Showing posts with label Study. Show all posts

Fall semester, puasa dan ....  

Posted by hidayah

Sejak semester bermula, aku tak de masa nak jenguk blog. Walaupun aku amik 10 jam kredit -- 3 kelas (statistik, construction acct and financial mgmt, intro to basic research), mmg tak cukup masa nak bersenggang/melepak...I was pretty much occupied with research work... 40 jam seminggu kena keje ye... well, nak komplen pun tak leh, dah aku cari penyakit nak smbung belajar, so ni la nya... hehe...

Rasanya tak terlambat nak ucapkan Salam Ramadhan pada semua... nak dekat 15 Ramadhan dah, kejap je kan... jeezz.. time flies... pejam celik dah raya... serasa baru je smlm aku berbuka posa kat Vistana Kuantan, padahal tu tahun lepas punya cerita... huhu... ada gak yg tanya, camane posa kat sini... aku dah pernah posa kat sini dulu, so nothing new... bagi Adik and En Suami, mmg la lain sbb kat sini no pasar ramadhan whatsoever... nak mkn kena masak sendiri...huhu... rasanya tahun ni mmg pecah rekod la sebab most of my time sblm iftar dihabiskan dgn memasak... kalau dulu, gi beli lauk/kuih tunjuk je... hehe....

Mesti korang tertanya apa benda la yg kitorang makan kat sini utk iftar... aku admit mmg dulu aku jarang nak masak spesel2... tapi bila tekak teringin, belasah masak je la.... satu yg aku miss bila kat sini ialah Nasi kerabu Uncle Bo Pok Jit kat KIPSAS tu... mmg sedap... so aku pun apalagi, buat pertama kali dalam sejarah masak nasi kerabu sendiri.... serius... hahaha.... so inilah hasilnya....

Kellas kan? Jadi jugak aku buat nasi kerabu sendiri... lepas la kempunan kat nasi kerabu pok jit walaupun tak de la sesedap pok jitnyer...En Suami punya suka smpi minggu depannya aku buat nasi kerabu sekali lagi... isk... bangga dgn diri sendiri... hehe....

Aku ni jarang nak tayang2 apa yg aku masak sbb aku selalu rasa aku tak pandai masak... huhu.... aku selalu cakap kat org yg aku selalu "baling2" je bahan masa masak.. hahaha.... tapi kali ni exceptional kes... maklumlah first timer masak nasi kerabu....

Selain tu, aku ada gak la buat karipap, murtabak mini, all kinds of Nasi -- tomato, ayam, minyak, hujan panas... haha.... kekadang tu belasah western food je -- burger, pasta, etc... Bila dah masak hari2, sampai satu tahap dah tak tau nak masak apa dah, and dah bosan makan semua benda... huhu... so insya allah ahad ni nak gi Minneapolis -- berbuka kat sana dgn Kak Rosita and Abg Fazli nyer famili.. restoran Marina Grill tu serius sedap and byk choice pulak tu.... suka..suka...

Sebelum aku penn-off, aku nak cerita kisah aku yg betul2 terlupa pasal anniversary aku... aku ni jenis yg selalu ingat tarikh2 penting ni.. tapi sbb terlalu busy dgn mcm2 and fikirian pun dah tak tentu hala, anniversary sendiri pun boleh lupa... cesss... baru 3 thn kawin, dah lupa, belum berpuluh2 tahun lagi... isk isk isk.... nak tau macamana aku boleh teringat? Ha... kisahnya masa baca paper online pasal anniversary Siti Nurhaliza... utk pengetahuan Siti kawin 2 hari after aku kawin... sambil2 baca news tu, aku cakap la kat En Suami, apasal paper dok citer pasal anniversary Siti, padahal lambat lagi.... lepas tu terus terlintas dlm kepala yg dia kawin 2 hari lewat dari aku, aku terus cakap kat En Suami -- Ya Allah, camane leh lupa anniversary kawin ni? huhu... En Suami pun lupa jugak... dia pulak mmg jenis tak ingat tarikh2 ni.... makanya aku la yg kena ingat, bila aku lupa, tak jadi apa la... haha.... So sampai sudah tak celebrate lagi... nnt2 la tu... buat sekali harung dgn birthday aku, boleh???

Isk.... still tak caya yg aku lupa anniversary sendiri.... huhuhu

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The insight of my PhD  

Posted by hidayah

Dah lama sebenarnya aku nak menaip in detail pasal kisah PhD aku ni. Niat tu dah ada sebenarnya, cuma sebelum ni tak menyempat nak taip.. Aku cuma dapat la nak cerita sikit2.. tapi kali ni aku rasa aku macam nak cerita 'behind the scene' tentang Phd aku, dan jugak observation aku yang tak seberapa ni selama hampir 6 bulan aku di bumi pak cik Sam ni :))

Ok, aku mulakan dengan mengimbas kembali kisah er... setahun sebelum ini..

Bulan yang sama, tahun 2008... aku dah pun dapat tahu yg aku akan ditaja buat PhD. Tgh tunggu surat je dari Iowa State University (ISU) dan relevant documents. Perasaan masa tu? Of course la excited, kan... dalam pada tu ada la rasa nervous, tak conficent dan mcm2 perasaan la.. at the beginning, tak de la ketara sgt perasaan tu, tapi bila dah sampai sini, makin membuak2 rasa tu dalam diri.. isk isk... macam2 sebenarnya ada dlm kepala otak masa mula2 start semester hari tu... rasanya korang pun tentu ada baca entry2 aku pasal class performance, presentation dan sebagainya for the Spring semester yang lalu...

Dalam pada itu, byk sebenarnya perkara yg aku observed, yang sering membuatkan aku berfikir, dan jugak byk membuka 'mata' dan minda aku... Kalau korang nak tahu, masa aku buat masters dulu, aku tak de pun perasaan nervous la apa la macam yg aku alami kat sini. Memang lain sgt2 keadaanya. Memang aku dah belajar dua tempat sebelum ni, aku buat dip and masters kat UiTM, and buat degree kat ISU. Maybe ada org kata.."alah.. ko kan dah biasa kat ISU tu... apa lagi yg ko takut... tak de mende la..." Part of it may be true, but hakikatnya buat graduate studies and undergrad are two different things. Masa aku buat masters dulu, maybe aku rasa aku berada dalam 'zon selesa' - yelah kan, buat kat UiTM, surrounded by member2 yang mostly orang melayu, so maybe 'inferiority' tu tak sekuat sekarang... Kat sini, you're surrounded by different type of people from different countries, and mostly Americans... aku pulak mmg golongan minoriti..mmg la terasa inferior itu.. Kalau korang nak tahu, even international students yang dalam course aku, boleh dikategorikan hebat2 dgn byk experience dari segi industri and academic... huhuhu... and professor2 pun bukan calang2 orang.. aku memang selalu la dok cakap kat diri sendiri yang aku boleh berada sama taraf dgn diorang ni... tapi hakikatnya mmg byk yang aku kena belajar dan hadapi...

Aku hanya boleh bercerita pasal kisah aku di sini dan di UiTM je, sebab aku tak pernah belajar kat UK ke, or other places.. tempat lain caranya pun lain2, kan... and selepas 6 bulan kat sini, aku dah boleh rasa betapa sgt mencabarnya buat PhD kat US ni.. Standard yang department aku tetapkan untuk PhD work mmg tinggi... even aku dapat masuk ni pun kira mcm nasib2 je la... huhu... korang yg mmg sedia maklum US punya requirement for graduate program tahulah.. berapa byk exam kena amik sblm isi admission form.. GRE la... TOEFL/IELTS tu of course la kan.. kalau sapa yg amik law ke MBA ke kena gak amik test GMAT/LSAT... nasib la aku dapat exemption utk semua2 exam tu.. lega sehh... hehe... kalau tak, masa byk habis nak study utk test2 tu je...

Bahang PhD tu dah makin aku rasa. Ada dua peristiwa yg menyebabkan aku menilai kembali perjalanan PhD aku dan membuka minda aku. Peristiwa pertama, masa meeting dengan Director of Graduate studies and other grad students dalam dept aku. Kami diberitahu tahap dan quality yg professor expected upon completing PhD. Aku sempatla menganga kejap.. terkedu dan berkira2 akan kredibiliti dan kemampuan aku. Memang gile. Kami siap diberi contoh thesis PhD beberapa students dari Ivy League school (MIT, Harvard, Princeton) yang dianggap oleh professor2 - 'not to the extend of PhD work'.. 'not as we expected' , etc... Mmg kena brainwash la masa tu... aku curi pandang ke Dr Shane (major professor aku), dia pandang aku dgn penuh makna -- yg aku perlu sampai ke level itu... dan lepas abis sesi tu, aku diminta utk mempersiapkan minda dgn menulis paper for CRC conference kat Canada thn depan.. and diminta untuk turut menyumbangkan idea for another conference at DC.

