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Assalamualaikum..well I know it has been more than 6 years since i last blogged. Well is blogging still in? I thought Instagram has taken over everything. But to me blogging still hasn't lost its touch. It's a different art altogether, I would say. If you blog, u focused on expressing your opinion without the interference of any other opinion in between. It is more focused. Whereas IG, you scroll on other peoples IG before you have your thought in between, then select pics that sometimes got nothing to do with what you're saying. So the genuineness is more to be gotten from a blog rather than an IG, I would say. IG is like a more commercialised blog, where its the photo that you leave for the people to think warily, rather than your views, thought and opinion that you want people to understand. IG are for the eyes to judge, but blogs are for the mind to think and heart to understand.

Having said all that, you might think that m not into IG and maybe I don't have one. You're wrong! I have my own IG. This is my second account since the first one I got problem signing in (don't quite know what's the problem..and the feeling of being denied your own account is worse than a broken relationship..seriously..to me). I have another account for my business. AND...AND..I considered myself hooked to IG. I could scroll it until it *poofed* went out from the screen itself..I think its due to massive scrolling for hours. I seem not to be doing what I preached above right? Well to me, that's why I could give my opinion on it and its validity is trusted because I experience it myself.

Two paragraphs done. What I wanted to tell is just, I'm gonna start blogging again!

Guangzhou & HK yawww!! P1

Assalamu'alaikum!! One short announcement, I'm thinking turning my blog into a traveller's or backpacker's (sounds more suitable) blog. Whatever Yuhani! Just go straight to your post title would you??

 Ok, how do I start?
 When?----> 9th Dec - 15th Dec
What Happen?---> We went to HK and Guangzhou
With who?------> My sister and her friends (5 of us)(Me, Eizzah (sis), Aina, Amani and Shepah
How was it?--------> Great!

 Ok that's the intro. I was included in this travel at the first place was due to the rest are new travelers and my sister are 1st time travelers. So myself a self-called avid traveler has been invited to join the group to be a guide. However I think they did most of the job. (Good job guys!! Akak ikut je!!)The ticket was booked early of the year in Feb. So that makes 10 months for us to work on the budget which means monthly saving. The ticket was at RM300++.


 That's on how I was involved. Then comes the planning part. Well to be honest, only the last meeting of a series of meeting, that we met and finalise on who supposed to do what. And that also, only for 20 minutes that we talked about the coming trip, the rest is talking crap! Laughing and eating of course!(a meeting is never to be called a meeting without this package of talk+laugh+eat). So the outcome of it? Shepah needs to sleep at my house, doing the research and budget guide until 4am! Luckily our flight are Sunday morning 5am. Worse, half-way research, unpacked things, unconverted money never stop us from going to kenduri, going to BBW, going for a hair-cut and also going to office settling unfinished work! (pegi 6 hari je kot! nk gunting rambut bagai time2 ni apa ke hal nya? BBW tu sampai 23rd kot!)Well that's the thrill in travelling. Everything that happened before the travelling is to test the calmness in you. Whether you're gonna freak out or just be calm, pack what ever you could think of, take your passport and money with you (whatever amount you have with you) and just fly! In our case, we got everything ready just on time before we move to the airport, which means our sleep is only in the flight. Everyone came to the airport on time. Me and my sis were the earliest. Everyone with one luggage, one backpack and sling-bag but Amani got one big luggage and another small luggage which makes her hands both occupied to carry and pull. I could see a little bit of hassle there but it's ok..kita redah je! Before that, we stuffed our stomach with Marybrown as we couldn't be bothered about food in the flight as sleep is all I could think of once I get myself seated in the flight.  Geng Guangzhou

  Makan dulu apa2 pun.. 

While waiting for the train to HK. Masing2 check WIFI

Mineral Water Free!

