My love, Wii!

After harassing Wii for about 2 years and stalking him through the net, finally I managed to get him. There goes my 32370yen that was kept by saving for couple of month plus some pocket money from Japanese government, given to all the obedient citizens. It was a success story of me getting Wii. O'shiawase!

Many thanks to Shima and Am who accompanied me to Zero game shop and installing the game. The instructions were all in Japanese so Shima did gave me a short introduction of the game. I'll sleep happily and going to wake up early every morning to spent time with my Wii.

Footnote : The writer is a kind of crazy at the moment. You may hear her singing in the background if you are around here now..."You belong to me, I belong to you...yeah! yeah! yeah! yeah!...."

You have become clever, Azlina!

Fuhyo! In my almost 3 years I was with him, I have never heard him saying so. My Professor said that I am clever. I should be on top of the world at the moment. And I am!

What did I do to get the compliment? Just showed him a result of western blotting that I might not used in the data for paper publication. Really! I just showed him that I used the same membrane twice to develop western blot, that's what made me clever. The data is not important. It's how I save the time and reagents that count. Hehehe! And I just past back the compliment to him. Slowly, I told him, 'I learned from the clever people in this lab!'. Ceh!

Being patience is better than being a patient

Western blotting using LC3 antibody is really pushing me over the bounderies of being patience. I am afraid that I will end up being somebody patient in any hospital in Malaysia where there reserved a place for a 'happy person'.

God is great! I am learning more in a way. (I am just trying to 'psiko' myself). It seems western blot is difficult after all if you meet up with a very mystical antibody that love to play hide and seek.

The garbage day

We need to learn fast from Japan. Lots of things especially about the management of daily life. One of it is about garbage management. Sigh!

Here, waste a being categorized for every different ways of disposal. Some of it probably will be recycled back to save the environment. Every prefecture or state have their own distinctive ways of separating the waste but the main one is still the same. Waste that can be burned, burnable waste; plastics; PET bottles are together with cans and glass bottles; and household items like broom. As for big garbage like TV, computers or bed, we are supposed to send a card to the respective company that take care of waste for that area. In the card, provided by the company, we need to mentioned time date, number of things (limited to 6 per month) and list of it. And we may need to pay them, the workers if we wanted them to help bringing down the items, like big refrigerator. Overall, Japan have the system that not even once since I was here, the garbage is not collected unless the workers suspect something amiss and find out that you mix some household items in burnable items during the burnable item day. They will just leave your garbage there.

Garbage waiting to be collected. Doesn't seem like garbage at all, not watery or smelly odor in the air.

By the way, every a few houses will have their own place where they will put together their waste that have been beautifully pack in a plastic bag. If one of the plastic is not collected, like usual, the neighbour will first ask any foreigner that live nearby. Foreigner is supposed to act foreign and will supposed to do something out of normal. But at the end, somehow they will know who is the owner and the bag will be return. So, garbage disposal is a big thing in daily life of Japanese people. Somehow I come to like it because I don't smell fishy thing of waste in my apartment anymore. The system work perfectly to help the people and country and generate income by recycling the waste. Ah! As Japan finances year started April, you will get one whole year daily planner for waste/garbage disposal in April.

The plastics disposal day, so I was preparing myself to take out the garbage earlier, before 9.30 am.

Killing the boredom...

I've never knew what is lonely till I am here. Alone, bored and always thinking about Malaysian food. Oh! It's really torturing!

I read many articles online and asking many people of ways to make my life more beautiful . Yes, initially I was having problems accepting Hosoi's way of handling his lab. Even now. Thus, my apartment is my heaven after spending half of life daily lab in Hosoi's world.

Then, to kill the boredom I bought something that I wanted long long time ago but not really thinking of buying it. All the little knowledge that knew about music, thanks to my primary school teacher Cikgu Osman Botak. He's also the English teacher that made me understand that we can water plant. Thanks Cikgu!

Actually I could choose reading but reading alone couldn't take my mind away. Somehow having keyboard in my living room help though I rarely play with it. It divert my attention from my day life troubles. Huh! (I wish I could play better.)

BBQ in Tokushima

We, Malaysian and Indonesian friends had yearly BBQ celebrating spring and sunshine at Tsukimigaoka early this month. Enjoy the pictures.

Foodie...

I am foodie. Loving food is one of my weakness. My weight could ballooning up to 70kg in 1 month, which is considered overweight. And at one point losing 15kg of body weight in over 3 months period. All is just because of food.

I could eat all type of food that is palatable and halal. Thanks to my mom who always insist me of try new food though at first tasted I might not like it.

When I was a child, I was skinny and didn't like the idea of eating because it would take away time that can be allocated for playing. Playing too much will make our body too tired, and then we will choose sleep over eat. While living in hostel of Sultanah Asma Secondary School, somehow I developed the right eating habit and always munching away. The only thing that stop me was I was too tired with school activities.

Searching for good stalls, restaurants and good foods went on and on while I was in Beseri, Seremban, Bangi, Kajang, Kota Bharu and Kubang Kerian and the latest Tokushima. Craving for Nasi Kerabu when I first reached Tokushima made me tried the recipe. My latest craving was kuih kasturi, made it yesterday. Thing that I would never do if I was in Malaysia. Heh!

Kuih kasturi

Never hold things too tight!

I have words of wisdom that I wanted to share with whoever reading this article. Never hold things too tight. It’s either you will choked it out of its life or you’ll break it but you’ll never own it.

Apply this in your (and yours truly) daily life, and please don’t forget this. For once, believe me.

