The Pre-Postgrad post

Hehe...the title is so 'gedik'. I am encouraging myself to be excited about this! Today, I checked the education faculty post-grad blogspot for class schedule and Alhamdulillah it was already up. Since I have the day off from school, I did the online registration today and went to school to settle the part time studying application form to be submitted to PPD which will then be forwarded to JPN. With the letter from JPN I will be entitled to 30 days of unrecorded leave a year should there be any classes or exams that fall on school days. Hopefully the approval will follow through without any hiccup. I am also very excited to share my class schedule here:

The dates of my classes and the group. It's ED770 by the way :-)

The class timetable - just look at the crazy time!

As you can probably see (or maybe NOT, because the font is too small) I will be doing 3 courses this year and they are: 1. Education & Human Development 2. Literature in ESL (an elective course) and 3. Research Methodology. Number 3 scares me the most as I could recall how clueless I was when I did this subject during my degree days. Number 1 & 2 should be okay, In Shaa Allah. Just looking at the time I will spend for every class during this semester makes me tired. I hope I will be given the physical and mental strength to complete this within 2 years. Baby? That plan is still on board. I sure hope I can cope with the assignments while doing my job as a full time teacher. What's next? Well, there are plans but everything is a bit cluttered in this little head of mine right now so...we'll just see how it goes and slowly build my way in this career. 

Answering the question

Am I competitive? Actually not. However, with the advancement of technology and people being less private about their personal lives, living on a day-to-day basis can be quite a pressure. Looking at people's status updates who are proudly showing off their baby-bumps, new purchases and yes, baby photos...do make me feel urm...a little jealous. That's the word - jealous. Like how I wish that was me and the constant question of, "Why am I still not pregnant yet?". To worsen the situation, the society doesn't help ease my tension. In fact, they act as a catalyst to upset my emotion by asking me, "Why are not pregnant yet?" or "When are you gonna have a baby?". Their oblivion, or rather ignorance puzzles me. In actual fact, I WISH I KNEW THE ANSWER TO THOSE QUESTIONS!
Just to amuse myself in this post I will come out with the reasons they SO long for.

WHY AM I STILL NOT PREGNANT?

1. My husband and I dated for a short while before we got married so we wanna have a year or two to ourselves
2. We are both doing our part-time masters and we wanna concentrate doing one thing at a time :)
3. Our future baby hates competition - with everyone popping out babies this year, we'd like to do it when they are done having theirs. Our baby will get ALL THE ATTENTION when the right time comes :))
4. We wanna be financially ready first (cliche sgt yg ni!)
5. HMMM.....ERRMMM....out of ideas already...*sigh*

- Ideas from anyone who is reading is much welcomed.

A few days ago I was at my mum-in-law's. They have this helper who comes in daily to help with the house work. And so far, every time she sees me she seems to be more concerned about whether or not I am pregnant rather than how I am. The most recent that annoyed the hell out of me was her comment, "Oh, takde rezeki lagi....kesian...." KESIAN? What? Do I need sympathy? Am I deprived of living because I am not pregnant yet? Seriously, what the....? But she's just a helper, not any member of the family (Thank God for that) and she's not in any way significant to me so I'll let it go but that did disturb me. Even kids are asking the same question - but...they are kids. Honestly, I dunno how I am going to handle this raya if we are still not pregnant by then.

As a Muslim, I believe in rezeki and that too is determined by Allah. When? How much/many? We can only try and pray and the rest is not up to us to decide. I strongly believe in that and should we need any form of medical assistance, we don't need others to tell us this. It shall be a decision made by us and we will do it when the time comes. So, please stop. Stop asking, stop feeling sorry and stop suggesting - because we have heard it all! As TTCs, we read extensively on this issue, even more than many pregnant mothers out there. We think about ourselves and our future. You can't even begin to imagine the amount of money every TTC has to spend once they've decided to get a fertility assessment or treatment. So, if you are not one of us and you really care so much, please just remember us in your prayers. Trust me, that's the best thing you could do to help someone. (credit to google images for the picture)

An attempt to not fail

Hi! It's been a few months...So latest update is I just registered as a part time post graduate student for the course M. Ed(TESL) in UiTM Shah Alam. I don't really have a plan I would say but my main objective is to graduate with a masters and use that to leave school and get an employment as a lecturer somewhere. This is just a plan though, made by the very human me. What the Almighty has planned for me has yet to be discovered. Meanwhile, I just stroll along and try to do this although I know what hectic life I've just got myself into. Since Rafei (my husband) is also doing his MBA and we are still waiting for the miracle of life to happen, I've decided to use this time and opportunity to study. In other words, trying to distract myself from the dreadful question of "When will I be pregnant?!" Yes, I am jealous. I am jealous of all the baby-bumps, baby photos, proud mummy and daddy....some tend to be a tad leaning towards being boastful (sorry to say this but I do get this from some of you, definitely not all but surely some). So, what the heck?! Let's graduate with a Masters instead. When life gives you lemons...make lemonade. When life gives you empty womb, fill your time before it gets filled! Hahahaha. So...good luck to me and the rest of you who are doing this or will be doing this!