We arrived I think earlier than expected by 20 minutes. Everything was smooth. We head straight to Guangzhou East Railway Station (GERS). Bought the subway ticket through the ticket machine. The attendant in the cube only change your money to small changes and not sell ticket manually. All tickets need to be bought through the machine and most of the machine only accept 5 and 10 reminbi notes. So if you don't have the notes, just go to the attendant in the cube and they'll give you coins and notes accepted by the machine. We reached GERS and bought ticket straight to Kowloon HK. The train stopped at Hung Hom Station and the journey is about 2 hrs. We were so excited that we didn't sleep in the train but instead chit chat, and me and Aina ordered coffee. We ordered before we knew that we actually got a bottle of mineral water each for free. I don't quite like the taste of the coffee as the milk taste is stronger than coffee AND I DON'T LIKE MILK!  We reached Hong Kong at about 2pm. Next will be our 1st challenge of looking for the Hostel. That will be in my next post!! Just enjoy the first few pics!!

Success is Diverse....

When my age is creeping towards a new number, (not gonna be two in front anymore...), I started to realise how I see things differently, how my quest of life is now diverting to something more meaningful, more soulful, how wisdom is deemed more enjoyable than entertainment per se. I thank Allah for this change and I still pray that it stays on the correct track though.

I started to track down my success in this 29 years of living, and how I want to succeed until how long more my life would be. Do we consider success only when we get good pointer and grades in study? Or when we manage to get promoted every three years of our career? Or when we marry our lover and bear healthy and smart kids out of the marriage? Or one most important success but always be left behind and forgotten is when we succeed to stay in great strong Iman, be on the Highest stage of Taqwa only to Him the Almighty. This is one diversity in success.

Another diversity in success is, how today's success never determines the success of tomorrow. We work hard for a better tomorrow, but always expect that failure may still come even after series of hardwork, for the ultimate power is still in the hands of Allah. That is when do'a, tawakkal and redha has to always be in a package of hardwork, and never doubt Allah's power and also His Love.

We may not win a competition we compete in, but we may succeed more in the future from the winner itself. This is what we call 'rizq'(arabic word for Luck and Provision). It also definitely out of hard work and Allah's willingness to give us the success that we deserve. One example that I can only think of right now (at this wee of hour 2.13am!May not be a good one but simple to see and link with) is Aizat the singer from a reality show A**d*mi F**tasi*. He wasn't even one of the finalist of that show, but I would say he is successful in what he is doing now. Composing his own song, knows what he wants in his career and realizing it to not be a dream or plan anymore but a real success in life. He was good then when he was in the show, but he was still voted out as the 'Winner' title was not meant for him, as Allah has something much more better in store for him. And because he believes in that but not yet assured of it, he work hard for it, and he is where he is now.

I leave you with his latest song, being he himself as the composer and also the lyricist i think. A good composition indeed!

What is Autism Disorder

Autism is the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests.

Other ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.

Symptoms of Autism?

The main signs and symptoms of autism involve problems in the following areas:

• Communication - both verbal (spoken) and non-verbal (unspoken, such as pointing, eye contact, and smiling)
• Social - such as sharing emotions, understanding how others think and feel, and holding a conversation
• Routines or repetitive behaviors (also called stereotyped behaviors) - such as repeating words or actions, obsessively following routines or schedules, and playing in repetitive ways

The symptoms of autism can usually be observed by 18 months of age.

There are many possible red flags for autism - behaviors that may be signs or symptoms of autism. Some features may mean a delay in one or more areas of development, while others may be more typical of autism spectrum disorders. If you think your child shows red flags for autism, talk to your health care provider.

Causes

The cause of autism is not known. Research suggests that autism is a genetic condition. It is believed that several genes are involved in the development of autism. Research studies in autism have found a variety of abnormalities in the brain structure and chemicals in the brain; however, there have been no consistent findings. One theory is the possibility that autistic disorder is a behavioral syndrome that includes several distinct conditions. However, parenting behaviors are not the cause or a contributing factor to the cause or causes of autism.