Kiranya sesi meeting tu aku anggap sebagai sesi 'membuka mata and minda'. Aku kena work hard. Betul, bukan senang nak dapat title Dr. tu. Sekarang ni aku try not to be overwhelm dgn kerja2 research project dan research phd. Peristiwa kedua yang berlaku... semalam aku dijemput menghadiri sesi 'defense' thesis PhD sorang student Mesir, Tarek namanya. Dia dijangka habis pengajian hujung bulan ni.. So ni 1st time aku tgk Phd defense kat US ni. Nak tahu gak, lain ke dgn cara masa aku kat UiTM dulu...

Semalam masa sampai kat bilik defense tu, aku pulak rasa berdebar2 tak tentu pasal. Macam aku lak yg nak kena defense. Mmg terasa 'vibe' itu. Kebetulan defense Tarek tu ada video conferencing sekali, sebab 2 dari 5 ahli panelnya berada di Colorado dan California. Aku pandang keliling, ada la beberapa geng2 Tarek kat belakang. Then Dr Shane masuk, followed by a few Faculty member yang lain. Aku pandang skrin depan. Terpampang powerpoint slide Tarek. Baca tajuk pun dah gempak. Defense bermula. Tarek present kat depan selama sejam lebih.. Aku ternganga lagi.. dia buat 5 modeling, aku ulangi.. 5 modeling dengan programming C++ untuk membuktikan hypothesisnya. Fuuhh... giler. Satu haram pun aku tak paham. Siap ada matrix la hapa la.. Bila dia habis present, Head of Dept aku, Dr Jaselskis pun cakap -- "this is the standard that we are looking for our PhD students. Very impressive and you have set the bar high". Betul, 4 tahun Tarek mengadap benda modeling tu, and of course dia mahir luar dalam bab tu. Alhamdulillah, dia dah pun bergelar Dr semalam. Dalam kepala otak aku ni, datang lagi persoalan mengenai kemampuan diri. Bleh ke aku sampai standard tu? Betullah yang daddy cakap kat aku dulu, buat PhD kat US ni sgt mencabar.

Sekarang ni, aku mmg kena set target. Bak kata Dr Shane, memang ramai orang yang dapat title Dr, tapi apa maknanya kalau kualiti tak ada, tak dipandang oleh academician lain? Aku menilai kembali masa aku buat Masters dulu. Kalau ada peluang, of course I will approach my Masters dissertation differently. Mmg byk flaws masa dulu, and aku anggap itu as learning process. Aku bersyukur sangat sebab dapat peluang ini, datang sini dan menilai kembali apa yang aku lalui, dan menjadikan aku seorang manusia yang lebih matang, dan ingin improve and develop knowledge aku yang tak seberapa ni.

Kalau Tarek boleh buat, takkan aku tak boleh, kan? Aku kena berusaha keras, kena rajin, and sentiasa muhasabah diri. Insya Allah, dengan berkat doa mama and daddy, pengorbanan & sokongan Mr Hubby dan dengan izin Allah, aku akan menggapai juga title DR itu...

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Final Week  

Posted by hidayah

Lalalala... minggu ni final exam week. Habis je minggu ni, merdeka la masing2... hehehe... so kiranya study week a.k.a dead week minggu baru sudah ni la. Tapi tak serupa studi week pun. Kelas still on, keje still menambun. In my case, aku takde final exam, so tak de la kecoh2 cam org lain. But yet ada term paper and assignment kena hantar. Research still on, xde cuti2... huahuahua...

Bila cakap bab final exam kat sini, yg merana sure la budak2 undergrad i.e Adik. Aku dah merasa dah camane merananya belajar wat degree kat sini. Kerja MENAMBUN. Nama je 3 jam kredit, tapi YA ALLAH, kerjanya... ngalahkan 5 jam kredit. So tak yah imagine ah kalau subjek 5 jam kredit kerjanya berapa byk... huhuhu...

Adik dah pening kepala. Merungut gak sesikit. Studi week tak serupa studi week langsung. Final exam dia pulak berderet2 start esok (1 paper), Selasa (2 paper - pagi and ptg), Rabu (1 paper). TAK KE GILA???? Dia dah pening, tak sempat abis studi, katanya. Aku tgk buku teks kimia dia, mak aiii...setengah jengkal tebal.. bila kala nak perabis baca? Subjek fizik pun sama tebal bukunya... huhu... nasib ah dik... macam tu la aku dulu, siap tak tido semalaman lagi... tak terkejar nak studi satu buku... bkn tak nak studi awal, tapi workload terlampau byk and time consuming... aku cakap kat adik -- pandai2lah kadok... huhuhu

Aku pulak, minggu final ni kena turn in term paper and 1 assignment lagi. Aku tgh halfway wat research pasal term paper tu -- prof aku suggest aku tulis pasal globalization impact on construction industry kat malaysia.. huhu... bkn byk pun literature pasal tu, tak de idea aku nak goreng apa dlm paper aku tuh... Isnin depan, kelas summer aku dah start. Awal, kan? Memamng GILERRR... tapi kelas tu 3 minggu je... mmg packed and jem kepala otak tak masuk kerja2 research yg tak de hentinya itu...

Khamis ni kitorang akan take off ke Chicago.. release kepala otak skit... hari Ahad baliklah Ames.. so far tak detail out lagi nak gi mana sumer.. tunggu settle kerja aku baru ah nak plan2 baikkk pnya... hehe...

Tu la.. dah namanya student, kenalah redha dgn exam dan yg sewktu dgnnya... huhuhu....betullah org kata, PhD = permanent head damage! Haha... Supervisor aku lak kata, PhD - Piled Higher Deeper... lanjutan dari B.S = Bull S***, M.S = More S***. Hahahaha....

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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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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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Scholarship's update  

Posted by hidayah

Ok readers... I'm sure all of you would like to know how things are going with Zairi's scholarship progress.. masa mula2 aku post entry kat blog, plus consult people i know (MSD, JPA, KPT)about it, macam2 reaksi dan advice yg aku terima.. so thanks a lot pada semua input/cadangan/nasihat yang diberi.. most of the people told me that Zairi's matter can be solved, and thus he may get his BTN postponed. Few days after, he was asked to attend a course on research methodology upon accepting his scholarship. So, what he did was... he wrote a letter to postpone both BTN and the course, emailed it to the KPT people, while with daddy's help, get the letter faxed to the officer as well. Kolej dia pun dah poslaju the acceptance letter yang Zairi kena sign untuk dihantar ke KPT. Tonight he will fax it to make it official that he receives the offer..SO, the next step is to wait the KPT people to deliberate (I guess they will talk about Zairi's case in their meeting) and wait for their response. Harap2 dapatlah dipertimbangkan...

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Conference Call  

Posted by hidayah


Hari ni kira 1st time sepanjang hidup (err... ye kot) aku experience buat conference call via phone bersama-sama teammates aku untuk discuss presentation kitorang untuk hari selasa akan datang. Sebelum aku citer pasal conference call ni dgn lebih lanjut, rasanya baik aku citer serba sedikit pasal nature kelas aku yang ini dan sebab musabab kami berconference call...

Kelas CE 501 aku ni kelas bdk2 graduate full time + off-campus (budak2 PLK). So setiap sesi kelas akan dirakam dalam bentuk video streaming dan akan diupload dlm portal student. Kitorang student on campus ada dlm 8 org, off-campus pun 8 org. So tiap2 kali kelas terasa macam buat rakaman tv pulak sebab kamera penuh keliling kelas, yang akan merakamkn segala macam aktiviti sepanjang kelas. Bagi aku, canggih ah jugak sbb jgn harap kat malaysia belajar style gini. Lepas tu, kitorang pulak diberi tugasan dlm bentuk kumpulan, yang mana ahli kumpulan tu campur2, on campus dgn off-campus. So student off-campus ni bkn ada dekat2 kawasan universiti ni, maunya ada sampai state jauh2... so mana leh jumpa2 nak discuss, kan... maka medium perbincangan kumpulan sama ada guna email atau conference call je la..

So tadi 1st time la kitorang set masa dan buat conference call. Group aku ada 4 org, yg lagi 3 tu lelaki. So bila dial satu number ni then masing2 dapatlah dgr suara org lain yg participate dlm conference call tu. Yang lawaknya, dahlah line x berapa clear, aku pn tak tahu siapa yg bercakap, biji butir apa yg diorang ckp pun tak jelas.. hahaha.... aku confuse siapa yg berckap, sama ada Aaron, Erik atau Greg. Dahlah tu, kkadang ada 2 org cakap serentak, lagi aku confuse.. aku rasa mat saleh bertiga tu mesti pelik kenapa aku byk berdiam masa conference call tu sbb aku x berapa dgr apa yg dibincangkan, lepas tu semua org nak bercakap, dan aku confuse sapa yg bercakap. Hahaha... mmg lawak ah... lepas tu memasing semua tanya -- Hida? Hida? So what do you think? Aku pun -- Aaaa... Err.... Sure.... whatever (padahal tak berbutir sgt apa yg diorang cakap tu... haha)

So tulah.. aku sebenarnya tak favor sgt style conference call ni sbb payah skit nak discuss. Aku prefer team member sit together, analyze data sesama... tapi nak buat camane, org2 off-campus tu semua jauh2... tu baru 4 org, kalau ramai aku rasa mmg haru....huhuhu

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My first class...  

