Last day of 2011

It's that time of the year again. Yup, the time when time stops for awhile for me and I sit back and reflect about what I've done and been through, throughout the whole year. Although I can barely remember everything right now, but I do know that it's been one hell of a ride. :)

It's the last day of 2011.....feeling kinda sad about it. Regrets I have a few. But I won't let it get to me too much. I don't want to enter the new year thinking about what I shouldn't have done. I want to keep moving forward and be the best I can be next year. 

Each year, I've learned new things. Same goes with this one.....so many new experiences.....so many fond memories.....bad ones too.....

I just want to remember the sweet memories I had experienced and keep on creating sweet ones for the new year. So many plans for next year and so many things to achieve.

I really hope that next year I can improve my health some more. I don't want my health problems to stop me from realising my dreams. 

InsyaAllah ......Allah will guide me and show me the way.... ;)

Ombak Rindu

After been hearing a lot of good reviews about this film, I decided to go and watch the film last Friday. I don't like to watch it alone so I brought someone with me hihi. It's been a while since I last watched any film at the cineplex. The last one would be Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa if I am not mistaken. Yes a another Malay movie :). 

In the spirit of supporting Malay films, off we went on Thursday but the tickets were all sold out when we got there. I was really surprised! Since I didn't want to miss it, I bought the tickets for the next day. Got good seats too. :) So on Friday we went there again! haha! 

I was all prepared to cry...hehehe.....because according to the reviews, this is a really really sad movie. It is based on a novel by Fauziah Ashari. If you watch it, you are bound to shed some tears....if not many, at least a few drops..haha. So I was all prepared for it. Packed some tissues in my bag and ready to cry my heart out. And cried a lot I did! haha! I never expected that I would cry so much in the cineplex. I thought I was able to control myself. I thought it wasn't going to be so sad. I was so wrong! I just couldn't help myself. It was inevitable! It was so SAD!!! Arrrggghhh! My eyes were all swollen at the end of the show. :D  

It's such a beautiful story. Beautifully acted by the lovely Maya Karin. I really loved her performance in this film. She really nailed the part. I can't imagine anyone else play the part. It was because of her that I cried so much.

Because of this film, now I have the interest in reading the book itself. My aunt says that she has the book. She read it years ago. Perhaps one day I'll find the time to read it. It's much more interesting to read the book because it's more complete. They can't tell the whole story in film.....not enough time to tell everything, so they simplified it. For those who have read the book, they might be disappointed when they watch the film. But for me since I've never read it before, I was quite happy with it. 

Although I didn't really like Lisa Surihani's acting in this film. I don't think she is the best person to play that character. She's just too sweet a person and too cute to be playing the part. It didn't seem real enough for me. Well, that's just my opinion. :)

I noticed that there are scenes in the film that were shot in Kedah! Yay! One was at the railway station in Alor Setar. Gosh the place looks so different in film....I almost didn't recognize it at first  hahaha. There were many scenes of the paddy fields as well......loved it :). Reminds me of home. :)

Happy New Hijri Year 1433

It's been more a month....close to two months..... since I last updated anything here. Lots of things happened since my last post. Funny, but somehow I have lost the mood to post anything here. Just don't feel like writing anything much about myself here but at the same time I hate seeing this blog neglected like this for so long. It's weird to feel this way but I don't know why I just don't feel like writing or sharing much about what I do here lately. Hopefully it's just a temporary feeling. Still, I am taking this opportunity to write again right now because  I suddenly feel like it perhaps due to the fact that we are celebrating the new hijri year today :). A new spirit has arrived I guess.....new beginnings.

Well, what's great so far is that my computer is back and functioning. That's good news for me as I really need it for work mostly. My handphone is alive again too. So those two problems are finally solved. :). My tooth problem got fixed late last month too. Finally. After 3 years of suffering.....last month it got really really bad that it was all swollen till down to my neck area, sleepless nights and aching all over.......finally I had to make a decision to have it pulled out. It's sad. I remember when I first had to make that kind of decision years ago and it was traumatizing. But this second time, I don't know why it's like I could accept the fact really well and move on with life. I guess it comes with age? Don't know, perhaps.......I'm just glad I was able to get a good dentist here for the job and everything went well. It didn't hurt much at all. I thank God for that.

Work wise, alhamdulillah things are getting better for me. I feel really blessed with all that Allah has given me so far. Really thankful for lots of things. It's a lot of work though....nothing comes easy. Lots and lots of hard work. Working all by myself is a real struggle but that's how I like it. It's a choice I've made and I've learnt to deal with it. When I think back......I believe that my decision to move to Kedah in 2009 was probably the best decision I've made at the time. Although I went through a lot of shit since then, I managed to get through it all. Alhamdulillah.