Treatment for Autism

Specialized behavioral and educational programs are designed to treat autism. Behavioral therapy is used to teach social skills, motor skills and cognitive (thinking) skills. Behavior modification is also useful in reducing or eliminating maladaptive behaviors. Individualized treatment planning for behavioral therapy is important as autistic children vary greatly in their behavioral needs. Intensive behavior therapy during early childhood and home-based approaches training and involving parents are considered to produce the best results.

Special education programs that are highly structured focus on developing social skills, speech, language, self-care, and job skills. Medication is also helpful in treating some symptoms of autism in some children. Mental health professionals provide parent counseling, social skills training, and individual therapy. They also help families identify and participate in treatment programs based on an individual child's treatment needs. Specific treatment will be determined by your child's physician based on:

• your child's age, overall health, and medical history
• extent of the disorder
• your child's symptoms
• your child's tolerance for specific medications or therapies
• expectations for the course of the disorder
• your opinion or preference

Autism..A new Challenge

At last..I blog again after so many posts I don't bother to write on. So many to start with of course. But one important one is, I decided to tender my resignation from my present company that I work with and to be exact the only company I work with after I graduated and that means, it's good 7 years in the company. At last! I would say.

Since I made a decision to quit the job, of course I have to have plans on what would be next. Of course not another bank, because if it is, it should be years ago. I decided to do something that I like and something very near to me. Definitely it's teaching and writing. Lecturers (part time or full time), tutor, tuition teacher, writer, news broadcaster, documentary producer, script writer (to list a few of what I once dreamt of becoming and is still dreaming of becoming). After giving much thought and pray for the courage, it is Now or Never.

Ok, i think you guys would already have an idea of how my life would be after this, and what I am through now. But, what moves me to blog, (not even an excitement journey or holiday manage to make me blog even though I always wanted to, but the urge is not this strong, not as strong as what I feel now.)

After I decided to quit the job, I have been actively seeking for a private tuition teacher opportunity. there's a few offer, but this one that I get, I know would be a great challenge for me. I was contacted by a parent who wants me to private-teach his son with autism. I am not all blank about autism. I've heard about it, watched one movie on autistic people, have friends who has family members on autism, but definitely I am not all ready with what to do, how to handle or all fluent with their characteristics and 'spectrum' (even this word is after a few research on Autism)of this disorder. I am all excited but at the same time nervous of what's waiting for me. But being a geek me, I like this challenge because at least from today onwards, I know what to search for, I know what to write on, what to work on for and I have an objective and goals to work on towards.

I found so many interesting facts on Autism, and how never an autistic child are with the same characteristic with another autistic child. I even stumbled upon an autistic blogger who is already a professor himself, an autistic group in Facebook, and many more to come. Whatever it is this is really exciting! And I promise to have a log book of my autistic student and to share every experience that I will go through. Pray for me!

Europe Back-pack Trip...Part 1 (Vienna)

It's been a month since I came back from Europe, and I feel it will be a waste if I don't record down any of my experience there. Actually I took time to still be amazed of all the experience that I went through. My colleague at work can tell by most of my conversation, where there definitely be something that relate to my experience there or anything at all that has to do with Europe. Be it their beautiful scenery, their culture or even just the cobble stone street. Every single thing of it manage to amaze me (except for the fact that I have to be away from my family..I don't like that!)

Date: 01/04/09 - 11/04/09
Places Visited: Vienna, Hungary, Prague, Munich, Salzburg and Innsbruck
Went with: A cousin (so that makes two of us)
Airplane: KLM
Whole Cost: Airfare RM2326 + RM3000 (inclusive credit card charges)


DAY 1

Arrived at Amsterdam airport at about 6am. I don't feel anything much except for everyone around you is all 'mat salehs', because you don't get to see outside as you're still in a building. We transit here only for 1hr 15min. We thought that was ample time, but got to go through the immigration so we had to run as we're running out of time. That's the beginning to all the 'walking', 'hiking' and 'running' session all through the days in Europe. To add up to all the time spent queuing up, I was detained, as in my bag I carry with me, there's a B.ody Sh.op lotion more than a liter (haruslah kene buang dlm tong sampah kan..) I didn't realised it was in the bag. It passed through though during the check in Malaysia Airport. Took the 'City plane' to Vienna. It took about 2 hrs (still I can sleep dgn nyenyaknye..).A