Posted by hidayah

Today is the first day of class at Iowa State University. It is snowing since the morning until now.. tebal sgt2 snow sampai nak dekat setengah betis.. huhu.. at certain parts on campus sampai lutut pun ada... huhuhu..

Semester ni kelas aku semua petang-malam. Seminggu sekali je bg setiap subjek, tapi sekali jumpa 3 jam.. macam masa aku amik masters kat UiTM dulu... so petang tadi aku dengan semangat waja gi la kelas -- Kelas Construction Project Management.. start pukul 5pm - 8pm..Dalam kelas aku ada 8 org je.. sumer mat2 saleh... huhu... terasa macam dah lama tak masuk kelas.. especially profnya omputih.. so bila dia start tanya soalan, aku jadi blurr.. hehe... tapi mmg make sense la kan sebab aku ajar basicnya kat bebudak KPTM.. hehe... before that...

Prof Strong : Welcome back, Hida! Glad to have you back here at ISU.
Me : Thanks. Been looking forward to be back :)
Prof Strong: That's good -- So how's your trip? When did you arrive?
Me : I got here on Jan 3rd. It was tiring, but overall everything went well.
Prof Strong: Good. Good.

Lepas tu dia terus bagi silibus.. haa.. amik ko... siap dengan semua senarai assignment... tiap2 minggu kena hantar.. huhu... sgtlah advancenya... aku ni buku pun tak beli lagi.. baru plan nak beli esok... anyway, kelas habis awal.. pukul 6.30pm aku dah tunggu bas nak balik umah.. snow masih lagi turun dengan lebatnya, angin kuat sampai aku rasa mcm nak melayang je...

Siangnya tu aku ada appointment dengan coordinator kat International Student and Scholar's Office -- kena settlekan paperwork sbb aku sponsored student... lepas tu aku lepak kat computer lab jap, then balik umah before gi kelas petang tadi...

Aku nak cerita pasal trip aku ke office WIC (Women Infant Child) kat area Downtown Ames. Kalau nak tahu WIC ni adalah satu program untuk ibu2 and infant/toddler yang dtg dari golongan pendapatan rendah -- diorang bagi food checks setiap 3 bulan.. so dapat mcm2 la (susu segar, cereal, cheese, beans, eggs, juices)... Then dia monitor la anak kita (antara baby ke 5 thn) dari segi immunisasi dan mcm2 aspek lagilah.. memang bagus la prog ni sbb selain dapat makanan free, byk khidmat nasihat disediakan utk ibu2...So barang2 groceries yang tertera kat atas check tu boleh diambil di kedai2 groceries yang ada dlm senarai WIC.. dan jumlah food yang diterima tu bergantung pada umur dan keadaan anak tu... macam kes aku, aku ni breastfeed lagi, maka bertambah la check aku di samping Fatihah punya..

Ni la check nye -- best giler.. dah save berapa dah on groceries..hehe..

Semalam pulak ada satu lagi famili melayu kat sini (Kak Nor and Abg Razi) ajak kitorang datang makan2 kat umah dia.. famili lain pun datang jugak.. so masa tu la nak kenal famili lain dan beramah mesra.. hehe... lepas tu pulak aku and adik gi WalMart carik barang2 skit... snow masih tebal and cuaca sejuk giler... nasib aku tak beku...

Lepas ni aku akan upload gambar2 apartment aku... and oh.. aku baru teringat yang aku kena tag... huhuhu.... alemak Pah... nanti la ek aku jawab.... hehe..

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Errr.. Hope this does not happen to me *fingers crossed*  

Posted by hidayah

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PhD updates and more  

Posted by hidayah

It's been awhile since I wrote the last entry, well..it's been a hectic week for me, with all the preparations for my PhD and such.. Memang la dugaan betul nak gi belajar ni.. macam2 benda nak kena settle, nak uruskan rumah and barang2 lagi.. boleh jadi gila dibuatnya. Aku pulak cukup menyampah bila nak packing2 barang ni.. heeeeeee.. rasa nak upah professional mover je buat semua tu... huhu..


Sekarang dah bulan 11. Aku dah senak perut fikir lagi 2 bulan aku nak fly. Barang2 kat rumah tu nak kena packing dah.. waaaa... rasa macam tak cukup masa je... last Saturday baru start kemas2 baju.. barulah perasan.. apasal la banyak sangat baju aku tu.. tak masuk lagi baju Zairi... tu baru baju, belum buku2 and barang lain lagi...


Visa aku dah settle. Now visa Zairi and Fatihah pulak on hold sebab kena ada I-20 form dari Iowa State. Huhuhu.. memang US ni strict betul.. now tengah tunggu I-20 dari ISU untuk dependents, baru la visa diorang settle.. **Waa.. gatal kepala aku wehhh** Tak pe, macam2 dugaan nak gi belajar ni.. so aku punya last day bekerja is 19th December 2008 (Friday). Lepas tu balik KL nak siap2 apa yang patut. Serious senak perut bila fikir pasal preparation ni.. Harap tuhan dapat memudahkan segala urusan kami.. Amin...

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Cold Feet!  

Posted by hidayah

This week I've been digging information on visa application, browsing through the Iowa State's Uni (ISU) website in order to get a glimpse of what I should do/prepare before school starts. I was then suddenly getting cold feet. Reading on all the graduate school requirements, preliminary exam and stuff related to a doctoral degree makes me nervous. Then the big question pops up - Am I physically and mentally prepared? for the PhD? Then comes the other related what-if questions. Mostly negative. So there. I am getting cold feet as the time passes. Timecheck - it's less than 3 months till I leave for PhD.


Reading a book - "PhD: Kecil tapi Signifikan" by Prof Dr Muhd. Kamil Ibrahim from UiTM, loaned by K.Anisz created an undescribable pool of emotions in me. I am nervous as hell, oh yeah. Simultaneously I'm excited, plus a little bit of unsure. Will I get through it? My previous supervisor, PM Dr Ahmad Ruslan - when I was doing my Masters told me -" PhD stands for Permanent Head Damage". Haha. Seriously? My guess it depends on individual. But my friend Sam who's in the final stage of completing her PhD at ISU said it's tough work. I can only prayed that I'll get through it.. Insya Allah..


By the way, it is a good book to read especially for people like me, intending to pursue my PhD - it does give an insight on what to expect while doing a PhD, preparations and such on that matter. As I am counting the days to go to the States, the nervous I am!

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It's paperwork time!  

Posted by hidayah

I received the 'long-awaited' MARA agreement last Friday.. and now it's paperwork time! Looks like I'm gonna have a busy week. The content of the agreement 'package':

- 6 copies of agreement
- 5 offer letters
- 3 financial guarantee letters
-3 copies of allowance during study years
-2 copies of medical check-up forms
-2 copies of "borang soalan keselamatan"
-2 copies of "permohonan sijil sokongan luar negara" forms

Whew! That is seriously a lot of forms, people! Yet I need to call up the MARA officer to ask a few questions and start doing my What-to-do list for the day (or..for the rest of the week?) - not to mention running around for pesuruhjaya sumpah and matikan setem... When can I ever get all the paperwork done?? The sooner the better!

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The story about my sponsorship for PhD  

Posted by hidayah

Dear fellow readers,

These past 2 days I have been so confused and slightly had a headache when I received the offer letter package from MARA regarding my SPC sponsorship. Why was I in that condition? Here's the gist of the story..

In the SPC offer letter from MARA, there is a condition saying that the candidates need to have an unpaid leave letter or a resign letter from the employer. In my case, I already got my study leave full pay and will serve for KPTM for 5 years. So I called up MARA, and the officer told me that I am actually under the Skim Tindikan KPTM and should decline the offer for SPC. Luckily I called earlier since I need to submit the acceptance/decline form for SPC before 30th June 2008 together with a medical checkup form and a security form. The officer also asked me to filled up THE SAME FORM AGAIN and submit it to Penganjuran through KPTM since I am under Skim Tindikan MARA.. looks like that I have an extra photostating and certifying that need to be done.. Again, I wonder.. if it is the same form and the same documents that need to be attached, why do i need to fill it up again??

Hidayah --> Stop whining wondering. Just do it. You're going to get the scholarship anyway...

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PhD Updates -- Status and more!  

Posted by hidayah

Alhamdulillah syukur sangat2 di atas segala kurniaan yang telah Allah berikan.. I can't say how grateful I am with all the opportunities given to me.. and I have to say that all of this may not be possible without Doa from mama and daddy...I thank Allah for giving me both of you as my parents.. Betullah orang tua2 cakap, doa ibubapa buat anaknya tu memang la dimakbulkan Allah..