I remember this time last year, it was pretty bad.....with the flood and all.....and even though they said that this year, it might hit us again, so far, all is good. I've taken the necessary steps to prepare for the flood so that if it comes, I won't be so panicked like before. I'm happy that over the past few weeks, preparations for it has been done and I feel less and less worried about it, alhamdulillah. I really pray that I won't have to go through it again this year. I just don't have the energy to deal with it. It's too much to bear.

Health wise, I do feel there has been much improvements. I'm really working hard towards getting a better health but deep inside I know that something else is hindering me from achieving my goals. I believe that only Allah can help me with that. I can do my best to help myself, but at the end of the day......Allah makes all the decisions for me. Allah penentu segalanya dalam hidup ini.....kepadaNya saja saya berserah.

I would like to wish all my Muslim readers Happy New Hijri Year 1433. May this new year brings us good health, wealth, brings us closer to Allah and makes us better Muslims, insyaAllah.... :).

Something like that

It's weird not writing here for so long. It's like as if I forgot to write my diary. The diary went missing. Well....something like that. 

I still am having problems with my PC. They still haven't fix it yet. It's funny how people who work with computers for so long tells me that they have no idea what's wrong with my PC. So bloody funny. I'm too tired to feel upset. So I just let it be for a while. I can still survive without it .....I can still carry on with work, so I carry on....if it means I have to borrow somebody's laptop or go to the internet cafe or whatever, I'll do it, as long as I get the job done. It's fine by me. I don't want to think too much about it and get a headache. I just do whatever I can. I'm trying not to complain and I hate having to explain.......I just say whatever I feel like saying and that's that....nothing more.

I'm happy that I've been quite discipline with my morning exercise lately. I haven't missed it yet so far. I'm trying to make it like a daily routine and not something that I'll do whenever I've gained a few pounds or when my clothes suddenly feels a little tight here and there. It has to be something like food or drink that  have to take everyday or I'll just won't survive the day without it. Yeah......something like that. I do feel good too.....my health has improved quite a lot the past few months. With the new medication....the exercise, the new eating habits etc........it's great! I haven't felt so good like this in years. Hopefully things will get better and better in months to come :).

I'm also happy that I got my handphone back. It came back from being coma for at least 2 weeks. I was really worried about it. But after a week I forgot all about it. I just got used to not having a phone. I guess, that's how it was.....something like that. Now that it's back, I have learned not to be so depended on it. I used to cling to it 24/7. It's the first thing I think about whenever I woke up and the last thing I see before I go to bed. It was that bad. I guess, it was a good thing that it went into coma for a while......at least it taught me to appreciate other things in life that I was neglecting for so long and I also got to do other things without so many distractions from the hand phone. So now, all is good. :)

A lot of things happened the past few months......some are really shocking.....some are sweet surprises....and some are bad surprises.......some sad news.....some good news.......

Been so busy with work as well. So so busy. It's a different kind of busy though. Something new to me. A new thing I'm exploring in business and I like it a lot. Sometimes I like being busy......sometimes I just wanna be free. But of course I can never be free for too long. I don't have a fix income. So that's how it is....I just have to keep going as long as there is a demand.....I'll supply.....do my best to supply. I'm so used to this routine that, I just can't stop. Some people say I'm a workaholic....I guess they're right. I just love doing what I do.....can't help it.

I'm saying "Hi" to October and hoping that it will bring me a lot of happiness........but September was really really sweet to me. And I'll never forget 9.9.2011..................the sweetest most sweetest day of the year. ;) Yes.....it was sweet like that..... ;)

Syawal

It's been so so so long since I last blogged here. Never seem to have the time to do so and of course one of the main reason is because I don't get to come online as often as I would like to since my computer is still down. Once in a while whenever I borrow my aunt's laptop for work I would take a short break and blog a bit and right now it's blogging time at my personal blog. :)

Ramadhan has left us and now it's the month of Syawal. We celebrated our Eidul Fitri about a week ago......even so we are still in our raya mood till today. I still feel like holidaying but I know that is not possible. I have to start work tomorrow whether I like it or not.

Since I have not been online for quite sometime, I haven't been checking my Nuffnang for over a week. What a shock I got tonight when I check the analytics! I didn't realise the number of visitors has increased tremendously! Way up to over 5800 page views and over 2000 unique visitors a day! Wow! I've never seen so many numbers at my card blog before! I got a shock! I couldn't believe my eyes! I was wondering how that happened. And where are all this visitors coming from? Amazingly.........these days, 70% of my visitors are from India! And they were googling about Teacher's Day Cards and my blog post regarding Teacher's Day cards was a hit! Who knew! :D I'm so happy about it.....because all this time the visitors were quite low at my card blog and now all of a sudden....it's has increased so much. Alhamdulillah :). I think currently they are celebrating Teacher's Day there in India..... :).

