Field trip at Ziegler-CAT Facility in Altoona, Iowa  

Posted by hidayah

Today I went for a field trip at the Ziegler-CAT facility (dealer of Caterpillar equipment for midwest) in Altoona (around 45 minutes from Ames). I went there as part of the requirement for my GPS Grade Control class, and the whole class (there's only 8 of us) went down there around 3.30pm and got home at 8pm. It was a fun trip, and we get to learn staking out using GPS and actually get to sit in the cab of a dozer! (Yeeehaaaa!)hehehe...Here are some pics...



Me in front of the Ziegler-CAT facility


Me trying to stake some points around the facility



Some of my classmates listening to Josh Olson (2nd from left -- the CAT guy)


The fleet of equipment



Huge dozers!!



Checking out the GPS controller inside the cab


Talking to Josh while sitting in the cab (it's seriously comfy in there! There's air-cond and radio, hehe... jokingly asked Josh if there are going to install blu-ray players in here, too)



The simulator

All in all, we had a blast... and now, time to hit the sheets... There's another field trip tomorrow at Des Moines... will update on those, too..later..

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Our Sweetheart =P  

Posted by hidayah

Watchin' TV


Ready for a stroll outside


Posing kejap...


Hehehe... rasa macam rappers lak...:)

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Setelah hampir 3 bulan..  

Posted by hidayah

Pejam celik pejam celik dah dekat 3 bulan aku bermastautin dan bermukim kat bumi pak cik Sam nih. Alhamdulillah, macam2 ilmu yg aku pelajari, dan kehidupan kitorang pun semakin hari semakin ok... boleh dah adjust dgn surrounding dan cuaca kat sini. Baik aku, Zairi, Adik dan Fatihah, kitorang dah boleh adapt...

Overall life: Alhamdulillah ok, perabot and electrical appliances makin bertambah, kenderaan pun dah ada... tinggal washer je lagi (yg penting la).. lain2 tu, tak urgent sgt... lambat skit dapat pun xpe...

Research: Aku still x figure out lagi topik utk phd thesis aku, bagus tak? haha... kat sini ok, flexible.. style sini x push2 org sampai sesak otak pikir pasal topik thesis, dan diaorang bagi kebebasan dan guide utk aku decide topik... so far apa yg aku buat is just baca lit review dan tgk area mana lacking of research...then barulah aku pikir nak tulis thesis pasal apa.. in the meantime aku involve dgn satu project dgn prof aku, and dia mintak aku jadikan project yg aku keje ni as platform utk develop topik thesis... tapi, knowing me... since byk sgt journal yg kena baca, biasalah... mesti bertangguh aje... kekadang tensen dgn diri sndiri...huhu... aku ni sgt la last minute nyer type.. tapi seriously kali ni aku kena berubah perlahan2... giler apa nak wat thesis last minute! huhu...

Rutin harian:
Pagi -- Lepas solat subuh, baring2 jap (kadang2 terlelap balik kalau Fatihah xbgn lagi..hehe). Kalau anak dara tu dah bgn, jawabnya layan dia main2 atas katil dulu... then aku online YM, sebab mmg wajib chatting via webcm dgn mama and daddy (diorang nak kena tgk Fatihah..hehe). then lepas abis chatting, aku gi jenguk kat dapur, tgk apa nak makan utk breakfast.. biasa Adik gi kelas around 8.40am, so dia mmg xsempat ah nak breakfast... sambil Fatihah layan Wonderpet dgn Backyardigans, aku kemas ah apa2 yg patut... Lepas bermandi-mandian, aku pun start pikir nak masa apa utk lunch sambil layan rerun Gilmore Girls...

Tghari -- Aku masak lunch, then aku solat zuhur sblm gi ofis buat keje... around 1.40pm aku dh gi Dept... mesti korang wondering eh.. aku ada ofis sendiri... well, actually more of a desk space.. kalau nak buat research work /assignment kat ofis senang skit, kalau kat umah ada minah kenit nak kacau mommy je kejenye.. hehe... so ni la desk space aku... (Aku biasa gi ofis hari aku ada kelas je -- Isnin, Selasa, Khamis)



Ptg -- Kelas aku utk Isnin and Selasa start pukul 5pm, habis pkul 7.30pm.. yang hari khamis start pkl 6pm - 9.30pm... kalau tak de kelas aku lepak kt umah smbil layan Fatihah..