My status for Spring 2009 intake for PhD is Full with no restrictions --> Syukurlah..now I'm waiting for my offer letter and I-20 for Visa Application.


I will be working with Dr Jennifer Shane and I heard that she's nice and quite flexible, too..

Can't wait to be there at Iowa State!

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Yay! I got the MARA Sponsorship (Alhamdulillah..)  

Posted by hidayah

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Convocation Part 1  

Posted by hidayah

Ceremony: Istiadat Konvokesyen ke-68 UiTM 22 - 31/5/08
Venue: Dewan Sri Budiman
Date: 22/5/08
Day: Thursday (Sidang 1)
Time: Around 9.30am, but the graduates need to be there around 7.00 am


Waaah... this is the moment that I've been waiting for the past 2 years..All the hardwork and sacrifice has finally being paid off. Receiving my masters degree from HRH SPB Yang DiPertuan Agong - Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah was an unforgettable experience since he is the canselor of UiTM--> Menjunjung Kasih Tuanku!








Now I am oficially an alumni of UiTM.. after 2 times of convocation at UiTM (Diploma and now for masters), the song UiTM di Hatiku is still 'berhantu' whenever I sang it in Dewan Sri Budiman. Terasa sebak dan bangga sebab dah konvo dan jadi alumni UiTM.





Some of the convocation moments -->












All of the above are taken at Dewan Sri Budiman







Left to Right: Hasli, me and Wan Zukri (before the ceremony begin)







With Kak Aizan while waiting in the line :P



With my beloved hubby


UiTM Di hatiku..

In front of the royal tent

P/S: Thanks Kak Mahani, for pointing out the mistake :D

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Interview Moments!  

Posted by hidayah

Alhamdulillah.. I'm through with the interview. Memula tu tak tau nak prepare apa. Dah la plak tu, it so happen that the day of my interview was the last day for the whole series of interview for that week. Dgn tak de suratnya, MARA simply call daddy and inform that the time has changed from 11am to 2pm. Luckily I knew it earlier. Kalau tak, mampos la berjanggut2 tunggu dari pagi. I arrived at ILKAP around 1.20pm. Masa tu mana la ada org. It's a Friday and people return to work around 2.30pm.

Nak dijadikan cerita, the first person I met masa nak tunggu interview tu is Kak Yati (She's an ex-lecturer in accounting kat KPTM Kuantan). Rupanya dia pun nak mintak scholarship from MARA for her PhD in Finance.. Later then we chit chat while waiting to register and get passes for the interview. Nearby, there were three guys -- all of them are interview candidates and were talking among each other, lepas tu tetiba je join me and Kak Yati's conversation.

Guy No 1 (asking me): Akak, akak mintak untuk apa?
Me: PhD. Adik? (I addressed him as adik since he was about my brother's age)
Guy No 1: Saya nak mintak utk 1st degree. Sblm ni akak buat 1st degree and masters kat mana?
Me: 1st degree kat US, amik skim yang sama gak. Masters kat UiTM.

The other two guys overheard our conversation dan mencelah perbualan kami:

Guy No 2: Eh, you went to US ke sebelum ni? Skim yang sama ni ke? Camane apply? Kat Uni mana dulu? Grad tahun bila?
Me: Ak ah, I mintak skim ni dulu. Then I dapat, gi Iowa State. I apply je --> isi borang macam biasa. I gi from 2002-2004. Kenapa?
Guy No 2: I was at RPI (Renssellaer Polytechnic Institute, New York) sblm ni. I buat 1st degree kat sana. Then I keje kat WTC (World Trade Centre). Then I balik Malaysia sebelum kena attack kat WTC tu.
Me: Ye ke? That is interesting. You kat sana tahun bila? Ni nak buat PhD ke?
Guy No 2: I gi sana tahun 2000. Ni I baru nak buat masters. Tapi kalau dapat ni I kena mintak cuti tanpa gaji la.
Me: I dapat study leave full pay. College I bagi. Dah rezeki.
Guy No 2: Seronok ah. You keje mana? Lecturer ke?
Me: KPTM Kuantan. Ak ah, I lecturer.

The first guy interrupted my conversation.

Guy No 1: La.. lecturer KPTM ke kak? Saya budak KPM (Kolej Professional MARA) Beranang. Skrg keje kontrak kat UniKL. Sama-sama la kita ni keje ngan anak syarikat MARA.
Guy No 3 : La.. lecturer KPTM Kuantan ke? Biasa datang UiTM Jengka tak? Saya dari sana.
Me: Jengka ke... tempat tu dah biasa sangat.. pulak tu KPTM buat franchise program EC 110, so selalu la jumpa org2 civil.. kenal ke org2 civil?
Guy No 3: Kenal sgt2.. setakat En Mokhtar tu, memang kenal rapat.. En Fairuz pulak officemate saya.
Me: Ooo..ok.. nanti kirim salam la kat orang2 civil ye..

While chit chatting, we were called one by one into the interview room. Every candidate that was done, I asked them on the questions that were asked by the panel. Mostly replied that the panel simply chit chat and did not asked much on the proposal. Lega aku.. lagipun diorang citer panel tu lecturer accounting UiTM and sorang lagi orang MARA. Yang paling hampeh sekali tu, I am the 2nd last candidate yang kena interview among 14 orang. In the interview room -->



Lecturer UiTM: So, you're working with MARA, and you applied for your PhD, right.
Me: Yeah, I got a study leave.
Lecturer UiTM: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your education background.
Me: (Telling about myself and mentioned about doing my 1st degree under the same scheme at the same unviersity that I'm currently applying for PhD)
Org MARA: The same university? Iowa State?
Me: Yeah, I already know the people there, so it would be easier for me.
Lecturer UiTM: Then it should be okay lah.. by the way, what is the exchange rate now?
Me: around 3.1 - 3.2
Lecturer UiTM: It was still higher compared to when I was there at Washington State University. But that was way long time ago.
Org MARA: Eh, KPTM tak de skim ke utk staff dia? I baru je cakap dgn En Azmi hari tu.
Me: As far as I'm concern, I never heard about such scheme. Anyway, they recommend me to apply for this scheme.
Lecturer UiTM: I guess that's all from us.
Me: When will I know the result of the interview?
Lecturer UiTM : You can ask the clerk there.
Clerk: By the end of this month, the result can be assessed at our website.

It ended around 5.05pm. Akhirnya selesai... sekarang ni, dah masuk la stage nak tunggu apa result interview tu.. dapat ke tak dapat? Tungguuuuuuuuuuuu........

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'The Interview'  

Posted by hidayah

Hi gentle readers,

Guess what? I received a call from my dad earlier this morning about the scholarship interview. Well, I get nervous and goosebumps when I think about the interview --> this is The Second Step! By hook or by crook, I need to perform in this one. Tak tau nak ready camane.. Mesti panel tanya pasal research.. Well, readers.. looks like I need to start on 'revising' my interview skills and knowledge on current issues.. Details about 'The Interview':

Date : 2nd May 2008
Day : Friday
Venue : ILKAP, Bangi
Dress Code : Appropriate for an interview, lah...

Dear readers, do wish me good luck on this one.. I need it badly!!!

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How Do I Got My Study Leave?  

Posted by hidayah

Dear gentle readers,

Since I got the the study leave + full pay for my PhD, I was being bombarded with questions about how I apply for it and what are the procedures. Well, let me explain here 'The First Step' on how I apply for my study leave..

a) Simply write a cover letter --> Application for futher study (PhD) - write the reasons why I need to do my PhD

b) Fill up a scholarship form (SPC Scheme) from MARA --> I saw an ad in the newspaper and get a form from MARA

c) Write another letter --> Application for study leave (at that time I did not indicate whether it is full pay, half pay or none). Then the HR personnel told me to simply put down study leave with full pay saying that "mana tahu ada rezeki Hidayah dapatlah cuti belajar bergaji penuh".

d) The result --> Dah rezeki agaknya, dapatlah study leave tu...

Now, proceed to Step 2 --> Secure an interview with MARA... I am currently waiting for an interview date..

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Study Leave + Full Pay for PhD (Yay!)  

Posted by hidayah

"Unbelievable.Speechless.Excited." Those were my first reactions when I received the good news. I have to admit, it was shocking at first, but then when I came to think about it, rezeki dari Allah.. Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for giving me this opportunity..

2nd April 2008 - During the Management Meeting, the Director told me about this good news, and how my study leave was approved. Insya Allah, if God permit, I will be able to pursue my PhD at Iowa State University starting Spring 2009 for three years.. Currently I am in the process of getting scholarship from MARA and studying for TOEFL. So Iowa State, here I come!!

