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Counting the Days Again

Tomorrow, it would have been two weeks since I last hugged Iman. Two weeks. Now that February is approaching nearer, I am counting the days again. Although she has called me a few times (thanks to ‘cyber-subsidised’ Whatsapp calls) and we talked over the phone for more than an hour, it cannot replace physical presence. Drama queens like us need to talk with hands and feet (sometimes body too) moving, the person we talked to must look at our face and pay attention. Attention. Because sometimes, we would check on that, whether the other person listened to what we just said. Caught ya! Tickets : bought early this time. I am trying to be like Dr Fischer who travels almost monthly to many parts of the world to give his talks; just over the weekend and be back at work the very next morning. If someone 15 years older than me can do that, why can’t I? So this is what I am going to do for my next visit : - work on that travelling day - take an evening flight on that same day -
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Recent posts

Ipad (tablet) is the new laptop

Gone were my days of desktop and laptop. Say “Hi” to the new kid in the family :) Thank you :)
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I Left My Heart in Edinburgh

I left my heart in Edinburgh ... ... and a card for Iman. Can’t wait to hug her again. Counting the days.
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Have Faith in Allah’s Plans for You

Someone was smiling all the way when she got this bouquet of white roses from someone special. Yesterday was Iman’s first day of school here. She came back, happily telling me how excited she was with this campus. “Iman sampai rasa menyesal tak datang sini dari awal. Lecturer dia best-best! Library dia besar!” “Teka, Ma? Ada Bloomberg Finance Lab!” She has already planned for her stock investment time spent in Edinburgh, saying how convenience it is since her class will be over by the time Malaysia stock counter is open (due to the 8-hour time difference) But she continued with; “Tapi Iman tak menyesal sangat sebab the timing is perfect” Yes. The timing is perfect. It has always been perfect for me and for her too. Imagine if she went there earlier and I was alone the whole of the last 6-8 months. She managed to finish her stock trading class with Hj Asri too, just in time before she moved here. Allah is The Greatest. Allahuakbar. He is indeed The Best Planner.
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A Walk to Remember

January 15th 2020, Wednesday A day to remember. The day that starts another phase of life for me. I must show my gratitudes to The Almighty more often; for He has eased us in many ways we couldn’t imagine. So, today I did a walk to remember. And I shall fondly remember the day. Enjoy the photos of around the neighbourhood Security is very important The meadows One of the new flats with ceiling high glass walls. The old flats : the longer classic old flats sandwiching the shorter new modern flats (hidden because they are short) The imaginary ‘dividing line’ : to the left are the modern flats and to the right are a mixture of modern new and classic old flats. To the right : the shorter new in between two olds On the left : the shorter new in between the longer news. Iman is staying in one of the longer new flats. Welcome 2020
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The Cost of Studying in Edinburgh

Iman with her Acu. Do you know that the size of iris does not change after the age of 6 months? I am not sure how old she was at that time the photo was taken, maybe 1.5 year. But I remember that she could read by the age of 3, thanks to her paternal grandmother who taught her.  Let us get it straight to the point (point number one only) : 1. Tuition fee (for this semester Jan-May) Original fee minus 20 % discount for Malaysian students (local students and Eu students below 25 years old do not have to pay) Nett = £ 5,856 = RM 32+K Comparatively, if she studies in Putrajaya branch, she only needs to pay half of it i.e. RM 17+ K (the yearly fee is RM33k) From the original £ 15,080 for year 3 fee (calculated earlier on), it came to £ 14,640 when we went to Edinburgh campus last week. A huge relief for that lower amount. Since we had paid for the first semester when she studied in Putrajaya, we only had to pay half of the amount i.e. £7,320 and with an additional 20% discou
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Sharing is Caring?