Mlm -- Bila dah balik mlm aku pun masak ala kadar aje la nk alas perut.. Zairi dgn Adik pun paham aku balik dah lewat, nasib baik diorang jenis makan x byk songeh..hehe... makan je apa yg aku masak or apa yg ada... klu x, jenuh la jugak aku... penat lagi, nak pulak kalau aku balik kelas, Fatihah tak tido lagi... nak kena tidurkan dia dulu, baru leh masak2... huhu...

Spring break baru je sudah minggu lepas.Aku xgi mana2 yg interesting pun, sbb kitorang baru je dpt kereta, lesen penuh belum ada lagi... lagipun, ongkos xmengizinkan utk berjoli sakan... haha... So aku ingat summer ni nak arrange roadtrip... hehe.... hmmm... destinasi hala tuju? Maybe nak cover states belah North West, sampai Canada... haha... iyolah tu.... haha... ala, tu perancangan aje... tgk bajet dulu macamana.... tapi for sure mmg kitorang nak travel.

Adoi laa... cepat la sem ni abis!! x larat den nak tnggu laie....

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The Car (It's actually a van)  

Posted by hidayah

Alhamdulillah... One of my problem was solved. Remember the entry about the car and the washer? yeah... now I'm still hunting for a washer.. We went down to Des Moines to take a look at the car which was advertised at autotrader.com with Abg Jalal, and fell in love with it. The price was reasonable, the mileage is okay nd the interior and engine is clean. Oh, our car is a Nissan Quest... Here are some pics...









And check out the lil' girl who's "inspecting" the Nissan Quest ..


I drove the van from Des Moines to Ames with Zairi beside me (eventhough both of us only have permits, not a real driver's license). Why van, not a car? Well... Since Angah is coming here for his Masters, and mama and daddy with Apit coming over in October, I guess it would be better for me to get a van rather than a car.. I can always haul everyone for a shopping trip around Ames and maybe farther, haha.... So there... we got a car van! Yay!

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I yelled at a gangster in your bathroom because Big Bird said to and he's my leader  

Posted by hidayah

Keep this going. Type out the sentence you end up with in the TITLE of your note and tag your friends.Have fun. :D

Pick the month you were born:
January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March--------I karate chopped
April----------I licked
May----------I jumped on
June----------I smelled
July-----------I did the Macarena With
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7-------my mobile phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbour
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------ - a smurf
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a homeless guy
31-------a llama

What is the last number of the year you were born:
1--------- In my car
2 --------- On your car
3 ----------- In a hole
4 ----------- Under your bed
5 ----------- Riding a Motorcycle
6 --------- sliding down a hill
7 --------- in an elevator
8---------- at the dinner table
9 -------- In line at the bank
0 -------- in your bathroom

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
White---------because I'm cool like that
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink-----------because I'm NOT crazy.
Red-----------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple---------because I'm AWESOME!
Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange--------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown---------because I can.
Other----------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself!

Now type out the sentence you made, write 'em in my comment box and also as the TITLE line and tag your friends in the note!

Hmm... Not in the mood of tagging people..:0.. Most of 'em have been tagged anyway, so... whoever feel like doing it, you're most welcome...

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When You Told Me You Loved Me  

Posted by hidayah

I fell in love with this song when I first watched it on YouTube. It's also the background song for my blog :)) This beautiful ballad is sang by Jessica Simpson (I am not a big fan of her, but this song is so touching and made me cry because I love seeing Jess and Nick together-- but they aren't anymore, so....:( ). Anyway, enjoy this song's videoclip (if you are unable to listen to the background song for some reason)

"When You Told Me You Loved Me"

Once
Doesn't mean anything to me
Come
Show me the meaning of complete
Where
Did our love go wrong
Once we were so strong
How can I go on?

When you told me you loved me
Did you know it would take me the rest of my life
To get over the feeling of knowing a dream didn't turn out right
When you let me believe that you weren't complete
Without me by your side
How could I know
That you would go
That you would run
Baby, I thought you were the one

Why
Can't I just leave it all behind
I
Felt passion so bright that I was blind
Then
Something made me weak
Talking in my sleep
Baby, I'm in so deep and you know I believed

When you told me you loved me
Did you know it would take me the rest of my life
To get over the feeling of knowing a dream didn't turn out right
When you let me believe that you weren't complete
Without me by your side
How could I know
That you would go
That you would run
Baby, I thought you were the one

Your lips
Your face
Something that time just can't erase
Find my heart could break
All over again