I'm planning on bringing my family there, and Insya Allah, my younger brother (ADIK) will go there as well. I'm starting my clan at Iowa State, you know.. hehehe.. so who knows, maybe my siblings (Angah and Apit) will go there in future.. So daddy and mama, we will celebrate hari raya there with both of you :P

Some pics of Iowa State University:





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Showing posts with label Study. Show all posts

Fall semester, puasa dan ....  

written by hidayah

Sejak semester bermula, aku tak de masa nak jenguk blog. Walaupun aku amik 10 jam kredit -- 3 kelas (statistik, construction acct and financial mgmt, intro to basic research), mmg tak cukup masa nak bersenggang/melepak...I was pretty much occupied with research work... 40 jam seminggu kena keje ye... well, nak komplen pun tak leh, dah aku cari penyakit nak smbung belajar, so ni la nya... hehe...

Rasanya tak terlambat nak ucapkan Salam Ramadhan pada semua... nak dekat 15 Ramadhan dah, kejap je kan... jeezz.. time flies... pejam celik dah raya... serasa baru je smlm aku berbuka posa kat Vistana Kuantan, padahal tu tahun lepas punya cerita... huhu... ada gak yg tanya, camane posa kat sini... aku dah pernah posa kat sini dulu, so nothing new... bagi Adik and En Suami, mmg la lain sbb kat sini no pasar ramadhan whatsoever... nak mkn kena masak sendiri...huhu... rasanya tahun ni mmg pecah rekod la sebab most of my time sblm iftar dihabiskan dgn memasak... kalau dulu, gi beli lauk/kuih tunjuk je... hehe....

Mesti korang tertanya apa benda la yg kitorang makan kat sini utk iftar... aku admit mmg dulu aku jarang nak masak spesel2... tapi bila tekak teringin, belasah masak je la.... satu yg aku miss bila kat sini ialah Nasi kerabu Uncle Bo Pok Jit kat KIPSAS tu... mmg sedap... so aku pun apalagi, buat pertama kali dalam sejarah masak nasi kerabu sendiri.... serius... hahaha.... so inilah hasilnya....

Kellas kan? Jadi jugak aku buat nasi kerabu sendiri... lepas la kempunan kat nasi kerabu pok jit walaupun tak de la sesedap pok jitnyer...En Suami punya suka smpi minggu depannya aku buat nasi kerabu sekali lagi... isk... bangga dgn diri sendiri... hehe....

Aku ni jarang nak tayang2 apa yg aku masak sbb aku selalu rasa aku tak pandai masak... huhu.... aku selalu cakap kat org yg aku selalu "baling2" je bahan masa masak.. hahaha.... tapi kali ni exceptional kes... maklumlah first timer masak nasi kerabu....

Selain tu, aku ada gak la buat karipap, murtabak mini, all kinds of Nasi -- tomato, ayam, minyak, hujan panas... haha.... kekadang tu belasah western food je -- burger, pasta, etc... Bila dah masak hari2, sampai satu tahap dah tak tau nak masak apa dah, and dah bosan makan semua benda... huhu... so insya allah ahad ni nak gi Minneapolis -- berbuka kat sana dgn Kak Rosita and Abg Fazli nyer famili.. restoran Marina Grill tu serius sedap and byk choice pulak tu.... suka..suka...

Sebelum aku penn-off, aku nak cerita kisah aku yg betul2 terlupa pasal anniversary aku... aku ni jenis yg selalu ingat tarikh2 penting ni.. tapi sbb terlalu busy dgn mcm2 and fikirian pun dah tak tentu hala, anniversary sendiri pun boleh lupa... cesss... baru 3 thn kawin, dah lupa, belum berpuluh2 tahun lagi... isk isk isk.... nak tau macamana aku boleh teringat? Ha... kisahnya masa baca paper online pasal anniversary Siti Nurhaliza... utk pengetahuan Siti kawin 2 hari after aku kawin... sambil2 baca news tu, aku cakap la kat En Suami, apasal paper dok citer pasal anniversary Siti, padahal lambat lagi.... lepas tu terus terlintas dlm kepala yg dia kawin 2 hari lewat dari aku, aku terus cakap kat En Suami -- Ya Allah, camane leh lupa anniversary kawin ni? huhu... En Suami pun lupa jugak... dia pulak mmg jenis tak ingat tarikh2 ni.... makanya aku la yg kena ingat, bila aku lupa, tak jadi apa la... haha.... So sampai sudah tak celebrate lagi... nnt2 la tu... buat sekali harung dgn birthday aku, boleh???

Isk.... still tak caya yg aku lupa anniversary sendiri.... huhuhu

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The insight of my PhD  

written by hidayah

Dah lama sebenarnya aku nak menaip in detail pasal kisah PhD aku ni. Niat tu dah ada sebenarnya, cuma sebelum ni tak menyempat nak taip.. Aku cuma dapat la nak cerita sikit2.. tapi kali ni aku rasa aku macam nak cerita 'behind the scene' tentang Phd aku, dan jugak observation aku yang tak seberapa ni selama hampir 6 bulan aku di bumi pak cik Sam ni :))

Ok, aku mulakan dengan mengimbas kembali kisah er... setahun sebelum ini..

Bulan yang sama, tahun 2008... aku dah pun dapat tahu yg aku akan ditaja buat PhD. Tgh tunggu surat je dari Iowa State University (ISU) dan relevant documents. Perasaan masa tu? Of course la excited, kan... dalam pada tu ada la rasa nervous, tak conficent dan mcm2 perasaan la.. at the beginning, tak de la ketara sgt perasaan tu, tapi bila dah sampai sini, makin membuak2 rasa tu dalam diri.. isk isk... macam2 sebenarnya ada dlm kepala otak masa mula2 start semester hari tu... rasanya korang pun tentu ada baca entry2 aku pasal class performance, presentation dan sebagainya for the Spring semester yang lalu...

Dalam pada itu, byk sebenarnya perkara yg aku observed, yang sering membuatkan aku berfikir, dan jugak byk membuka 'mata' dan minda aku... Kalau korang nak tahu, masa aku buat masters dulu, aku tak de pun perasaan nervous la apa la macam yg aku alami kat sini. Memang lain sgt2 keadaanya. Memang aku dah belajar dua tempat sebelum ni, aku buat dip and masters kat UiTM, and buat degree kat ISU. Maybe ada org kata.."alah.. ko kan dah biasa kat ISU tu... apa lagi yg ko takut... tak de mende la..." Part of it may be true, but hakikatnya buat graduate studies and undergrad are two different things. Masa aku buat masters dulu, maybe aku rasa aku berada dalam 'zon selesa' - yelah kan, buat kat UiTM, surrounded by member2 yang mostly orang melayu, so maybe 'inferiority' tu tak sekuat sekarang... Kat sini, you're surrounded by different type of people from different countries, and mostly Americans... aku pulak mmg golongan minoriti..mmg la terasa inferior itu.. Kalau korang nak tahu, even international students yang dalam course aku, boleh dikategorikan hebat2 dgn byk experience dari segi industri and academic... huhuhu... and professor2 pun bukan calang2 orang.. aku memang selalu la dok cakap kat diri sendiri yang aku boleh berada sama taraf dgn diorang ni... tapi hakikatnya mmg byk yang aku kena belajar dan hadapi...

Aku hanya boleh bercerita pasal kisah aku di sini dan di UiTM je, sebab aku tak pernah belajar kat UK ke, or other places.. tempat lain caranya pun lain2, kan... and selepas 6 bulan kat sini, aku dah boleh rasa betapa sgt mencabarnya buat PhD kat US ni.. Standard yang department aku tetapkan untuk PhD work mmg tinggi... even aku dapat masuk ni pun kira mcm nasib2 je la... huhu... korang yg mmg sedia maklum US punya requirement for graduate program tahulah.. berapa byk exam kena amik sblm isi admission form.. GRE la... TOEFL/IELTS tu of course la kan.. kalau sapa yg amik law ke MBA ke kena gak amik test GMAT/LSAT... nasib la aku dapat exemption utk semua2 exam tu.. lega sehh... hehe... kalau tak, masa byk habis nak study utk test2 tu je...

Bahang PhD tu dah makin aku rasa. Ada dua peristiwa yg menyebabkan aku menilai kembali perjalanan PhD aku dan membuka minda aku. Peristiwa pertama, masa meeting dengan Director of Graduate studies and other grad students dalam dept aku. Kami diberitahu tahap dan quality yg professor expected upon completing PhD. Aku sempatla menganga kejap.. terkedu dan berkira2 akan kredibiliti dan kemampuan aku. Memang gile. Kami siap diberi contoh thesis PhD beberapa students dari Ivy League school (MIT, Harvard, Princeton) yang dianggap oleh professor2 - 'not to the extend of PhD work'.. 'not as we expected' , etc... Mmg kena brainwash la masa tu... aku curi pandang ke Dr Shane (major professor aku), dia pandang aku dgn penuh makna -- yg aku perlu sampai ke level itu... dan lepas abis sesi tu, aku diminta utk mempersiapkan minda dgn menulis paper for CRC conference kat Canada thn depan.. and diminta untuk turut menyumbangkan idea for another conference at DC.