Very soon we'll bid farewell to 2012 and welcome the new year, 2013! If last year closing the chapter of 2011; the miracle year for me, and looking forward to 2012 was all about my wedding and being married, this year how I envision my 2013 would be a lot different...in various aspects actually. Career wise and professional development will certainly drain me physically and mentally. Pursuing my post graduate studies come March 2013 (In Shaa Allah) part time while shouldering all the responsibilities shoved unto me by the school administration. We'll just see how it goes. I am just doing this as my gut tells me to. So, care to share a handbook I can prepare myself with to embark on this journey? At the same time, we'll be more proactive (if we have the energy, as we're both doing the work & study thing together) in TTC. We hope to get pregnant in 2013, and if we're lucky we might just have the baby within the same year. Ameen... In my mind I am dreaming of a lot of things. For a start, hope I get to drive a brand new car, but I am financing my own studies, just can't imagine doing that while paying my tuition fees. Will have KIV this plan. Besides, we have to start saving for our home which will be ready in 2014 (In Shaa Allah). Money, money...we can never have enough. I am also dreaming of buying baby clothes and pushing the stroller while my little kid sits in there, hope he/she doesn't cry too much! Hehe...wishful thinking. But who knows right? That might just come true...Patience, Aida! Patience... God, I am sleepy. So, here's to 2013. May all our wishes come true and may Allah guide us through. Ameen, good night and a happy new year

Already 3 months...

...Hello! It's been a LONG time since I last wrote about the happenings in my life. In my last post, I updated about my transfer to a new school. It is SMK Hillcrest, Taman Seri Gombak. The first month, I was placed in the morning session and taking over another teacher's time table. It took awhile to get the hang of it. First, it was the waking up early in the morning...I am not an early riser. So waking up and driving early in the morning didn't come naturally to me. Especially after almost 3 years of just walking a few metres to get to school, this was not easy for me. Second, was the relearning process. I had to relearn the culture, the students, the system, and it was more complicated than the previous school. Next, was the students. Certainly not easy as now I am teaching more students with a variety of attitudes, abilities, problems etc. After a month teaching the morning session, I was then placed in the afternoon session where I was supposed to be placed initially. Teaching the lower forms, huh? May sound easy to some, but it comes with its own challenges. Younger students seem to be more active. They are definitely more childish, still playing all sort of games and many of them could care less about exams as they just sat for the UPSR. Besides that, the new PBS system that has no exams makes them even more free to think less about studying. Kids being kids could care less about the effects or repercussion they will face in the future if they do not study now. It was quite a challenge for me to instill some interest in studying for them especially when the motivation is not scoring in the exams. I mean, to tell you the truth, when I was a school student myself, I saw learning simply as means for me to do well in exams that is crucial for my future (tertiary education and career). Our immature minds were never exposed to seeing learning as the acquisition of knowledge for the betterment of oneself, while putting exams and career advancement out of the equation. It sort of came in a package. I find that, the younger generation, especially the one I am teaching, is no different. They do not know how to take their studies seriously, let alone think about the purpose of learning for their future. Seeing beyond what's in the nearest future to them is I suppose, almost impossible. Hence, disciplining them in class becomes the hardest task. To top it up, now the teaching periods I have is more than what I was used to. Every day I feel so tired and the last thing I want to do each day is think about school. Seriously. I am also replacing a teacher who is on her maternity leave and picking up where someone else has left off can be quite confusing. All in all, everything takes time. Once everything started to sink in and I began to understand my responsibilities and slowly established a routine, I was beginning to feel fine. Some things just can't be changed so you have to adjust yourself to follow suit with the system. Alhamdulillah, so far I am surviving and already can't wait for the year-end school holidays!!!