When you told me you loved me
Did you know it would take me the rest of my life
To get over the feeling of knowing a dream didn't turn out right
When you let me believe that you weren't complete
Without me by your side
How could I know
That you would go
That you would run
Baby, I thought you were the one

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Hanya kerna nama  

Posted by hidayah

Bila diingat-ingat balik story pasal nama ni, memang lawak ah.. sebab apa lawaknya? Kalau kat Malaysia tak de rasa apa-apa pun, cuma bila kat US ni je yang lawak.. Aku bagi contoh diri sendiri je la... nama penuh aku Nurhidayah, satu perkataan aje pun... tapi biasalah, kat Malaysia orang panggil aku dengan pelbagai panggilan ... Hidayah, Dayah, Are-id... Bila kat US, aku memang komersialkan nama aku as Hida. Kenapa? Mudah, ringkas, mat saleh senang nak sebut (iyolah...tu).. So kalau org US tanya, what's your name -- aku cakap, my name is Hida as in 'hee-daa'. Itupun ada yg sebut --'hy-daa'. Isk Isk...apapun boleh bilang dgn jari kalau yang betul sebut nama penuh aku first time. Aku serius pelik, sebab nama Nurhidayah tu bukan susah sangat nak sebut pun. Mat saleh ni, kalau nama Schwarzeneggar ke, Matenoupoulus ke, Schexnayder ke pandai lak menyebutnya. Aku rasa diorang ni malas je nak belajar sebut nama foreigner betul2.. kekadang geram gak aku... hahaha..Camane la agaknya kalau nama aku Puteri Dewi Ratnasari Kesuma Nurhidayah... ooohhhh... tidakk!!!!! hahahaha...

Lagi kisah pasal nama... so sepanjang kat US ni, aku dikenali sebagai Hida Azmy. Simple and senang, kan... Tapi dalam rekod universiti, class list dan official paperwork, memang nama penuh la yg digunakan sebab ikut passport,kan.. yang Hida Azmy tu just panggilan informal... Nak dijadikan cerita, dalam attendance list most of aku nyer kelas, list disusun ikut surname dulu baru first name, so aku biasa jadi org first sbb surname Azmy, kan.. then ada lecturer tu kadang2 panggil surname aje... aku pulak masa mula2 dtg sini waktu undergrad dulu mmg daddy dah bgtau pasal ni... so ada sekali masa dlm kelas lecturer panggil nama untuk jawab soalan..tetiba je dgr "Azmy.. Azmy.." Aku pulak masa tu boleh terpikir sapa pulak yg panggil daddynye nama nih... haha...lepas tu lagi sekali kena panggil"Azmy... Azmy" since aku tak menyahut... then baru la sedar yg aku kena panggil... hihihi... mesti daddy asyik tersedak aje masa tu..LOL. Daddy punya kisah masa dia studi kat Iowa State pulak macam gini... dalam kelas dia dulu ramai org melayu, mostly nama start atau end dgn mohamad macam nama daddy.. then lecturer panggil nama --"mohamad.. mohamad"... so semua org yg ada nama mohamad menyahut, lepas tu confuse berjemaah.. haha... yelah... tak tau mohamad yg mana, either panggl first name ke last name pun tak tau....

Contoh kedua pulak nama Fatihah dan Zairi... masa nak isi borang bank dan health forms, jenuh jugak la nak bagi mat saleh tu paham... mana taknya, nama Fatihah mmg panjang -- Nur Fatihah Batrisyia, nama Zairi pulak Ahmad Zairi... last2 dia tulis Nur dengan Zairi as first name and surname... haha... Macam Zairi, dah nama ayah Mohd Zain, so atas kad ATM jadi Ahmad Zain.... hehehe.. macam2...

Tu tak masuk lagi kisah Adik... nama dia Mohd Tariq, so bersungguh2 la mat saleh nak sebut MOHD tu..dari mohed, mohhhhhh...d and mcm2 lagi la..last2 adik bgtau MOHD tu short form untuk Mohammad, baru dia org paham... Kes kawan aku budak Thailand pulak, nama dia Manop Kaewmoracharoen, sampai dia dah grad pun mat saleh tk reti nak sebut nama dia... semua asyik sebut "Kaew...Kaew..." sampai aku dgr macam bunyi "kayu... kayu" aje. :P
Tak ketinggalan, kisah nama Abg Jalal husband kak Rosita... Kak Rosita citer mat saleh tanya nama penuh Abg Jalal... Nama dia Jalalullail... mat saleh tu kata -- why are there so many L in a name? haha... tu pn boleh kena soal... and lastly, kisah officer kat admission office yang pening kepala figure out first name, middle name and surname sorang junior masa aku undergrad dulu - nama dia Syed Mohd Asrul Syed Muhamad Kamaruzzaman... haaaa... ambek sebijik... and Syed itu dikenali sebagai JOE... hahaha...

