant to me. Such a sweet guy. Sorry that I made you rush from work, stay awake for more than 24 hours and spend your weekend merely on the road with me :3 (evil girlfriend laugh).

That's us three. The class trio since 2010.

Sarah if you're reading this, know that I love you, that I hope we will be friends forever, and that I hope your beloved will treat you as the princess that you are. :)

xoxo

The search continues

Hi!

This post is a continuation of my job-hunting story. If you have read my previous posts, you would know that I am on a mission to find a job.

So..after all that screening procedure, I didn't get the job in the publishing company. :( However, Faris did! Alhamdulillah..I knew he would make the cut and I'm glad he did and I'm so happy for him. :') He has already started working there and I can see he's really happy.

As for me, yes I am sad I didn't get the job. Turns out, the company wanted only men; hence the new recruits were all guys. Well it is a night-shift job, it's only logic. But they could've told me earlier, no?

So..the past week I've been quite depressed. It's not common that I become like this because I'm really the kind of person who has a positive attitude. I've always been high-spirited, motivated, happy. But "life's a wheel" right? Sometimes you're at the top, sometimes you're at the bottom. I'm not sad because I didn't get that one job actually. I'm just sad to think that I've been looking high and low for a job for the past three months. To be honest, I never knew job-seeking can make you feel this difficult when you look so hard and it takes too long. Countless emails and applications, a number of interviews but still nothing. At times I began to wonder if I'm really not good enough.

It's pathetic, I know. If anyone is reading this, you must be thinking "cepat sangat putus asa ni" or "relax la, belum ada rezeki lagi tu" or "tu pun nak sedih depressed bagai". Well you're right, I'm being too negative, impatient. But only Allah knows, how difficult it feels at the moment. How it feels not reaching the goal you set at a targeted time. And of course I'm sad because of a few other reasons which add on to the stress I have now.

I'm a loyal follower of Amenakin, an inspiring Muslim youtuber who lives in the UK (http://www.youtube.com/user/Amenakin). In one of her recent videos (which for me was posted at the right time) she said "everybody has hardships in their lives. There is not one person in this planet who has had it easy."  Another inspring young Muslim lady, Dena Bahrin, recently wrote on her blog saying that behind every achievement lies a struggle. Allah is fair. These words consoled me. I realize that I have to be more patient and make something happen from what I have right now. Faris also advised me this morning when he got back from work and was very sleepy and his voice sounded drowsy, saying that I should enjoy my break and "remember Matrade" (I used to work there and I dreaded the time in the office and wanted a break so bad). Faris can be a genius sometimes especially when he's very sleepy. Lol.

Now that that's off my chest, I thank you for reading this. xoxo <3

Sambal Tumis Sotong

Last night I made sambal tumis sotong for dinner. I'm not a really good cook but I'm slowly learning :) So I'd just like to share how I cooked this dish with you. Ready? Here we go!

1. Tumiskan bawang putih, bawang merah, halia
2. Masukkan cili blend
3. Masukkan sotong slices
4. Masukkan air asam
5. Tambah air jika perlu
6. Masukkan sikit garam, gula, ajinomoto sehingga cukup rasa
7. Optional: masukkan telur, gaul
8. Tunggu sehingga masak, hidang!

And you're done! And then it's supposed to look like this:

Well, mine kind of looked a little less pretty than this hehe. Still learning!

Okay that's all. I hope this recipe is simple enough for you to follow (if you're a beginner like me). Until next time!

XOXO.

Job Interviews!

Hi everyone!

So last month I posted about me doing a little job-hunting. Well, I..am still unemployed. :/ But after numerous applications, I did get a couple of responses. 

A few weeks ago I was called in for an interview as a Marketing Communications Assistant at a well renowned magazine publication company. At first I couldn't believe my ears when I got the telephone call. It was a dream come true. I've been wanting to work at the company for so long just for the love of fashion magazines. So I went all the way to Damansara, alone, for the interview. The sad thing was, when I went back into my car after the half hour interview, I took a deep sigh and thought I did awful. I thought, "well, this is only my first interview. First tries always suck," and then I went home. However, within a week the company asked me if I still wanted the job. I declined. I have my own reasons for this. I might reveal one of the reasons in my next post ;) 

So since that happened, I went back to my daily routine - searching for job vacancies. 

And then, Alhamdulillah, another company called me in for an interview! This time, an international publishing company. Although the selection process of this company is quite a challenge, the benefits that I can enjoy later if I passed are a plenty. The office is much closer to home, the working environment is friendlier, the pay is bigger, and the job scope is more fitting to my scope of study. I went for the interview last week and I was much calmer; although I was bombarded with questions for one and a half hour, non-stop. Seriously. I almost ran out of saliva. And the interview was at 12 a.m. in the morning. Seriously.

I actually applied for a job in this company on behalf of Faris too. We're so lucky that both of us got called in. Faris will be having an interview at this company too tomorrow night (yes, midnight to be exact) and I hope he gets in. The job fits him so well and he's such a funny guy I'm sure they'll love him. Such a sweet guy for letting me apply the job for him and agreeing to come down here all the way from Kelantan to go through the selection process with me *evil girlfriend laugh*. 

I really hope the both of us will pass this interview and finally start our career lives. Will we be hired? I don't know, I sure hope so. Well I'll let you know soon. Thanks for reading! Bye!

Hari Raya + Job-Hunting

Assalamualaikum, selamat hari raya! Happy eid!

Time flies so fast, I couldn't get a hold of it. It felt like Ramadan left very quick this year. Or is that what everybody says after every Ramadan? Anyway, I was so busy with moving out, packing, unpacking, job-hunting, bla bla - that I didn't really get to sit down and spend some quality time with my "inner-self" (if there really is such a thing. No, I do not have multiple identities), well you know, in celebration of Ramadan. It's alright, there are no restrictions whatsoever to do that on other months, so that's that. I can try again. On other months. Too long to wait for next year's Ramadan. Yep.

Aaaanyway, here are some pictures of me on Eid day!

zis iz me, looking fabulaz on Eidz morning

me and my bootiful coozenz

my sister and I on 2nd Eid when I am no more fabulaz

Now to my second update, my job-hunting efforts.

I have graduated for about a month now and I have emailed my resume to a number of companies, which until now, I haven't heard back from yet. I shall, however, continue my undying effort (dramatic sounds) to email my resume to more and more companies until I get an interview call. Why do I make it an undying effort? Because I received a Master's degree offer from my previous university and my father told me that I must pursue, should I not get a job in the near future. Which is not in my favour.

So wish me luck! (I might need it) Thank you in advance.

Other updates:

I'm thinking that I might start vlogging on this blog. Just on this blog because they will be meant for my friends. No promise, but I'll try :) Oh! And my best friend dah dirisik orang :') Happy tears! Happy tears! Congratulations darling! You are still forever my girlfriend till the day we're both grandmas :'D 

So that's it for now, until next time. :)