The ‘things’ could be your most precious antique glasses or anyone in relationship with you. If it is something that you treasure very much, keep if safe in any locker but do not take it out to admire it. Or the best thing is to use it as if it never has any high value, like your best set of tea cups. By doing this, you’re actually made it useful to the most. If it broken, it has served it purposes as a tea set and you are having the experience of it in your lifetime.

By the way, you may also follow my Irdina’s way of treating her precious things. I bought her a Barbie doll. I assume she love it very much. And as she is afraid that her younger sister, Auni is going to tear the doll apart she, so put it safe in her cupboard. Not only Auni couldn't play with it, but Irdina also has to be contended by only taking a peep at the doll once awhile. Anyhow, that’s the idea of three years old child. You may follow her if you wish.:)

For someone in a relationship, then please consider this again. Hold true to the words, you will kill the person if you hold them too tight. There should be element of trust, rationale and considerate when we’re in a relationship. Even as a best of friend or with our own child. Taking thing for granted can be taken as one way of holding a person tightly.

You’re my friend. You’re supposed to do this and this…bla…bla…

Probably we will not kill them but we may end up having fewer friends or someone who will think that you’re not cool anymore. If the relationship is love, then you might find yourself left alone in the wedding altar. Reality is no one like to be under surveillance camera 24 hours even if it is Akademi Fantasia show. Let give way for a breath.

A perfect plan (reason?) to buy Wii

At last, I had the opportunity to be as lazy as I can. The last two days of weekend had me reflecting myself and I did all that on my futon (bed).

Since I got back from Malaysia, I am not feeling so healthy; flu, running nose and sometime I my body just feel too aching and weak to do anything. And still feeling so but the situation is much better today.

I haven't felt like myself lately. Not so sure of the reasons, yes, probably more than one reason. I should be happy that I am going to finish the study by next year and should be focusing all my energy about finishing it. Yet, my mind is wondering, like the lost soul. I could blame it all on 'stress' but it will never get me anywhere. I was then thinking that maybe not having anything interesting to look forward in everyday life could make ‘Jack a dull boy’ which applied to my life. Thus, I am now hatched a plan to buy myself a Wii game console, just to make my life happier. In order to do so, I am now blinded myself from looking at anything that remind me of ‘Happiness is within ourself'. If the money permitted, I will be playing the game day and night by next month and forget all about laboratory. Sigh!

Hehe! (A perfect excuse to buy a game that cost about 1/5 of my salary).....

Against all odds

During this time of the year, some of us are happy and others might be having the difficulties of their own. Some of us might be thinking to end their lives but some others probably are flying high. Life is easy but it does have it shares of turbulence. Only the strong will stand against all odds.

In USA where recession had taken its toll, we heard some sad news about fathers who killed the whole families because they can't see the way out. A very pathetic decision, I could say. I guess they prpbably think, because they make the families, so they had the right to end the families. Let’s see the other way round. We, as human, as far as I know are not able to create the soul/life. Even if the child is born from a mother’s womb, it’s not the mother who gives the life to the child. It’s the gift from the God to the mother. The womb is the channel of delivery and a gift from God to the child so that the child will have a mother’s love.

At any time of difficulty, we need to be patience. The miracle word is patience. It is easy to say than to be done, though. I had and have to bit my tongue in order to learn the word ‘patience’. And to move forward means perseverance. It is not effortless. I sometimes need the world to beckon with me and at some point, need a reminder. And beside that, it’s God who I hang on in my most difficult time. No human can take away the pain. But as we all know, the sun will shine again after the rainy days. Just hang on, even to smallest possibilities.

Another word that we need to learn is gratitude. Yes, we’re in the tough time and are very hard to see light in the room full of darkness. However, light can be seen even in dreams. As an example, just think about the unfortunate man or woman who has been living in the darkness their whole life. They can’t imagine what blue look is like. Looking at any other person who are less fortunate then we could take away some burden. Nothing is permanent.

Patience, perseverance and find a way to feel gratitude for life. The angry young man attitude is not cool and not helping anybody at time of turmoil.

The much wanted break

The last three days were holiday in Japan, spring break or also known as Golden Week. Some of my friends here spent the holiday visiting other parts of Japan. As for me, that break was a most welcome break because I spent them nurturing my health and my mind.

I was alone the apartment, but not really lonely. Modern technology managed to get us contactable or be in touch all the time. I was surrounded by emails, YMs, telephone calls and YouTube! Thank God! I love this technology things. And above all, I love to calm myself down and planned for the next take. Cheers!

A long forgotten life

Love can make me weak, physically and obviously emotionally. It conquer my sense of sensibility and I could be another person altogether. However, above all the nonsense, one thing that can bring me home as a idealistic and inspirational person is education.

I was in love with knowledge and am still doing so. Every minutes of my lifestyle now is a fruit of education and knowledge, and thank God for giving me all the opportunities. One of the reasons that I am so grateful is that I am studying for PhD thesis at the moment. This is my dream, to have it as early as 13 years old. And to live one dream is a blessing. Though I had to relinquish all the other luxuries and good life, I will always contend with it. Contend is one way to live a happy life.

The struggle is not as easy as said though. I've been denied this dream a few times. So strong the inner feeling as it could be, I was given the chance to hold this dream at last. I am not NEP breed. Holding true to the dream come true style of execution, I was offered a place with Japanese government scholarship. And yet still the management would’t allowed me to come if not for a good hearted men who think that I deserved what I deserved. These men deserved the biggest applause in my life drama.

My hope for the future is to be given another chance to give it back to the community. I was reminded of my long forgotten experience that made me thick as I am today when reading a column written by Mohd Zaini Said in NST today. I wish I could be the one who give rides to the boys and girls on their ways to a better life.