Arrived in Vienna Airport around 8.30am. We then took a train to the train station where we kept our bags in the locker provided at the train station. I was so excited to explore Vienna city at that time. But before that, I need to at least wash my face and change my shirt to something more comfortable to get the feeling of my 1st day here in Europe, thousand miles away from HOME!!So, we took all our things needed, and went to WC(WC=TOILET. Until now I don't what does WC stands for.)

OK..skang dah ready nak jenjalan...memula kitorang gi Schonbrunn (betul ke spelling ni??) Palace. Kat situ ade Easter Market so everything there is Eggs and Bunny. Masa ni kan baru sampai so sangat jakun dengan roti yg besar2. Semuanya nampak best. Kitorang amik gambar kat compound palace, kat garden die and dgn kereta kuda. Supposedly, the view from up hill a little bit further from the palace compound would be a lot more nice but masa tu aku sakit kaki so tak naik lah..lagipun kitorang tengah warming up, so man-man lah kaan..



Sebenarnye 2 minggu sebelum aku gi Europe ni, aku telah terseliuh ankle dgn hebatnye! sampai kaki aku bengkak macam org kene untut. Pastu aku gi urut slps seminggu kene lak tu. I was told by my cousin that it's gonna be like walk..walk..and walk..and another walk..Aku takut dah..my vacation was gonna be spoilt by the condition of my foot but Alhamdulillah ok..cuma ade lah sakit gak kalau jalan banyak and lari mmg takleh laa.

Lepas dah ambik2 gambar, laparlah pulak so beli entah apa entah...'macam aiskrim tapi bukan aiskrim' and also potato cooked with herbs (nice!!).

Basically hari first ni kitorang sight seeing sambil melayan perasaan jakun sbb baru sampai. We used the 1 day unlimited ride card naik tram, pusing2 bandar vienna. The feeling at that time was, I feel so safe in this city. It's a a city with all the freedom you need but yet still have some degree of control until you feel really safe and comfortable to be in this city which is a stranger to you. Masa ni jugaklah kitorang amaze dengan Park diorang yang sungguh best dan sungguh ramai orang dengan hal masing-masing di park ni. Ade yang jalan2 bawak anjing, ade yang jogging, yang jogging tak pakai kasut pun ade, ade yang macam training nak masuk competition lumba lari, ade yang just lepak2 baca buku je, ade yang naik basikal ade carrier untuk anak-anak ( anak-anak ok..means tempat carrier die lebih dari satu!)Memang KAGUM gile lah kitorang ni..Siap rasa kalau lah negara kita ade Park macam ni..CONFIRM! (siap confirm tu..) aku akan rajin jogging!

Then..sambung lagi jenjalan naik tram..singgah minum air je! kat McD..(gile kedekut! Bukan kedekut, tapi baru sampai kan..so tak tau how's he expenses gonna be like, baik jimat dari end up kene call family suruh hantar duit guna Western Union kan...). Air yang boleh refill tu..sambil2 minum sambil tengok orang lalu lalang, sambil recharge balik, sambil still rasa macam mimipi dah sampai..perasaan still rasa macam dok kat JB ke..Penang ke..paling2 pun Kelantan..