Kiranya sesi meeting tu aku anggap sebagai sesi 'membuka mata and minda'. Aku kena work hard. Betul, bukan senang nak dapat title Dr. tu. Sekarang ni aku try not to be overwhelm dgn kerja2 research project dan research phd. Peristiwa kedua yang berlaku... semalam aku dijemput menghadiri sesi 'defense' thesis PhD sorang student Mesir, Tarek namanya. Dia dijangka habis pengajian hujung bulan ni.. So ni 1st time aku tgk Phd defense kat US ni. Nak tahu gak, lain ke dgn cara masa aku kat UiTM dulu...

Semalam masa sampai kat bilik defense tu, aku pulak rasa berdebar2 tak tentu pasal. Macam aku lak yg nak kena defense. Mmg terasa 'vibe' itu. Kebetulan defense Tarek tu ada video conferencing sekali, sebab 2 dari 5 ahli panelnya berada di Colorado dan California. Aku pandang keliling, ada la beberapa geng2 Tarek kat belakang. Then Dr Shane masuk, followed by a few Faculty member yang lain. Aku pandang skrin depan. Terpampang powerpoint slide Tarek. Baca tajuk pun dah gempak. Defense bermula. Tarek present kat depan selama sejam lebih.. Aku ternganga lagi.. dia buat 5 modeling, aku ulangi.. 5 modeling dengan programming C++ untuk membuktikan hypothesisnya. Fuuhh... giler. Satu haram pun aku tak paham. Siap ada matrix la hapa la.. Bila dia habis present, Head of Dept aku, Dr Jaselskis pun cakap -- "this is the standard that we are looking for our PhD students. Very impressive and you have set the bar high". Betul, 4 tahun Tarek mengadap benda modeling tu, and of course dia mahir luar dalam bab tu. Alhamdulillah, dia dah pun bergelar Dr semalam. Dalam kepala otak aku ni, datang lagi persoalan mengenai kemampuan diri. Bleh ke aku sampai standard tu? Betullah yang daddy cakap kat aku dulu, buat PhD kat US ni sgt mencabar.

Sekarang ni, aku mmg kena set target. Bak kata Dr Shane, memang ramai orang yang dapat title Dr, tapi apa maknanya kalau kualiti tak ada, tak dipandang oleh academician lain? Aku menilai kembali masa aku buat Masters dulu. Kalau ada peluang, of course I will approach my Masters dissertation differently. Mmg byk flaws masa dulu, and aku anggap itu as learning process. Aku bersyukur sangat sebab dapat peluang ini, datang sini dan menilai kembali apa yang aku lalui, dan menjadikan aku seorang manusia yang lebih matang, dan ingin improve and develop knowledge aku yang tak seberapa ni.

Kalau Tarek boleh buat, takkan aku tak boleh, kan? Aku kena berusaha keras, kena rajin, and sentiasa muhasabah diri. Insya Allah, dengan berkat doa mama and daddy, pengorbanan & sokongan Mr Hubby dan dengan izin Allah, aku akan menggapai juga title DR itu...

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Final Week  

written by hidayah

Lalalala... minggu ni final exam week. Habis je minggu ni, merdeka la masing2... hehehe... so kiranya study week a.k.a dead week minggu baru sudah ni la. Tapi tak serupa studi week pun. Kelas still on, keje still menambun. In my case, aku takde final exam, so tak de la kecoh2 cam org lain. But yet ada term paper and assignment kena hantar. Research still on, xde cuti2... huahuahua...

Bila cakap bab final exam kat sini, yg merana sure la budak2 undergrad i.e Adik. Aku dah merasa dah camane merananya belajar wat degree kat sini. Kerja MENAMBUN. Nama je 3 jam kredit, tapi YA ALLAH, kerjanya... ngalahkan 5 jam kredit. So tak yah imagine ah kalau subjek 5 jam kredit kerjanya berapa byk... huhuhu...

Adik dah pening kepala. Merungut gak sesikit. Studi week tak serupa studi week langsung. Final exam dia pulak berderet2 start esok (1 paper), Selasa (2 paper - pagi and ptg), Rabu (1 paper). TAK KE GILA???? Dia dah pening, tak sempat abis studi, katanya. Aku tgk buku teks kimia dia, mak aiii...setengah jengkal tebal.. bila kala nak perabis baca? Subjek fizik pun sama tebal bukunya... huhu... nasib ah dik... macam tu la aku dulu, siap tak tido semalaman lagi... tak terkejar nak studi satu buku... bkn tak nak studi awal, tapi workload terlampau byk and time consuming... aku cakap kat adik -- pandai2lah kadok... huhuhu

Aku pulak, minggu final ni kena turn in term paper and 1 assignment lagi. Aku tgh halfway wat research pasal term paper tu -- prof aku suggest aku tulis pasal globalization impact on construction industry kat malaysia.. huhu... bkn byk pun literature pasal tu, tak de idea aku nak goreng apa dlm paper aku tuh... Isnin depan, kelas summer aku dah start. Awal, kan? Memamng GILERRR... tapi kelas tu 3 minggu je... mmg packed and jem kepala otak tak masuk kerja2 research yg tak de hentinya itu...

Khamis ni kitorang akan take off ke Chicago.. release kepala otak skit... hari Ahad baliklah Ames.. so far tak detail out lagi nak gi mana sumer.. tunggu settle kerja aku baru ah nak plan2 baikkk pnya... hehe...

Tu la.. dah namanya student, kenalah redha dgn exam dan yg sewktu dgnnya... huhuhu....betullah org kata, PhD = permanent head damage! Haha... Supervisor aku lak kata, PhD - Piled Higher Deeper... lanjutan dari B.S = Bull S***, M.S = More S***. Hahahaha....

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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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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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Scholarship's update  

written by hidayah

Ok readers... I'm sure all of you would like to know how things are going with Zairi's scholarship progress.. masa mula2 aku post entry kat blog, plus consult people i know (MSD, JPA, KPT)about it, macam2 reaksi dan advice yg aku terima.. so thanks a lot pada semua input/cadangan/nasihat yang diberi.. most of the people told me that Zairi's matter can be solved, and thus he may get his BTN postponed. Few days after, he was asked to attend a course on research methodology upon accepting his scholarship. So, what he did was... he wrote a letter to postpone both BTN and the course, emailed it to the KPT people, while with daddy's help, get the letter faxed to the officer as well. Kolej dia pun dah poslaju the acceptance letter yang Zairi kena sign untuk dihantar ke KPT. Tonight he will fax it to make it official that he receives the offer..SO, the next step is to wait the KPT people to deliberate (I guess they will talk about Zairi's case in their meeting) and wait for their response. Harap2 dapatlah dipertimbangkan...

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Conference Call  

written by hidayah


Hari ni kira 1st time sepanjang hidup (err... ye kot) aku experience buat conference call via phone bersama-sama teammates aku untuk discuss presentation kitorang untuk hari selasa akan datang. Sebelum aku citer pasal conference call ni dgn lebih lanjut, rasanya baik aku citer serba sedikit pasal nature kelas aku yang ini dan sebab musabab kami berconference call...

Kelas CE 501 aku ni kelas bdk2 graduate full time + off-campus (budak2 PLK). So setiap sesi kelas akan dirakam dalam bentuk video streaming dan akan diupload dlm portal student. Kitorang student on campus ada dlm 8 org, off-campus pun 8 org. So tiap2 kali kelas terasa macam buat rakaman tv pulak sebab kamera penuh keliling kelas, yang akan merakamkn segala macam aktiviti sepanjang kelas. Bagi aku, canggih ah jugak sbb jgn harap kat malaysia belajar style gini. Lepas tu, kitorang pulak diberi tugasan dlm bentuk kumpulan, yang mana ahli kumpulan tu campur2, on campus dgn off-campus. So student off-campus ni bkn ada dekat2 kawasan universiti ni, maunya ada sampai state jauh2... so mana leh jumpa2 nak discuss, kan... maka medium perbincangan kumpulan sama ada guna email atau conference call je la..

So tadi 1st time la kitorang set masa dan buat conference call. Group aku ada 4 org, yg lagi 3 tu lelaki. So bila dial satu number ni then masing2 dapatlah dgr suara org lain yg participate dlm conference call tu. Yang lawaknya, dahlah line x berapa clear, aku pn tak tahu siapa yg bercakap, biji butir apa yg diorang ckp pun tak jelas.. hahaha.... aku confuse siapa yg berckap, sama ada Aaron, Erik atau Greg. Dahlah tu, kkadang ada 2 org cakap serentak, lagi aku confuse.. aku rasa mat saleh bertiga tu mesti pelik kenapa aku byk berdiam masa conference call tu sbb aku x berapa dgr apa yg dibincangkan, lepas tu semua org nak bercakap, dan aku confuse sapa yg bercakap. Hahaha... mmg lawak ah... lepas tu memasing semua tanya -- Hida? Hida? So what do you think? Aku pun -- Aaaa... Err.... Sure.... whatever (padahal tak berbutir sgt apa yg diorang cakap tu... haha)

So tulah.. aku sebenarnya tak favor sgt style conference call ni sbb payah skit nak discuss. Aku prefer team member sit together, analyze data sesama... tapi nak buat camane, org2 off-campus tu semua jauh2... tu baru 4 org, kalau ramai aku rasa mmg haru....huhuhu

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My first class...  

written by hidayah

Today is the first day of class at Iowa State University. It is snowing since the morning until now.. tebal sgt2 snow sampai nak dekat setengah betis.. huhu.. at certain parts on campus sampai lutut pun ada... huhuhu..