Not only has the number of visitors as increased....but my weight has increased as well during the Eid.......I ate a lot of the ketupat palas.....way to many. Now I need to lose the weight I gained. Starting tomorrow I would have to increase my workout and control my diet. No more excuses. :I

A lot has happened over the past month. So many events. So many issues unresolved......

Lots of emails to reply.....lots of cards to make......lots of things to do.............feeling dizzy just thinking about it. Step by step.......will get them done....insyaAllah :)

Keeping the spirits high

Still feeling sad about the death of my computer. I sent it to the computer shop for repairs a few days ago but there was nothing much they could do to help.....it's officially dead.... :( .But I'm keeping my spirits high. I guess from now onwards, I'll be depending a lot on my handphone and my aunt's laptop to do my work. But I know I can't keep borrowing her laptop all the time....it wouldn't be fair on her.

Keep telling myself that it's not the end of the world............................I'll find a way to work things out somehow. Life goes on................................................................................. :(

Welcome Ramadhan

That time of the year is now here.....Ramadhan oh Ramadhan, you are finally here........alhamdulillah......insyaAllah I will be able to do my duties as a Muslim as well as I possibly can in this beautiful month.

I've been so busy these past few weeks, I haven't been able to update my personal blog as often as I should but today I'm taking a few minutes to do so....miss blogging here I must admit :). I still find it hard to believe that tomorrow is already 1st of August. How time flies.......been reflecting what I've been up to these past few months and I'm a little disappointed at times with my progress. But looking on the bright side and the positive side, there are improvements......a lot of improvements in some areas. Of course, I always wished that I can do better. Trying my best not to compare myself with others.......that way I won't feel so bad about myself. I can only do what I can, the best of my ability.

Problems comes and goes......some stayed over ;P......hopefully not for long. Decisions decisions......everyday there is something that I have to decide especially in business and hopefully the decisions I make are good one s that won't get me into trouble. Feel a little lost sometimes because I'm in this on my own......got no one to go to ask for help. Just following my instincts and of course a lot of research on my own helps too.

I'm on a new medication now and alhamdulillah it seems to be working well for me. There isn't any bad side effects so far and I'm very happy with it. For the first time in so many months, I get to eat chicken and eggs again and not get allergies from it. I've forgotten how great they taste hehe! But I must not get carried away and overdose myself. InsyaAllah I won't. :).

I really hope this month Allah will grant me peace of mind and bless me with good health and more "rezeki" insyaAllah hehe......the more I get, the more I can give.....true? ;)

So goodbye July.......welcome August.....goodbye Syaaban.....welcome Ramadhan.....and happy fasting to all my Muslim readers :).

Hello July bye bye June...

It's July already?? Yes Lin....yes it's already July.....I just keep telling myself that over and over again because it's simply not getting into my head yet....not yet registered. Gosh time flies so darn fast before I know it, bye bye 2011. Yes, that's how it is these days. Don't even have the time to day dream anymore. That's how precious time is now.

Ever since I got back from my vacation, I never got the chance to rest. Duuuhhhhhhhhh.....wake up Lin, your vacation is over, it's now back to work. :P Yes, how lovely that week long vacation was. I wonder when I'll get that long rest again. Perhaps during the Eid I suppose. Yes, that's when I'll get some rest. :I

I really had fun during the vacation. Especially because I get to meet my friends there :). Had nice long chats....eating good food......and of course not forgetting the shopping! Shopped for so many things but my favourite of all was shopping for craft supplies hehe. Nothing can beat that! Visiting those craft shops really inspired me. Motivated me as well. Going through craft magazines and craft books have the same effect too. I just get so excited going through them page by page and see the projects they have in it. So much fun! :) I think my most memorable moment during the vacation was when I met little Emir. He is so adorable! Getting more and more adorable! Miss this little fella!

It's my second day of fasting today. Started to fast yesterday. It's not that bad. I seem to be handling it very well I must say. :) Hope to be able to fast till Ramadhan......or until nearing Ramadhan. At least, my body will get adjusted before the fasting month. Work is affected a bit when I'm fasting....coz I get tired easily etc....but I'm not that worried about it.....as I know soon enough when the body is well adjusted to the fasting, it will be a breeze to fast insyaallah.