Pastu..kitorang ni kan baru sampai so aku ni dua tiga tapak berjalan nak snap gambar, gambar view and building je. Gambar sendiri tak banyak pun sbb pemandangan sekeliling lagi best. We were very hungry so we just bought a kebab to be eaten in the train on our way to Hungary, our next destination. Our train is at 7.50pm. Sebenarnye agak cuak gak lah sebab masa pkl 7 tu kitorang still tengah tunggu tram nak ke train station (mana tak lambat, kitorang masuk ade satu kedai macam Watson ni, nama kedai tu BIPA. Very familiar in Europe.Kagum sebab range Nivea, Neutrogena and banyak lagi memang takde kat Malaysia. Murah lak tu. Tapi tak beli apa2 beli stokin je). Tapi nasib baik sebelum kluar berjalan tu dah usha dah kat mana the terminal will be. Not far from where we kept our luggage. Tapi cousin aku dah cakap awal2 kejap lagi kita kene lari.

Sampai je kat train station, terus lari sambil bawak beg yg agak berat lah. Tapi masa ni ok lagi. Maklumlah baru sampai, semangat lagi nak explore Europe, so penat pun redah kan aje. Kitorang naik train pukul 7.40pm. Since my cousin dah book awal, so tempat kitorang dah reserved. Seat die dlm cubicle with glass slide doors. Since takde orang, kitorang conquer the whole cubicle so tido baringlah jawabnye..Sangat best sbb penat. Makan kebab pun tak habis! (Tapi kebab die serious besar gile! Macam 3-4 org makan). Journey dalam 4 hours. Memamng tido lah...


TO BE CONTINUED....HUNGARY is coming next!

Gua Tempurung Experience

See the title? Exactly! I went caving in Gua Tempurung last weekend. I went with my bestie Fiza and Syed. They were cool!! (In the sense that they are very adventurous, spontaneous AND they can last without sleeping for days I guess!)

Ok! We were from the office. I thought that it would be right after my office hours ( which has already entered the next day as I work odd hours) but the journey only started from Fiza's house at 8AM if I'm not mistaken. I was Sooo sleepy at that time. But no worries as I can have my sleep in the car. Syed was the driver so he really has to be awake all through the journey. As for Fiza, since she's the co-pilot she too has to be partly awake at least.

I was asleep all through the journey except for the last 5km before we arrived. ( I didn't know they took the no-tol road, traffic jam was all the way..oh..how asleep I was as usual.)

We arrived around 10.30am, changed aour clothes and ready for caving. According to Syed, It has 4 stages altogether. 1-4 (less adventurous - most thrilled). We took the 3rd stage. What an experience! The adventure varies from just a normal walk to crawling in a water, to sliding down a hill and holes and climbing 'Batu Cave'-like stairs. It's a real training and test to all your muscles and stamina. Surprisingly it was not bad after all. I thougt I was gonna 'pancit' but I didn't. Nearly, when I climbed the stairs but managed to pull through with a correct breathing technique, mind motivating and always listen to your body. If your body can't go anymore, take a quick stop to regain. Altogether the caving journey took about 2hrs or maybe 2.5 hrs.

We finally found our way out from the cave! Phew...hehe actually I feel like I was in a film like Indiana Jones or King Solomon's Mine. What I like most about this caving experience is you never know what's your next obstacles. Is it gonna be another slide? or crawl? or you have to swim maybe? That's the exciting part of it to me. Ok! when we came out, the first thing that we did is EAT! We had ABC and Mee hoon or Kuey Teow. I didn't finish my food maybe because I'm already full with the satisfying caving-journey.

After the caving experience, comes another excitement, that is to see where we're gonna spend the night at. We drove the car in to see the camp-site. The road inside sees some fishing pond where Syed's friends will be fishing at, the coming night. To my amazement, we arrived at an area with huts on the trees. Fiza did mention of sleeping on a tree, but I thought she was just joking. Again, this adds the excitement in me. This whole area is ran by NOMAD CREW. They must be a bunch of creative individuals as the whole area seem to be set up by recycled things. The toilets are formed from water tanks (the black water tank). After checking out the place, we clean ourselves as we're going up to Cameron Highland for a cup or two of tea it seems (I really LOVE u guys to bits! hehehe..).

