Things that I will miss the most about USA - part 2

Assalamualaikum wrt...

OK let's continue..=)

I WILL MISS...

the people..

I will definitely miss my American friends - even though not many =P..And I will definitely miss seeing American around...well, except during Friday night, and weekend night, and whenever they are not sober..=P..don't blame me.

MISG people - it's nice working with you guys..with the ups and downs we're in together..the beautiful ukhuwah will always be cherished..

to all Vandy people, I will definitely miss all 140-something of them...the Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors...and oh, also including all the graduated super-seniors who knew me well or just so-so....and especially to my the SENIORS Class of 2010..we made it guys! We survived 4 years in USA =)..THANK YOU ALL! you guys taught me about life a lot! I mean A LOT!

Vanderbilt people...the largest Malaysian community in the USA =P

And to every single one who know me or I know them....mak cik Front Desk, Pak2 and Mak2 Guard waktu I kerja Reeve, Abang Obies, Pak Cik Ramadan, Mak Cik Rand,..I will definitely miss you guys too..haha

I WILL MISS...

Featheringhill Hall a.k.a. FGH, The Engineering School

This is where the Kampung Melayu of USA is..hehe..and no, I'm not exaggerating..all 140-something Malaysians in Vanderbilt study Engineering as undergraduates. I don't know what the Mat Salehs think, seeing us in that number.. a diverse environment? competition? threatened? and I definitely have no clue why JPA and MARA keep sending large number of students to Vandy each year even though Vandy is no cheap. I mean NO CHEAP - it's a private school. oh well, in anyway, I will certainly miss this building..and also other academic buildings I've studied in (I hope I don't sound nerdy =P)

I remembered having to sneak out from a 7pm-9pm exam, to pray Maghrib at a corner of the stair. Hoping no Mat Saleh will walk by me.

And I also remembered praying jemaah with a friend at a safe corner at FGH, and turned out it wasn't safe. We heard footsteps approaching us, and stopped and then walked away..haha.

I remembered got stuck in FGH because of the tornado, 2am in the morning...

and other countless memories..

Order of Engineer Ceremony..signing the ethics oath..almost an Engineer

I WILL MISS...

Working as a Front Desk Reeve =P

Besides the income, I profited a lot from this job. A good resume booster when you boost the words, all the soft skills gained and oh, I've also got used to wake up 12am or 4am in the morning and go to work. That gotta be useful one day right? =P. There's not much work for the job really, I just have to sit at the front desk and help people who needs to be helped.

While working in one of the Reeve Desk. 4pm-8pm shift

Countless good and bad memories. The bad ones are of course when I have to deal with drunk people, or rude people, or people with no patience. Oh well, people will always be people..There will be one or two security guards around during late hours, so I'm practically not alone. If I'm lucky, I'll manage to engage into beneficial conversation with the guard - interfaith issues, any issues. If I'm not lucky enough, I will have to engage into unwanted situations with the guard - unwanted long conversation when I have to study for exam, or guard who snores so loudly that I have to listen to songs so not to be awkward =P ..good memory..of course when paychecks arrive..=)))

to be continued...insyaAllah!

Things that I will miss the most about USA - part 1

Assalamualaikum wrt..

I think it's about time to write this kinda post..since I'm less than 1 month away from graduation and less than 2 months away from leaving USA... and Allah knows better whether or not I will have another chance to come back to USA..sobs2.. =(

So..I took inventory of the things that I'll miss about USA..(not particularly or chronologically in order..). One day, maybe 5-10 years from now insyaAllah, I want to be able to read this post and said to myself, "those were the days...=)" and maybe cry...haha.

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I WILL MISS..

Going on road trips with my friends..

I have to admit that I will miss this the most. Be it a road trip to AlMaghrib seminars, AlBayyinah classes, MISG programs, or just a chillin'-out trip with my peeps...the feeling and experience of going out there in a journey, with friends that I love, is certainly unforgettable. Most if not all of our road trips, we drove ourselves... 8-10 hours of drive is normal average for a road trip..I've been in longer ones: 14-15 hours..gosh =P..We usually take turns driving, and along the road we shared stories - intellectual and even non-intellectual ones haha..

Road trip to Canada for RIS (Reviving the Islamic Spirit) Convention..the bestest masyaAllah! =) the most iman-skyrocketing experience, longest roadtrip, farthest destination..wish had more moments like that!