Liking the quote. Credit to google ;) Cheers

Hi!!! Writing from my phone. So this post will be short. I have successfully transferred to SMK Hillcrest, Tmn Sei Gombak. Right now I have no idea what to do. Yesterday I was given a few classes to relief, but today so far I have none. Even I wonder why today I do not get any relief class. At the moment no time table yet. In conclusion, I am dead bored here...I'm sure only for now...*yawn*

the long overdue post: MY RECEPTION

We got back around 2 a.m. after we were done with outdoor photo shoot post nikah. By the time I got the make up removed I crawled to bed at about 3ish, ALONE. Mr hubster had to go back - it's a pantang to stay overnight before the majlis bersanding. As nikah was meant to be an intimate affair, so the marriage isn't publicly announced just yet. The majlis bersanding a.k.a wedding reception is the occasion to announce to the world that - this couple is lawfully wedded. Then only could the marriage be consummated - well, according to adat that is. Anyhoots, on Saturday hubby arrived at 12ish and had shower and lunch at my place before we pushed off to the venue of our reception. It was Singgahsana Hotel, Petaling Jaya. We considered many venues during the preparation period and trust me venue selection was the trickiest because wedding is now a fast-growing business and with that many places offer cut-throat quotation for just a decent dinner. The venue we finally settled with was within my parents' budget and it did allow us to cater to a slightly large number of crowd, which was about 500 pax. I would still think that H.O.M.E is the best place for a Malay wedding reception, however given the limited space we had, we decided to take the wedding to a different location. We got to the hotel a bit late, there were family arriving at home, some visitors came to give their well wishes to us, we couldn't say no could we? The rehearsal was supposed to begin at 3.30 but got delayed to 4...I was pretty anxious as I wanted to see if the slideshow we had prepared was working but the technician was not around. It was pretty obvious that the wedding planner was getting pissed, I on the other hand started to worry but still maintained my cool. After waiting for a bit more we started the rehearsal but skipped the slideshow and video session. She gave me her word that she'd make sure it will appear that night. It better did! We were already running late. My make-up artist arrived at 5 and make-up was supposed to start by 5.30 but I hadn't even taken my shower at that time. So I rushed to the bridal suite and got ready for make-up. I put my worries aside, and told myself "What will be, will be! The most important thing is we're married"...My MUA did her magic again and wallah I was transformed from a tired-looking girl to a beautiful, glowing bride! I loved her job, I loved my look. Especially this one! And the best thing was hearing my husband telling me how beautiful his wife looked! Precious! :)) After striking a few poses we were summoned to the waiting room before making our entrance into the banquet hall. My heart was beating fast. I hope nothing goes wrong. Before we knew it, the moment arrived. Slowly we made our way to the bridal dais, all eyes were on us, cameras from every angle, we walked hand in hand, all smiles. That was a moment to remember - this must be how all celebrities on a red carpet feel, only 1000 times better because I am with my husband. I have lived for almost 27 years to finally found the one I want to be with for the rest of my life, InsyaAllah and the best part is he feels the same way too! (Lots of love in my heart) Sitting up there with about 500 pairs of eyes looking at us, we beamed with happiness. "Alhamdulillah", my heart cried. Once all the VIPs gave their blessings to us with just a simple 'bersalaman' session as a replacement to the 'merenjis' ritual, we marched to the high table. My husband was so macho! I love saying that because he likes to think of himself that way and it's not like he isn't anyways! Dinner started but I didn't think I savoured it as much as I should have, hehe, because I was still not settled...not until the whole event was finished. But based on words from our guests, the food was great! That, I was truly happy about. Unfortunately, there were things I was really unhappy about and they were the slideshow and video preview and the sound system! Even thinking about it makes me angry about everything. We paid good money for that night and it's just unfair that we weren't satisfied with all their services. First, the slideshow went crazy...the sound system in particular, same went to the video! They were also supposed to dim the lights! But it continued to be bright the whole time! And my dad's speech wasn't clear, I was so bumped! I was at the brink of tears but thankfully my husband was there. Lesson learnt: WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING. All in all I felt happy actually, and relieved it's all over. Despite the technical problem, I was overjoyed. How blessed I feel to have my family members doing everything they could for my wedding, friends coming near and far for our wedding reception, my BFFs doing their part as the emcee of the night. I couldn't be happier, we couldn't be happier. The slideshow and video were magically beautiful. We loved them, only the presentation didn't do justice to their beauty. We wish to thank our parents, our siblings, aunts & uncles, cousins and their family, our relatives, best friends, close friends, colleagues, family friends, Splendiferous Pictures, Yon Photography, Kak Ina who did our slideshow, Kak Affy for the gorgeous make-up!!! Ah-Ching for the outfits, Jue Eden for the pelamin, of course Ustaz Imran our jurunikah, I still thank Singgahsana BUT they have to work on improving their sound system PRONTO! Below (recently embedded) is our nikah video that many could have missed on our reception dinner. Credit to Spendiferous Pictures, please enjoy...

SDE Video Highlight - Aida + Rafei from Splendiferous Pictures ™ on Vimeo.