We arrived there but the place to drink tea was closed. So, instead, the macho-hensem-cool (bluerghh!!) Syed has lead us to go up the stairs all the way up the tea farm. If before this, during caving I feel not even 50% of my energy is really used, but this time, even only going up a tracked stairs, I was grasping for breath! Don't know whether I was already tired or its all the way up hill so you use more energy compared to caving where sometimes up, sometimes level and sometimes down. But it was however a worth push of yourself as the view up there is breathtakingly beautiful. We took photos and Syed tested his skills in photography by taking photos of us both. He did all the planning on how he want us to stand, where to look and even how to smile! ( naah just kidding..we just smiled as we like.)Then we head up Cameron for Starbucks actually, but we decided to go to its Pasar Malam. We bought Strawberry Dip with chocolate, thats for sure, Jagung Bakar, Cendawan Goreng and AYAM GoLEK. Had to wait for this last one. People waiting was like people watching something amusing at the Ayam Golek stall. Then, we make ourselves downhill back to our 'Lovely Tree-house'.

It was nearly 12am when we arrived. There was food for us as it was included in the package BUT packed and already cold as it was supposed to be served at 7pm but we were up in Cameron. So it was very kind of them to call us and pack the food to leave it at the door of our 'Cutie Tree-house'. Before we settle down to eat, here come the Survivor part. We collected twigs and branches to set up a fire-camp. I'm a bit useless when it comes to this part. Yes, I am adventurous but I do have some vanity in me. Yeah..it shows I have a mix of both male and female in me. I am more concerned with the mosquito bite than really all out collecting the 'kayu-kayu api'. So I end up holding the torch-light, where I find it's good enough, if you really know me that well.. hahahha..But thumbs up to both of them. It didn't take much time for them to set up the fire. IT comes with experience I guess. Then, we started to take out all the things that we brought. We made tea, open up canned foods and serve dinner-cum-supper AGAIN on our 'Sweet Tree-house'. We ate together on the 'Sweet Tree-house' (all 6 cramped in 1 hut). Finished eating, tidy up and ready to sleep. We slept but the guys, they actually recharge themselves to go fishing. I was so tired, I doze off in no time!.
UNTIL


The next day Fiza woke me up at 10 to eat breakfast. It is served by them as it is also in the package. They serve Nasi Lemak and kaya buns with Milo. There's nothing much done during this day. Me and Fiza just went to 'usha' the 'sungai'. We thought that we could 'mandi-manda' but the water does not seem to permit. Airnya deras ok..a bit frustrated but it's ok..I'll come again for water rafting.

As our attempt to 'bermandi-manda' fail, so we have to proceed the day with eating (this part cannot be missed in your everyday life, anywhere you are at anytime ok..)which means cooking session.

BUT, this cooking session was fully done by the guys, headed by Syed. What's the MENU?? 'Ikan Bakar' hasil pancingan..'sup telur + kentang' Syed and canned Sambal Tumis Ikan Bilis (If I'm not mistaken)and also 'Kicap' sebagai perasa tambahan..The fresh fish was SUPERB!! I was full but I can't stand to see the fish being thrown away as none of us can eat further. So I give my stomach some Moral Support to finish up all the fish and I DID IT! with full victory..hehe..

THEN..came our turn to do the clearing and tidying as we have to get ready to go back to KL. We make sure that everything is as how we arrived at that place yesterday. Even stones taken was being put back at where it was taken. When I did the tidying up, I was wondering WHY does our tourist-attraction places like Waterfalls, Islands and Lakes are sometimes ruined by our own non-civic minded attitude. We litter as we like, we leave things as we wish, whatever that is easy for us, be it wrong or right, we just do it without any regret. BUT we people are not like that. Everything was just like how it was when we arrived. There's no one else except for our group, so if the place was left 'macam baru lps diserang garuda', who else right? AND, wouldn't want to tarnish our own good name especially Syed as he deals with these NOMAD people quite often.

We took bath in the 'water-tank-cum-shower room 'for the last time and OFF we go back to KL..and I doze off...ZzzzZzzzzZZZzzzz...as usual..heheh THE END.