Sekian saja kisah nama yg tetiba mencuit hati aku bila teringatkan kisahnya....

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Daylight saving time  

Posted by hidayah


For those of you who knows what Daylight Saving Time (DST) is, well... it's the time of the year again... for those of you who don't, it's basically setting your clock/watch one hour ahead and it starts at 2.00am Sunday morning (like.. 40 minute from now). Why on earth do we need to do that? Heres some pointers ...


On Sunday, March 8, 2009 (the second Sunday in March) at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States.

Every spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and "lose" an hour during the night and each fall we move our clocks back one hour and "gain" an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time (and not Daylight Savings Time with an "s") wasn't just created to confuse our schedules.
The phrase "Spring forward, fall back" helps people remember how Daylight Saving Time affects their clocks. At 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, we set our clocks forward one hour ahead of standard time ("spring forward"). We "fall back" at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November by setting our clock back one hour and thus returning to standard time.

The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. During the six-and-a-half-month period of Daylight Saving Time, the names of time in each of the time zones in the U.S. change as well. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time (CST) becomes Central Daylight Time (CDT), Mountain Standard Time (MST) becomes Mountain Daylight Tome (MDT), Pacific Standard Time becomes Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and so forth. .


For more information regarding the DST, click here

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Still searchin'..  

Posted by hidayah

It's bugging me. Again. What, you may ask? Hmmm... Well, actually there are two things that I'm looking for, and sadly, I haven't 'found' it. So the thoughts on how to get hold of 'em has been inside my head for the past few weeks. Owh... and it comes with a dilemma, too.. to make the story short ---

1. I'm still car-hunting.
It has been my routine every morning since I arrived here to look up the local classified for cars. There are plenty, of course.. but most of the decent pre-owned cars doesn't suit my budget very well. The one that falls within the range will be the old cars with problems and if it's a decent piece, well... then it's far away from Ames. Soooo... still keeping my fingers crossed and hope that there will be one decent car that works with reasonabe price in Ames. There are many cars in the Des Moines area, but I just don't like the idea of bothering other people to bring me down there...

I am in a need of a car right now. Seriously. It is a necessity nowadays. Imagine me bringing Fatihah on the bus, which goes all around Ames, in cold weather just to get her immunization. Not to mention the number of busses that we need to transfer. Urggghhhh... Better get that car, right??? Well, not as fancy as this one here =) --

*sekadar untuk berangan saje*


2. I'm in DESPERATE need of a washer
My apartment is far -- quite far to walk to the laundromat. I have an old washer that Kak Rosita gave me in the basement, but after a couple of times using it, it won't drain. I got a dryer, though.. but what's the use of it if your washer is broken?

Solution -- walk to the landromat, which is far in walking distance, and when you're hauling two full load of laundry baskets, the laundromat seems to be farther than you realized. Yeah, and then it was raining. Just like tonight. So kesian at Zairi and Adik, both stucked at the laundromat and luckily Abg Fazli saved the day =). Again, most of the used washer are wayyyy beyond our budget (I'm talking about >$150 a washer, okay).... huhuhu....and now I'm still searching ... not as fancy as this washer, though...

Guess now we just have to be patient a little bit, while continue on searching.....

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Weekend @ North Grand Mall  

Posted by hidayah

These pictures were taken few weeks ago, during our trip to the Mall. We went there by bus, and rented a stroller for Fatihah. We expected the stroller to be the 'regular size' stroller, and instead, we got this --


Hehehe... that was the smallest that they have... so when we put her in the stroller, she hesitated for a while, then surprisingly, started to enjoy 'driving'... =)

After shopping at JC Penny, we 'lepak2 ' at the fountain --

**Notice the shopping bag? Price markdown, people! How could I we not shop?? JC Penny = SALE every week! Giler sehhhh...

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Cuba teka?  

Posted by hidayah


Beberapa minggu lepas aku ada beli 3 teddy bear untuk Fatihah. So saje je nak suruh korang teka, berapakah harga bagi setiap teddy bear tu? Yg besar, sederhana, kecik.... so silalah teka... hehe... sebab apa aku suruh teka? sebab harga-harganya sangat tak munasabah.... so... any takers?