Semester ni kelas aku semua petang-malam. Seminggu sekali je bg setiap subjek, tapi sekali jumpa 3 jam.. macam masa aku amik masters kat UiTM dulu... so petang tadi aku dengan semangat waja gi la kelas -- Kelas Construction Project Management.. start pukul 5pm - 8pm..Dalam kelas aku ada 8 org je.. sumer mat2 saleh... huhu... terasa macam dah lama tak masuk kelas.. especially profnya omputih.. so bila dia start tanya soalan, aku jadi blurr.. hehe... tapi mmg make sense la kan sebab aku ajar basicnya kat bebudak KPTM.. hehe... before that...

Prof Strong : Welcome back, Hida! Glad to have you back here at ISU.
Me : Thanks. Been looking forward to be back :)
Prof Strong: That's good -- So how's your trip? When did you arrive?
Me : I got here on Jan 3rd. It was tiring, but overall everything went well.
Prof Strong: Good. Good.

Lepas tu dia terus bagi silibus.. haa.. amik ko... siap dengan semua senarai assignment... tiap2 minggu kena hantar.. huhu... sgtlah advancenya... aku ni buku pun tak beli lagi.. baru plan nak beli esok... anyway, kelas habis awal.. pukul 6.30pm aku dah tunggu bas nak balik umah.. snow masih lagi turun dengan lebatnya, angin kuat sampai aku rasa mcm nak melayang je...

Siangnya tu aku ada appointment dengan coordinator kat International Student and Scholar's Office -- kena settlekan paperwork sbb aku sponsored student... lepas tu aku lepak kat computer lab jap, then balik umah before gi kelas petang tadi...

Aku nak cerita pasal trip aku ke office WIC (Women Infant Child) kat area Downtown Ames. Kalau nak tahu WIC ni adalah satu program untuk ibu2 and infant/toddler yang dtg dari golongan pendapatan rendah -- diorang bagi food checks setiap 3 bulan.. so dapat mcm2 la (susu segar, cereal, cheese, beans, eggs, juices)... Then dia monitor la anak kita (antara baby ke 5 thn) dari segi immunisasi dan mcm2 aspek lagilah.. memang bagus la prog ni sbb selain dapat makanan free, byk khidmat nasihat disediakan utk ibu2...So barang2 groceries yang tertera kat atas check tu boleh diambil di kedai2 groceries yang ada dlm senarai WIC.. dan jumlah food yang diterima tu bergantung pada umur dan keadaan anak tu... macam kes aku, aku ni breastfeed lagi, maka bertambah la check aku di samping Fatihah punya..

Ni la check nye -- best giler.. dah save berapa dah on groceries..hehe..

Semalam pulak ada satu lagi famili melayu kat sini (Kak Nor and Abg Razi) ajak kitorang datang makan2 kat umah dia.. famili lain pun datang jugak.. so masa tu la nak kenal famili lain dan beramah mesra.. hehe... lepas tu pulak aku and adik gi WalMart carik barang2 skit... snow masih tebal and cuaca sejuk giler... nasib aku tak beku...

Lepas ni aku akan upload gambar2 apartment aku... and oh.. aku baru teringat yang aku kena tag... huhuhu.... alemak Pah... nanti la ek aku jawab.... hehe..

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Errr.. Hope this does not happen to me *fingers crossed*  

written by hidayah

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PhD updates and more  

written by hidayah

It's been awhile since I wrote the last entry, well..it's been a hectic week for me, with all the preparations for my PhD and such.. Memang la dugaan betul nak gi belajar ni.. macam2 benda nak kena settle, nak uruskan rumah and barang2 lagi.. boleh jadi gila dibuatnya. Aku pulak cukup menyampah bila nak packing2 barang ni.. heeeeeee.. rasa nak upah professional mover je buat semua tu... huhu..


Sekarang dah bulan 11. Aku dah senak perut fikir lagi 2 bulan aku nak fly. Barang2 kat rumah tu nak kena packing dah.. waaaa... rasa macam tak cukup masa je... last Saturday baru start kemas2 baju.. barulah perasan.. apasal la banyak sangat baju aku tu.. tak masuk lagi baju Zairi... tu baru baju, belum buku2 and barang lain lagi...


Visa aku dah settle. Now visa Zairi and Fatihah pulak on hold sebab kena ada I-20 form dari Iowa State. Huhuhu.. memang US ni strict betul.. now tengah tunggu I-20 dari ISU untuk dependents, baru la visa diorang settle.. **Waa.. gatal kepala aku wehhh** Tak pe, macam2 dugaan nak gi belajar ni.. so aku punya last day bekerja is 19th December 2008 (Friday). Lepas tu balik KL nak siap2 apa yang patut. Serious senak perut bila fikir pasal preparation ni.. Harap tuhan dapat memudahkan segala urusan kami.. Amin...

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Cold Feet!  

written by hidayah

This week I've been digging information on visa application, browsing through the Iowa State's Uni (ISU) website in order to get a glimpse of what I should do/prepare before school starts. I was then suddenly getting cold feet. Reading on all the graduate school requirements, preliminary exam and stuff related to a doctoral degree makes me nervous. Then the big question pops up - Am I physically and mentally prepared? for the PhD? Then comes the other related what-if questions. Mostly negative. So there. I am getting cold feet as the time passes. Timecheck - it's less than 3 months till I leave for PhD.


Reading a book - "PhD: Kecil tapi Signifikan" by Prof Dr Muhd. Kamil Ibrahim from UiTM, loaned by K.Anisz created an undescribable pool of emotions in me. I am nervous as hell, oh yeah. Simultaneously I'm excited, plus a little bit of unsure. Will I get through it? My previous supervisor, PM Dr Ahmad Ruslan - when I was doing my Masters told me -" PhD stands for Permanent Head Damage". Haha. Seriously? My guess it depends on individual. But my friend Sam who's in the final stage of completing her PhD at ISU said it's tough work. I can only prayed that I'll get through it.. Insya Allah..


By the way, it is a good book to read especially for people like me, intending to pursue my PhD - it does give an insight on what to expect while doing a PhD, preparations and such on that matter. As I am counting the days to go to the States, the nervous I am!

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It's paperwork time!  

written by hidayah

I received the 'long-awaited' MARA agreement last Friday.. and now it's paperwork time! Looks like I'm gonna have a busy week. The content of the agreement 'package':

- 6 copies of agreement
- 5 offer letters
- 3 financial guarantee letters
-3 copies of allowance during study years
-2 copies of medical check-up forms
-2 copies of "borang soalan keselamatan"
-2 copies of "permohonan sijil sokongan luar negara" forms

Whew! That is seriously a lot of forms, people! Yet I need to call up the MARA officer to ask a few questions and start doing my What-to-do list for the day (or..for the rest of the week?) - not to mention running around for pesuruhjaya sumpah and matikan setem... When can I ever get all the paperwork done?? The sooner the better!

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The story about my sponsorship for PhD  

written by hidayah

Dear fellow readers,

These past 2 days I have been so confused and slightly had a headache when I received the offer letter package from MARA regarding my SPC sponsorship. Why was I in that condition? Here's the gist of the story..

In the SPC offer letter from MARA, there is a condition saying that the candidates need to have an unpaid leave letter or a resign letter from the employer. In my case, I already got my study leave full pay and will serve for KPTM for 5 years. So I called up MARA, and the officer told me that I am actually under the Skim Tindikan KPTM and should decline the offer for SPC. Luckily I called earlier since I need to submit the acceptance/decline form for SPC before 30th June 2008 together with a medical checkup form and a security form. The officer also asked me to filled up THE SAME FORM AGAIN and submit it to Penganjuran through KPTM since I am under Skim Tindikan MARA.. looks like that I have an extra photostating and certifying that need to be done.. Again, I wonder.. if it is the same form and the same documents that need to be attached, why do i need to fill it up again??

Hidayah --> Stop whining wondering. Just do it. You're going to get the scholarship anyway...

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PhD Updates -- Status and more!  

written by hidayah

Alhamdulillah syukur sangat2 di atas segala kurniaan yang telah Allah berikan.. I can't say how grateful I am with all the opportunities given to me.. and I have to say that all of this may not be possible without Doa from mama and daddy...I thank Allah for giving me both of you as my parents.. Betullah orang tua2 cakap, doa ibubapa buat anaknya tu memang la dimakbulkan Allah..