Road trip from Atlanta -->Birmingham --> New Orleans --> Panama City. The last destination was totally an ad-hoc because New Orleans was devastated by Katrina Hurricane. So we planned for Plan B that night, and headed to Panama city the next morning. Oh and yeah.. I remembered we ate only Maggi's and junk food for a week or so, for financial reason. Ended up everyone had stomach ache..oh poor poor us =P

Road trip to Ohio State University for Tamrin OSU - one of the most unforgettable road trip ever. One of the dangerous I might say..one of the car (the car that I was in, and no I wasn't the one who's driving nasib baik..) spun like gasing in the middle of the highway, because of ice..I literally said my syahadah that time..laailaahailallah..near-death experience..what an experience!

Road trip to Washington DC for Eid Celebration at Malaysia Embassy - This one...had its own story too..we were the only all-sisters in one car..so we were practically being ditched by everyone else..=P. I remembered there was 7-8 other cars probably..and everytime, we were the last one to arrive at the destination..either kena tinggal, or tertinggal and got lost...sian..=P

Road trip to Atlanta, GA for AlMaghrib seminar - one of the AlMaghrib seminars I've attended...can't remember what's the class topic for this one....

Road trip to Hartford, CT for ICNA (Islamic Central North America) convention - I wouldn't say it's a road trip though..but more to 'air' trip =P..we went there by flight coz it's a 16-hour journey by car that we won't be able to afford financially and physically.This was also one of the unforgettable journey..Naziha and I (just the two of us)..finally decided to go to the conference, quite last minute, during school weekend..it's all worth it though. The experience, and definitely the knowledge obtained from the conference.

And..these are the earlier ones I've went to....

Road trip, Washington DC to Muktamar MISG-IMSA - My 2nd Muktamar...I was the co-driver, for 14 hours straight..but I pity the driver the most..driving for 14 hours straight...During the last days of the trip, we stayed at locals' houses. There were 5 cars for sisters so we splitted to 2 or 3 houses. Me and few other sisters stayed at a Muslim Kazakhztan's house..the auntie fed us very well..I meant too well! =P

Road trip to Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Missouri for STC MISG (Summer Training Camp) - It's an outdoory activity held by MISG..I just been to one, coz I wasn't in the USA for summer each time..the thing I remembered the most about this one is...it was so hot in the day that we have to cancel most of the activities..other than that, it was a great experience..=)

It was such an experience..car broke down, car towed-away for bad parking spot, left car keys in locked car, pulled-over by police, took the wrong highway for 2 hours, near-death experience and list goes on and on..

So these are SOME, not all of the road trips that I have been to, from 2007-2010. How I wish I can put all of the pictures here to relive all the sweet memories ..especially the earlier ones I went with the super seniors - Kak Ena, Kak Raihan and others..oh well, people say a picture tells 1000 words, but I say what more important is the memory..=)

I realized that it will be not as easy to go on road trips when I'm back in Malaysia. Why eh? I guess money will be a problem, safety and parents' permission... Thus, I definitely gonna miss every single moment I went to a road trip here in US, with every single person I've went the road trip with and of course the experience and knowledge I've gained throughout the journey..

High Expectations..Good? Bad?

Assalamualaikum wrt wbt...

Is it good to set high expectations?

Well, it depends for who and how high...

It's important to set high expectations for yourself..it helps you to work harder, achieve higher and make fuller use of your time. You will automatically work towards meeting those expectations, thus you are becoming more motivated day by day. Setting expectations in life and meeting them will definitely help to increase self-confidence and self-esteem. With a little success, you know you are capable of achieving something and thus you wanna do more. Although, one has to be careful not to set too high expectations because it could lead to detrimental effect, especially to one's self-esteem that is when the expectations failed to be met..Setting inappropriate expectations for yourself are setting up for failure..So..my deduction for this issue is..general rule of thumb: set high expectations, but know where to draw the line...

One might then ask, How do we know where's the line?

The key is to challenge yourself without 'overextending' yourself. You know your capabilities, thus you can set up your own appropriate level of expectations...for example: if you usually got C's in school, don't overextend yourself to get all A's in next exam..set B's first, then when you manage to achieve it, set higher for A's.

I guess the next big question mark is..is it appropriate to set high expectations for other people?

I don't know the answer to this question so I asked 'Sheikh Google':

Your Expectations of Others

Just as your expectations about yourself can be harmful, so too can high expectations about others. If you constantly hold others to an unattainable level of high expectations, you will constantly feel like people are letting you down. This may lead you to believe that others don't care about you or that you don't deserve the attention of friends and family members. As you start to apply manageable expectations to yourself, it will also be beneficial to do so to others.

Gosh....

A friend then said to me,

"don't expect much azni, dengan org slain dri sndiri takleh ada expectation tinggi. kecewa and sedih tinggi nanti..."

From now on, I should expect more of myself, and least for other person..YEaHH!!