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Field trip at Ziegler-CAT Facility in Altoona, Iowa  

written by hidayah

Today I went for a field trip at the Ziegler-CAT facility (dealer of Caterpillar equipment for midwest) in Altoona (around 45 minutes from Ames). I went there as part of the requirement for my GPS Grade Control class, and the whole class (there's only 8 of us) went down there around 3.30pm and got home at 8pm. It was a fun trip, and we get to learn staking out using GPS and actually get to sit in the cab of a dozer! (Yeeehaaaa!)hehehe...Here are some pics...



Me in front of the Ziegler-CAT facility


Me trying to stake some points around the facility



Some of my classmates listening to Josh Olson (2nd from left -- the CAT guy)


The fleet of equipment



Huge dozers!!



Checking out the GPS controller inside the cab


Talking to Josh while sitting in the cab (it's seriously comfy in there! There's air-cond and radio, hehe... jokingly asked Josh if there are going to install blu-ray players in here, too)



The simulator

All in all, we had a blast... and now, time to hit the sheets... There's another field trip tomorrow at Des Moines... will update on those, too..later..

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Our Sweetheart =P  

written by hidayah

Watchin' TV


Ready for a stroll outside


Posing kejap...


Hehehe... rasa macam rappers lak...:)

Filed under 6 comments

Setelah hampir 3 bulan..  

written by hidayah

Pejam celik pejam celik dah dekat 3 bulan aku bermastautin dan bermukim kat bumi pak cik Sam nih. Alhamdulillah, macam2 ilmu yg aku pelajari, dan kehidupan kitorang pun semakin hari semakin ok... boleh dah adjust dgn surrounding dan cuaca kat sini. Baik aku, Zairi, Adik dan Fatihah, kitorang dah boleh adapt...

Overall life: Alhamdulillah ok, perabot and electrical appliances makin bertambah, kenderaan pun dah ada... tinggal washer je lagi (yg penting la).. lain2 tu, tak urgent sgt... lambat skit dapat pun xpe...

Research: Aku still x figure out lagi topik utk phd thesis aku, bagus tak? haha... kat sini ok, flexible.. style sini x push2 org sampai sesak otak pikir pasal topik thesis, dan diaorang bagi kebebasan dan guide utk aku decide topik... so far apa yg aku buat is just baca lit review dan tgk area mana lacking of research...then barulah aku pikir nak tulis thesis pasal apa.. in the meantime aku involve dgn satu project dgn prof aku, and dia mintak aku jadikan project yg aku keje ni as platform utk develop topik thesis... tapi, knowing me... since byk sgt journal yg kena baca, biasalah... mesti bertangguh aje... kekadang tensen dgn diri sndiri...huhu... aku ni sgt la last minute nyer type.. tapi seriously kali ni aku kena berubah perlahan2... giler apa nak wat thesis last minute! huhu...

Rutin harian:
Pagi -- Lepas solat subuh, baring2 jap (kadang2 terlelap balik kalau Fatihah xbgn lagi..hehe). Kalau anak dara tu dah bgn, jawabnya layan dia main2 atas katil dulu... then aku online YM, sebab mmg wajib chatting via webcm dgn mama and daddy (diorang nak kena tgk Fatihah..hehe). then lepas abis chatting, aku gi jenguk kat dapur, tgk apa nak makan utk breakfast.. biasa Adik gi kelas around 8.40am, so dia mmg xsempat ah nak breakfast... sambil Fatihah layan Wonderpet dgn Backyardigans, aku kemas ah apa2 yg patut... Lepas bermandi-mandian, aku pun start pikir nak masa apa utk lunch sambil layan rerun Gilmore Girls...

Tghari -- Aku masak lunch, then aku solat zuhur sblm gi ofis buat keje... around 1.40pm aku dh gi Dept... mesti korang wondering eh.. aku ada ofis sendiri... well, actually more of a desk space.. kalau nak buat research work /assignment kat ofis senang skit, kalau kat umah ada minah kenit nak kacau mommy je kejenye.. hehe... so ni la desk space aku... (Aku biasa gi ofis hari aku ada kelas je -- Isnin, Selasa, Khamis)



Ptg -- Kelas aku utk Isnin and Selasa start pukul 5pm, habis pkul 7.30pm.. yang hari khamis start pkl 6pm - 9.30pm... kalau tak de kelas aku lepak kt umah smbil layan Fatihah..

