Monday, December 7, 2009

Todai, Ila is coming soon!

Ila came here last October and stayed until end of November.  The main reason of her visit was to sit for an entrance exam for doctoral study of Tokyo University, the best university in Japan. She is now happily joining the clan back home and enjoying the hot tropical weather.

She just sent me an offline message, 'I've got the offer letter!'

Well, many many congratulations! (^-^)....

p/s And it seems that the previous autumn was not the last autumn for you.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Data, me and reviewers!

“I feel like I am sabotaging myself....”

“No. You are not.”

“Yes, I do sabotage myself. There are ten months left and yet I will start new experiment.”

“But, that is important. The reviewers would asked about it. Do you understand that it is important for the paper?”

“Yes, I understand. The problem is it will not going to finish in one week.”

Again and again, I have this problem with my dear Prof. He stood on his ground, wanted me to add more and more data. And if you understand, not every experiment is doable and can be finished in a short time. In my case, it will take at least a month. After that, the writing of the article, the corrections by him (it will go on and on like playing table tennis, until he said, I think this is OK) and review of the English language (by the native speaker) and finally, submitting. Next, wait for the yes, or no from the journal editor which will takes two months the least. And if yes, more added data will be asked. If no, changed the presentation (which means, rewriting) and continue the same procedures starting from the Prof approval. Ten months time are not enough to get the paper published.

I am laying low...Tsk! Tsk!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Menulis blog berbahasa Inggeris?

Kenapa saya menulis blog dalam bahasa Inggeris sedangkan bahasa Melayu saya lebih baik dan teratur. Jika kita imbas kembali hasil keputusan peperiksaan SPM (sekiranya masih ada kaitan) maka bahasa Inggeris saya sangat ketinggalan. Mungkin juga di sebabkan itu, saya hanya belajar di dalam negara selepas tamat peperiksaan SPM sedangkan ramai teman-teman dihantar ke luar negara walaupun keputusan SPM hampir sama. Namun, sehingga bila atau kenapa saya perlu hidup di dalam situasi yang selamat dan menulis menggunakan bahasa Melayu?

Menulis blog berbahasa Inggeris adalah sesuatu yang melangkau keupayaan seorang manusia yang bernama saya. Berasal dari sebuah keluarga yang tidak pernah berbicara sesama sendiri menggunakan apa sahaja bahasa asing kecuali bahasa daerah samada dialek Kedah secara am atau dialek yang lebih terpinggir, Pokok Sena, bahasa Inggeris adalah bahasa luar atau bahasa penjajah. Cuma kini, dengan teknologi yang hampir kebanyakannya berteraskan bahasa Inggeris, maka sedikit sebanyak perkataan-perkataan itu menjadi mesra di telinga. Malah ibu saya juga sudah mula ber'Good night' atau 'Bye-bye' sebelum memutuskan talian telefon. Bagi saya tiada yang salah. Manusia yang mampu berbahasa selain bahasa ibunda adalah seseorang yang mampu berbicara dengan orang asing dan akan dapat menimba lebih banyak ilmu hidup. Justeru itu, kini di Jepun, saya sendirian terasa terasing kerana kurang mampu meluahkan kata-kata dengan teman-teman berbangsa Jepun kerana kekangan bahasa.

Kembali kepada persoalan pokok, kenapa menulis dalam bahasa asing? Jawapan itu sekiranya dikaji, yang tersurat dan tersirat sudah ada di dalam dua perenggan pertama. Untuk menjelaskannya, saya katakan bahawa saya ingin fasih dalam berbahasa Inggeris. Hanya dengan menulis di blog, saya mampu lakukan kesalahan dan kemudiannya membaca dan membetulkannya berulang kali. Mungkin tidak ramai yang percaya bahawa setiap teks yang panjang itu saya tulis di Microsof Word, diperbetulkan oleh software milik Bill Gates itu dan disiarkan di alam maya ini. Di dalam suatu tempoh tertentu, saya akan membaca semula dan membuat penambahanbaikan di dalam karangan tersebut. Oleh itu, saya menjadi juruedit kepada penulisan saya sendiri. Ya, cara yang murah dan mudah dan mungkin salah. Yang pasti, ia telah memberi saya banyak peluang untuk membuat salah dan menebus kesalahan walaupun tidak semua. Pastinya belajar sendiri tanpa guru mengambil masa yang lebih lama untuk menyedari kesalahan itu. Sehingga kini, saya masih menunggu ulasan dari mana-mana pembaca yang sudi memberi dan menunjuk-ajar setiap kesalahan dalam penulisan saya.

Di akhir kata, saya menulis hanya untuk meluah rasa. Bahasa digunakan untuk meyampai kata. Blog ini menjadi medium percuma!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Control freak? Nayyyy....

Certainly no one knows how impossible the characters of my dear Prof are. Only a few of the lucky ones who have and had been living under his supervisions understand the conditions.
He is not a bad person but just simply impossible! Can you guess the numbers of times he walked in the room and make a quick glance at my laptop’s monitor, in a day? The answer is almost 20 times per day and during some other days, countless. Call me a control freak? I might not even at the entry level then, or at par.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Gen-X is still around...

The world collectively put me as one of those that belong to the generation X. Yup! I was amongst the teenagers who saw the birth of Hotmail or even Google, and the making of young billionaires in the years of dot-coms bubble which later bursts. And that was also the time when people started to learn that marriage can be initiated by the internet.


Now, when my world is limited only into two places; home and laboratory, the internet once again comes to my rescue. Oh! How can I live without FB and YM! Sigh!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The not-so Ice Queen

Practical thinking is first-class but still when it comes to heart matter; I am not in the position to say otherwise. Yes, if it is heart, no practicality work on me, hence, I am saying nothing of sort. Sigh!

Hey! That is heart. Literally or not, you need to see heart doctor right away. Never miss a minutes because it may save your life. Never take for granted anything that comes into your possession, be it life or love.

But the again, I always admire people with practical thinking. They make outstanding strategists but may be seen as cold as the Ice Queen. However, if we throw-in enough empathy, they are actually the good lawyers.

*smile*

Brain runs amok

I am writing an article at the moment, a scientific paper for journal publication. The brain section which contains the Queen Mother’s language once again has to re-organize themselves into a scientific manner. The words and sentences should be crisp, clear and direct to the point, no more beating around the bushes and above all, dry and serious. And those things made my head runs amok and thus, I am having headache for two consecutive days.
p/s Oh! How I miss reading Dina Zaman and Mary Schneider write-up at this moment. And yes, I am headless for the time being.