Not every time. Some things cannot be shared. Anyways, this girl values privacy very much. It is not surprising that she does not share her room with anyone else. And the toilet too. We have decided to adopt this lovely full width mirrored cabinets in the bathroom of our upcoming apartment. She only ‘shares’ her bed with her elephant Steiff toy. Elephant never forgets.
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Just the two of us in Edinburgh

Just the two of us : Two persons Two pictures
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First Day of School

Today is Iman’s first day of school. She does not have any lecture class on Monday, she does have tutorial classes on Monday however, but they start on week-3. The bus journey took almost an hour (okay, I exaggerate, it was actually about 45 minutes) on bus 45 which takes a longer different route compared to bus 35, but the view is much nicer, we passed through beautiful residential areas. I am here to pay for the tuition fee. I hope they have gotten the final calculation (after 20% discount) which they still had not when we came here 8 days ago. The office for Global Student Centre opens at 10 am. So, here I am waiting at one of the cafeterias. We laughed at the fact that here; schoolchildren take the bus (and it is regular Lothian bus, not a schoolbus) on their own while Iman; an undergraduate being accompanied to ‘school’ on her first day :)) She has longer fingers than me, her fingernails are more beautiful too. But still, I am taller than her, something that she doe
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Day 3

Night 3 at Iman’s newly rented flat. ... and I dreamed of arwah Mak for 3 consecutive nights. May she and all other Mukminin souls be placed in Allah’s blessings... Allahumma aamiiiiiin. I have 4 more nights here before I fly back to KL. Things have settled here, more or less. Only a few more : 1. Obtaining Ridacard (tomorrow). £48 as monthly cost is cheaper compared to £4 daily Lothian bus ticket price. All this while, she/we has/have to either buy single-journey (£1.70) or daily (£4) tickets, or take Uber. It is actually £48 for 4 weeks and starts when you activate the card.  2. Need to email student-related documents to the City Council so that she (as a student) does not have to pay the local tax 3. Her bank card (about 2 weeks’ time before it arrives by post) 4. Registering at any nearby GP (You are here : to the right is one of the University of Edinburgh buildings in renovation, to the left is Pure Gym Fitness Centre where residents/tenants can apply to join). Im
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Scotlant Bank Notes

Three retail banks produce Scotland bank notes : Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank. If you read their history, you’ll wonder : why did the banks put so much effort in doing that? Each note has its own history about the picture on it. They look beautiful, don’t they? Uniformly, they are brown for the £10 notes, blue for £5, purple for £20, green for £50 and red for £100. Whaaaaat? They have £100 notes? I didn’t know that before (we know that the Bank of England only issues £50 as its biggest-value notes). In contrast, only one bank i.e. The Bank of England i.e. England’s central bank, produces bank notes for the much bigger England (the separate bank note low in the picture). Anyhow, we can use both notes in either Scotland or England (although you might get weird or maybe suspicious look when you use bigger £50 notes).
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Moving In

She’s got the keys to her flat this afternoon. The handing over the house keys was simple. We kinda like this letting agent company : Umega. Very professional. About moving in, we have decided to bring in our luggages tomorrow morning, after checking out from this apartment. Then afterwards, going out to buy the pillows and beddings. All the others are already provided by the landlord. Let the pictures tell the thousands of stories. The flat definitely meets her expectations, except for some but those are minors. For me, it is safety. This place definitely is safer than some other areas we checked on. And the place looks new and modern. Praise be to Allah.
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Day-3

Hari ni kami pindah ke unit lain. Kisahnya begini : Urusan sewa flat masih belum selesai. Tiga hari memang tak cukup untuk urusan penyewa-ejen-tuanrumah. Flat kedua yang kami tengok semalam sesuai di hati Iman. Hari ni baru dapat jawapan dari tuanrumah. Baru tadi ke bank masukkan duit terus ke akaun ejen (kerana kalau international online transfer ambil masa beberapa hari lagi) sedangkan kami nak pindah minggu ni, minggu depan kelas dah mula. Mujurlah bawa cash lebih sebab ejen minta : - 2 bulan security deposit - 3 bulan rental advance Di samping tu, international guarantor (kita la tu kan) : ID, prove of income etc Jika berjalan lancar, Jumaat ini bolehlah dapat kunci 🤲. Kemas apa yang patut dulu. Sabtu boleh check out dari sini dan bawa beg pindah masuk ke sana. Pengajarannya ; Kena spare 2-3 minggu jika nak menyewa rumah luar kampus. Seminggu untuk urusan menyewa, kemudian barulah boleh buka akaun bank, daftar GP, daftar telefon etc. Kesimpulannya ; Duduk dal
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Praise be to Allah. The Eagle has landed, with her Sparrow tagging along.
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From Putrajaya to Edinburgh : traveling day

The day  / night has come. Six big bags for check-in. Two cabin bags. Two lovely ladies :) Plenty of prayers. A lot. Each time.
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