Mlm -- Bila dah balik mlm aku pun masak ala kadar aje la nk alas perut.. Zairi dgn Adik pun paham aku balik dah lewat, nasib baik diorang jenis makan x byk songeh..hehe... makan je apa yg aku masak or apa yg ada... klu x, jenuh la jugak aku... penat lagi, nak pulak kalau aku balik kelas, Fatihah tak tido lagi... nak kena tidurkan dia dulu, baru leh masak2... huhu...

Spring break baru je sudah minggu lepas.Aku xgi mana2 yg interesting pun, sbb kitorang baru je dpt kereta, lesen penuh belum ada lagi... lagipun, ongkos xmengizinkan utk berjoli sakan... haha... So aku ingat summer ni nak arrange roadtrip... hehe.... hmmm... destinasi hala tuju? Maybe nak cover states belah North West, sampai Canada... haha... iyolah tu.... haha... ala, tu perancangan aje... tgk bajet dulu macamana.... tapi for sure mmg kitorang nak travel.

Adoi laa... cepat la sem ni abis!! x larat den nak tnggu laie....

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The Car (It's actually a van)  

written by hidayah

Alhamdulillah... One of my problem was solved. Remember the entry about the car and the washer? yeah... now I'm still hunting for a washer.. We went down to Des Moines to take a look at the car which was advertised at autotrader.com with Abg Jalal, and fell in love with it. The price was reasonable, the mileage is okay nd the interior and engine is clean. Oh, our car is a Nissan Quest... Here are some pics...









And check out the lil' girl who's "inspecting" the Nissan Quest ..


I drove the van from Des Moines to Ames with Zairi beside me (eventhough both of us only have permits, not a real driver's license). Why van, not a car? Well... Since Angah is coming here for his Masters, and mama and daddy with Apit coming over in October, I guess it would be better for me to get a van rather than a car.. I can always haul everyone for a shopping trip around Ames and maybe farther, haha.... So there... we got a car van! Yay!

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I yelled at a gangster in your bathroom because Big Bird said to and he's my leader  

written by hidayah

Keep this going. Type out the sentence you end up with in the TITLE of your note and tag your friends.Have fun. :D

Pick the month you were born:
January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March--------I karate chopped
April----------I licked
May----------I jumped on
June----------I smelled
July-----------I did the Macarena With
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7-------my mobile phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbour
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------ - a smurf
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a homeless guy
31-------a llama

What is the last number of the year you were born:
1--------- In my car
2 --------- On your car
3 ----------- In a hole
4 ----------- Under your bed
5 ----------- Riding a Motorcycle
6 --------- sliding down a hill
7 --------- in an elevator
8---------- at the dinner table
9 -------- In line at the bank
0 -------- in your bathroom

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
White---------because I'm cool like that
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink-----------because I'm NOT crazy.
Red-----------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple---------because I'm AWESOME!
Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange--------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown---------because I can.
Other----------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself!

Now type out the sentence you made, write 'em in my comment box and also as the TITLE line and tag your friends in the note!

Hmm... Not in the mood of tagging people..:0.. Most of 'em have been tagged anyway, so... whoever feel like doing it, you're most welcome...

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When You Told Me You Loved Me  

written by hidayah

I fell in love with this song when I first watched it on YouTube. It's also the background song for my blog :)) This beautiful ballad is sang by Jessica Simpson (I am not a big fan of her, but this song is so touching and made me cry because I love seeing Jess and Nick together-- but they aren't anymore, so....:( ). Anyway, enjoy this song's videoclip (if you are unable to listen to the background song for some reason)

"When You Told Me You Loved Me"

Once
Doesn't mean anything to me
Come
Show me the meaning of complete
Where
Did our love go wrong
Once we were so strong
How can I go on?

When you told me you loved me
Did you know it would take me the rest of my life
To get over the feeling of knowing a dream didn't turn out right
When you let me believe that you weren't complete
Without me by your side
How could I know
That you would go
That you would run
Baby, I thought you were the one

Why
Can't I just leave it all behind
I
Felt passion so bright that I was blind
Then
Something made me weak
Talking in my sleep
Baby, I'm in so deep and you know I believed

When you told me you loved me
Did you know it would take me the rest of my life
To get over the feeling of knowing a dream didn't turn out right
When you let me believe that you weren't complete
Without me by your side
How could I know
That you would go
That you would run
Baby, I thought you were the one

Your lips
Your face
Something that time just can't erase
Find my heart could break
All over again