My status for Spring 2009 intake for PhD is Full with no restrictions --> Syukurlah..now I'm waiting for my offer letter and I-20 for Visa Application.


I will be working with Dr Jennifer Shane and I heard that she's nice and quite flexible, too..

Can't wait to be there at Iowa State!

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Yay! I got the MARA Sponsorship (Alhamdulillah..)  

written by hidayah

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Convocation Part 1  

written by hidayah

Ceremony: Istiadat Konvokesyen ke-68 UiTM 22 - 31/5/08
Venue: Dewan Sri Budiman
Date: 22/5/08
Day: Thursday (Sidang 1)
Time: Around 9.30am, but the graduates need to be there around 7.00 am


Waaah... this is the moment that I've been waiting for the past 2 years..All the hardwork and sacrifice has finally being paid off. Receiving my masters degree from HRH SPB Yang DiPertuan Agong - Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah was an unforgettable experience since he is the canselor of UiTM--> Menjunjung Kasih Tuanku!








Now I am oficially an alumni of UiTM.. after 2 times of convocation at UiTM (Diploma and now for masters), the song UiTM di Hatiku is still 'berhantu' whenever I sang it in Dewan Sri Budiman. Terasa sebak dan bangga sebab dah konvo dan jadi alumni UiTM.





Some of the convocation moments -->












All of the above are taken at Dewan Sri Budiman







Left to Right: Hasli, me and Wan Zukri (before the ceremony begin)







With Kak Aizan while waiting in the line :P



With my beloved hubby


UiTM Di hatiku..

In front of the royal tent

P/S: Thanks Kak Mahani, for pointing out the mistake :D

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Interview Moments!  

written by hidayah

Alhamdulillah.. I'm through with the interview. Memula tu tak tau nak prepare apa. Dah la plak tu, it so happen that the day of my interview was the last day for the whole series of interview for that week. Dgn tak de suratnya, MARA simply call daddy and inform that the time has changed from 11am to 2pm. Luckily I knew it earlier. Kalau tak, mampos la berjanggut2 tunggu dari pagi. I arrived at ILKAP around 1.20pm. Masa tu mana la ada org. It's a Friday and people return to work around 2.30pm.

Nak dijadikan cerita, the first person I met masa nak tunggu interview tu is Kak Yati (She's an ex-lecturer in accounting kat KPTM Kuantan). Rupanya dia pun nak mintak scholarship from MARA for her PhD in Finance.. Later then we chit chat while waiting to register and get passes for the interview. Nearby, there were three guys -- all of them are interview candidates and were talking among each other, lepas tu tetiba je join me and Kak Yati's conversation.

Guy No 1 (asking me): Akak, akak mintak untuk apa?
Me: PhD. Adik? (I addressed him as adik since he was about my brother's age)
Guy No 1: Saya nak mintak utk 1st degree. Sblm ni akak buat 1st degree and masters kat mana?
Me: 1st degree kat US, amik skim yang sama gak. Masters kat UiTM.

The other two guys overheard our conversation dan mencelah perbualan kami:

Guy No 2: Eh, you went to US ke sebelum ni? Skim yang sama ni ke? Camane apply? Kat Uni mana dulu? Grad tahun bila?
Me: Ak ah, I mintak skim ni dulu. Then I dapat, gi Iowa State. I apply je --> isi borang macam biasa. I gi from 2002-2004. Kenapa?
Guy No 2: I was at RPI (Renssellaer Polytechnic Institute, New York) sblm ni. I buat 1st degree kat sana. Then I keje kat WTC (World Trade Centre). Then I balik Malaysia sebelum kena attack kat WTC tu.
Me: Ye ke? That is interesting. You kat sana tahun bila? Ni nak buat PhD ke?
Guy No 2: I gi sana tahun 2000. Ni I baru nak buat masters. Tapi kalau dapat ni I kena mintak cuti tanpa gaji la.
Me: I dapat study leave full pay. College I bagi. Dah rezeki.
Guy No 2: Seronok ah. You keje mana? Lecturer ke?
Me: KPTM Kuantan. Ak ah, I lecturer.

The first guy interrupted my conversation.

Guy No 1: La.. lecturer KPTM ke kak? Saya budak KPM (Kolej Professional MARA) Beranang. Skrg keje kontrak kat UniKL. Sama-sama la kita ni keje ngan anak syarikat MARA.
Guy No 3 : La.. lecturer KPTM Kuantan ke? Biasa datang UiTM Jengka tak? Saya dari sana.
Me: Jengka ke... tempat tu dah biasa sangat.. pulak tu KPTM buat franchise program EC 110, so selalu la jumpa org2 civil.. kenal ke org2 civil?
Guy No 3: Kenal sgt2.. setakat En Mokhtar tu, memang kenal rapat.. En Fairuz pulak officemate saya.
Me: Ooo..ok.. nanti kirim salam la kat orang2 civil ye..

While chit chatting, we were called one by one into the interview room. Every candidate that was done, I asked them on the questions that were asked by the panel. Mostly replied that the panel simply chit chat and did not asked much on the proposal. Lega aku.. lagipun diorang citer panel tu lecturer accounting UiTM and sorang lagi orang MARA. Yang paling hampeh sekali tu, I am the 2nd last candidate yang kena interview among 14 orang. In the interview room -->



Lecturer UiTM: So, you're working with MARA, and you applied for your PhD, right.
Me: Yeah, I got a study leave.
Lecturer UiTM: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your education background.
Me: (Telling about myself and mentioned about doing my 1st degree under the same scheme at the same unviersity that I'm currently applying for PhD)
Org MARA: The same university? Iowa State?
Me: Yeah, I already know the people there, so it would be easier for me.
Lecturer UiTM: Then it should be okay lah.. by the way, what is the exchange rate now?
Me: around 3.1 - 3.2
Lecturer UiTM: It was still higher compared to when I was there at Washington State University. But that was way long time ago.
Org MARA: Eh, KPTM tak de skim ke utk staff dia? I baru je cakap dgn En Azmi hari tu.
Me: As far as I'm concern, I never heard about such scheme. Anyway, they recommend me to apply for this scheme.
Lecturer UiTM: I guess that's all from us.
Me: When will I know the result of the interview?
Lecturer UiTM : You can ask the clerk there.
Clerk: By the end of this month, the result can be assessed at our website.

It ended around 5.05pm. Akhirnya selesai... sekarang ni, dah masuk la stage nak tunggu apa result interview tu.. dapat ke tak dapat? Tungguuuuuuuuuuuu........

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'The Interview'  

written by hidayah

Hi gentle readers,

Guess what? I received a call from my dad earlier this morning about the scholarship interview. Well, I get nervous and goosebumps when I think about the interview --> this is The Second Step! By hook or by crook, I need to perform in this one. Tak tau nak ready camane.. Mesti panel tanya pasal research.. Well, readers.. looks like I need to start on 'revising' my interview skills and knowledge on current issues.. Details about 'The Interview':

Date : 2nd May 2008
Day : Friday
Venue : ILKAP, Bangi
Dress Code : Appropriate for an interview, lah...

Dear readers, do wish me good luck on this one.. I need it badly!!!

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How Do I Got My Study Leave?  

written by hidayah

Dear gentle readers,

Since I got the the study leave + full pay for my PhD, I was being bombarded with questions about how I apply for it and what are the procedures. Well, let me explain here 'The First Step' on how I apply for my study leave..

a) Simply write a cover letter --> Application for futher study (PhD) - write the reasons why I need to do my PhD

b) Fill up a scholarship form (SPC Scheme) from MARA --> I saw an ad in the newspaper and get a form from MARA

c) Write another letter --> Application for study leave (at that time I did not indicate whether it is full pay, half pay or none). Then the HR personnel told me to simply put down study leave with full pay saying that "mana tahu ada rezeki Hidayah dapatlah cuti belajar bergaji penuh".

d) The result --> Dah rezeki agaknya, dapatlah study leave tu...

Now, proceed to Step 2 --> Secure an interview with MARA... I am currently waiting for an interview date..

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Study Leave + Full Pay for PhD (Yay!)  

written by hidayah

"Unbelievable.Speechless.Excited." Those were my first reactions when I received the good news. I have to admit, it was shocking at first, but then when I came to think about it, rezeki dari Allah.. Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for giving me this opportunity..

2nd April 2008 - During the Management Meeting, the Director told me about this good news, and how my study leave was approved. Insya Allah, if God permit, I will be able to pursue my PhD at Iowa State University starting Spring 2009 for three years.. Currently I am in the process of getting scholarship from MARA and studying for TOEFL. So Iowa State, here I come!!

I'm planning on bringing my family there, and Insya Allah, my younger brother (ADIK) will go there as well. I'm starting my clan at Iowa State, you know.. hehehe.. so who knows, maybe my siblings (Angah and Apit) will go there in future.. So daddy and mama, we will celebrate hari raya there with both of you :P

Some pics of Iowa State University:





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