All I am thinking about now is when I can play. Play with my new toys and also read those books I bought and do all those projects. Must be patient and get all my work done first, then PLAY!! hehe! I want to experiment more, learn new things....be adventurous. Be spontaneous. Be flexible. Be....just be! ;)

Spring cleaning

I am in no mood at all to do any work right now, I just want a break from work for a while but looking at my working table I can see that there are some work left to finish up before I can take a week long vacation next week. Sigh. It's just a few more things left for me to do and then I can leave my studio behind and take that week long break I've been needing so badly for the past 2 months. 

A lot has happened the past few days. The rambutan trees are filled with bright red rambutans.....all good to eat and giveaway. We've given away a lot already and there are plenty more on the trees. I had a hard time taking the fruits from the trees because of the weaver ants on the trees. They are thousands of them! If not hundreds all over the trees. It's no fun picking the fruits from the trees anymore, not like how it used to be years ago. Not sure where did those weaver ants came from but they sure are a pest! They will bite you any chance they get! haha! I sure did got bitten many times. :) Hopefully before I go on that vacation we get to clean all the fruits from the trees and give them away before it gets too ripe and start rotting. They all have to go.

I did some spring cleaning in the house as well recently, especially in my studio. Gosh, I gotta admit, I am a hoarder. I keep too many things in my room. Things I don't even need or use anymore. I always get the feeling that I will use them one day......yes, one day.....when will that day come, I don't know, but yes......one fine day, I'll find a use for them. But that day don't come that often. So when that happens, they just stay there and fills up they room. Overcrowded. So overcrowded.......so much so that I just can't stand it anymore. I finally threw some things away and of course, I don't just throw them without thinking. Some of them I will give away to people who I feel will find them useful. Because there are stuff that are still  in good condition and can benefit others. I'm also giving away some of my old clothes. Some of them I don't even wear for years. All kept inside the cupboard just screaming to be set free. hahaha. Yes, I'll soon be setting them free.......free to live in somebody else's cupboard :D. May they be happier there. :D

Less is definitely more. I am happy with the new feel in my studio. It's less crowded. Less things to trip on. Less things to bang on. :P I have more space! Yay! Finally.....I can breathe. It was so stuffy before. But I still think I need to get rid of a lot more. There's definitely a lot more to let go. Years of hoarding can't be settled in just a few days. It needs time. 30% gone......will get rid 30% more soon. Bit by bit......they will go. Said a lot of goodbyes this week. And will find the courage to say a few more soon. It's all for the best. :)

Grateful

This week was like a roller coaster ride with so many things going on and so many problems that came up and gave me a splitting headache. But today it all came to an end and I feel so grateful and relieved that these problem finally resolved. Phew! 

A quick update on the rambutan trees.....the fruits are ripe and ready to consume! I've been eating them every day now....but not too much coz it's heaty. So every now and then I would stop by the garden and pick some to eat. Nothing is better in my opinion than getting to eat the fruits straight from the tree. So fresh!  It's such a wonderful feeling. A blessing :).

I've just finished up a load of orders for this month and I just have one more big order to finish up before I go on a vacation. Seriously I'm so looking forward to it as I haven't gotten a break for more than a month now. Been working non stop since May. So today I  have a little time off from work to write something here and give this blog a little update on what's been happening. :).

Honestly I wish I can just stay in my studio and play play play with my "toys" and do experiments with new paper craft techniques but with all the orders coming in it's a rare occasion for me to do so. Most of the time, I will be working although sometimes it does on certain occasion feels like playing and sometimes it feels a little forced especially if it's not my favourite design that I have to remake. Some designs, I can just do ALL DAY and not feel forced doing so at all. I guess I can say that I do get bored with certain techniques and will keep looking for new ideas. It helps keep me going and motivated to work. I know it may sound selfish to some to hear me say this but I know that most designers or artist feels the same way. We just don't like to end up like machines in the factory. It's just not us. We don't function well that way. We do what we love and do it well. If we don't love it, it will show in our work when it's done. So, it's very important to be motivated at all times. :)

Gosh I still can't believe that it's June now which means that 6 months has passed by me so fast and soon it'll be July. Kept thinking of what I've accomplished during these past few months. I realised that I've still a lot that I want to do and I know I have to do them before the year ends. I've gotta reach those targets. It will be really disappointing if I don't get them this year.....and I really really want them really bad. I can't just hope for it to happen.....I have to challenge myself. Usually when I'm being challenged that's when I know I can actually do it. If I don't try it, I'll never know. 

I'm so grateful to find out that even though I haven't the time to update my blog everyday, I still get visitors here who drops by to read my blog or listen to the songs I've uploaded here. I hope those who visited had fun listening to the music and enjoyed reading my posts hehe. I believe that most bloggers wish they have the time to update often but we don't usually have the luxury to do so. So thank you so much to those who visited.....and do drop by again whenever you have the time. See you again soon! ;)