When you told me you loved me
Did you know it would take me the rest of my life
To get over the feeling of knowing a dream didn't turn out right
When you let me believe that you weren't complete
Without me by your side
How could I know
That you would go
That you would run
Baby, I thought you were the one

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Hanya kerna nama  

written by hidayah

Bila diingat-ingat balik story pasal nama ni, memang lawak ah.. sebab apa lawaknya? Kalau kat Malaysia tak de rasa apa-apa pun, cuma bila kat US ni je yang lawak.. Aku bagi contoh diri sendiri je la... nama penuh aku Nurhidayah, satu perkataan aje pun... tapi biasalah, kat Malaysia orang panggil aku dengan pelbagai panggilan ... Hidayah, Dayah, Are-id... Bila kat US, aku memang komersialkan nama aku as Hida. Kenapa? Mudah, ringkas, mat saleh senang nak sebut (iyolah...tu).. So kalau org US tanya, what's your name -- aku cakap, my name is Hida as in 'hee-daa'. Itupun ada yg sebut --'hy-daa'. Isk Isk...apapun boleh bilang dgn jari kalau yang betul sebut nama penuh aku first time. Aku serius pelik, sebab nama Nurhidayah tu bukan susah sangat nak sebut pun. Mat saleh ni, kalau nama Schwarzeneggar ke, Matenoupoulus ke, Schexnayder ke pandai lak menyebutnya. Aku rasa diorang ni malas je nak belajar sebut nama foreigner betul2.. kekadang geram gak aku... hahaha..Camane la agaknya kalau nama aku Puteri Dewi Ratnasari Kesuma Nurhidayah... ooohhhh... tidakk!!!!! hahahaha...

Lagi kisah pasal nama... so sepanjang kat US ni, aku dikenali sebagai Hida Azmy. Simple and senang, kan... Tapi dalam rekod universiti, class list dan official paperwork, memang nama penuh la yg digunakan sebab ikut passport,kan.. yang Hida Azmy tu just panggilan informal... Nak dijadikan cerita, dalam attendance list most of aku nyer kelas, list disusun ikut surname dulu baru first name, so aku biasa jadi org first sbb surname Azmy, kan.. then ada lecturer tu kadang2 panggil surname aje... aku pulak masa mula2 dtg sini waktu undergrad dulu mmg daddy dah bgtau pasal ni... so ada sekali masa dlm kelas lecturer panggil nama untuk jawab soalan..tetiba je dgr "Azmy.. Azmy.." Aku pulak masa tu boleh terpikir sapa pulak yg panggil daddynye nama nih... haha...lepas tu lagi sekali kena panggil"Azmy... Azmy" since aku tak menyahut... then baru la sedar yg aku kena panggil... hihihi... mesti daddy asyik tersedak aje masa tu..LOL. Daddy punya kisah masa dia studi kat Iowa State pulak macam gini... dalam kelas dia dulu ramai org melayu, mostly nama start atau end dgn mohamad macam nama daddy.. then lecturer panggil nama --"mohamad.. mohamad"... so semua org yg ada nama mohamad menyahut, lepas tu confuse berjemaah.. haha... yelah... tak tau mohamad yg mana, either panggl first name ke last name pun tak tau....

Contoh kedua pulak nama Fatihah dan Zairi... masa nak isi borang bank dan health forms, jenuh jugak la nak bagi mat saleh tu paham... mana taknya, nama Fatihah mmg panjang -- Nur Fatihah Batrisyia, nama Zairi pulak Ahmad Zairi... last2 dia tulis Nur dengan Zairi as first name and surname... haha... Macam Zairi, dah nama ayah Mohd Zain, so atas kad ATM jadi Ahmad Zain.... hehehe.. macam2...

Tu tak masuk lagi kisah Adik... nama dia Mohd Tariq, so bersungguh2 la mat saleh nak sebut MOHD tu..dari mohed, mohhhhhh...d and mcm2 lagi la..last2 adik bgtau MOHD tu short form untuk Mohammad, baru dia org paham... Kes kawan aku budak Thailand pulak, nama dia Manop Kaewmoracharoen, sampai dia dah grad pun mat saleh tk reti nak sebut nama dia... semua asyik sebut "Kaew...Kaew..." sampai aku dgr macam bunyi "kayu... kayu" aje. :P
Tak ketinggalan, kisah nama Abg Jalal husband kak Rosita... Kak Rosita citer mat saleh tanya nama penuh Abg Jalal... Nama dia Jalalullail... mat saleh tu kata -- why are there so many L in a name? haha... tu pn boleh kena soal... and lastly, kisah officer kat admission office yang pening kepala figure out first name, middle name and surname sorang junior masa aku undergrad dulu - nama dia Syed Mohd Asrul Syed Muhamad Kamaruzzaman... haaaa... ambek sebijik... and Syed itu dikenali sebagai JOE... hahaha...

Sekian saja kisah nama yg tetiba mencuit hati aku bila teringatkan kisahnya....

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Daylight saving time  

written by hidayah


For those of you who knows what Daylight Saving Time (DST) is, well... it's the time of the year again... for those of you who don't, it's basically setting your clock/watch one hour ahead and it starts at 2.00am Sunday morning (like.. 40 minute from now). Why on earth do we need to do that? Heres some pointers ...


On Sunday, March 8, 2009 (the second Sunday in March) at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States.

Every spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and "lose" an hour during the night and each fall we move our clocks back one hour and "gain" an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time (and not Daylight Savings Time with an "s") wasn't just created to confuse our schedules.
The phrase "Spring forward, fall back" helps people remember how Daylight Saving Time affects their clocks. At 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, we set our clocks forward one hour ahead of standard time ("spring forward"). We "fall back" at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November by setting our clock back one hour and thus returning to standard time.

The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. During the six-and-a-half-month period of Daylight Saving Time, the names of time in each of the time zones in the U.S. change as well. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time (CST) becomes Central Daylight Time (CDT), Mountain Standard Time (MST) becomes Mountain Daylight Tome (MDT), Pacific Standard Time becomes Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and so forth. .


For more information regarding the DST, click here

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Still searchin'..  

written by hidayah

It's bugging me. Again. What, you may ask? Hmmm... Well, actually there are two things that I'm looking for, and sadly, I haven't 'found' it. So the thoughts on how to get hold of 'em has been inside my head for the past few weeks. Owh... and it comes with a dilemma, too.. to make the story short ---

1. I'm still car-hunting.
It has been my routine every morning since I arrived here to look up the local classified for cars. There are plenty, of course.. but most of the decent pre-owned cars doesn't suit my budget very well. The one that falls within the range will be the old cars with problems and if it's a decent piece, well... then it's far away from Ames. Soooo... still keeping my fingers crossed and hope that there will be one decent car that works with reasonabe price in Ames. There are many cars in the Des Moines area, but I just don't like the idea of bothering other people to bring me down there...

I am in a need of a car right now. Seriously. It is a necessity nowadays. Imagine me bringing Fatihah on the bus, which goes all around Ames, in cold weather just to get her immunization. Not to mention the number of busses that we need to transfer. Urggghhhh... Better get that car, right??? Well, not as fancy as this one here =) --

*sekadar untuk berangan saje*


2. I'm in DESPERATE need of a washer
My apartment is far -- quite far to walk to the laundromat. I have an old washer that Kak Rosita gave me in the basement, but after a couple of times using it, it won't drain. I got a dryer, though.. but what's the use of it if your washer is broken?

Solution -- walk to the landromat, which is far in walking distance, and when you're hauling two full load of laundry baskets, the laundromat seems to be farther than you realized. Yeah, and then it was raining. Just like tonight. So kesian at Zairi and Adik, both stucked at the laundromat and luckily Abg Fazli saved the day =). Again, most of the used washer are wayyyy beyond our budget (I'm talking about >$150 a washer, okay).... huhuhu....and now I'm still searching ... not as fancy as this washer, though...

Guess now we just have to be patient a little bit, while continue on searching.....

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Weekend @ North Grand Mall  

written by hidayah

These pictures were taken few weeks ago, during our trip to the Mall. We went there by bus, and rented a stroller for Fatihah. We expected the stroller to be the 'regular size' stroller, and instead, we got this --


Hehehe... that was the smallest that they have... so when we put her in the stroller, she hesitated for a while, then surprisingly, started to enjoy 'driving'... =)

After shopping at JC Penny, we 'lepak2 ' at the fountain --

**Notice the shopping bag? Price markdown, people! How could I we not shop?? JC Penny = SALE every week! Giler sehhhh...

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Cuba teka?  

written by hidayah


Beberapa minggu lepas aku ada beli 3 teddy bear untuk Fatihah. So saje je nak suruh korang teka, berapakah harga bagi setiap teddy bear tu? Yg besar, sederhana, kecik.... so silalah teka... hehe... sebab apa aku suruh teka? sebab harga-harganya sangat tak munasabah.... so... any takers?

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