Ah, a Saturday morning! Not just any Saturday, but a legitimately free Saturday. After what felt like two straight months of weekend work, errands, and general chaos, the calendar finally decided to cooperate.
My children are having the time of their lives with Atok, Nenek, aunts and uncles. Even though we live way up north and they're all the way in the south of Malaysia, we've figured out the perfect solution, meet in the middle! Traveling all the way to the south would eat up too much time, so our little KL-cation is the sweet spot.
Right now, they're busy splashing, screaming, and making memories in the pool. And me? I've been given a golden ticket to freedom. The moment their aunt looked at me with a knowing smile and said, "Now you enjoy your peaceful time, we will take care of the kids," it felt like I'd just found a hidden treasure chest. Seriously, I almost did a celebratory dance right there. 💃😂
My first thought was to leap into bed and hibernate for a few more hours, but instead, I'm doing what I do best, catching up on all the things I've missed. It’s like being a detective solving the mystery of my own life, one unread email and social media post at a time. This calm weekend is exactly what my soul needed, a chance for the kids to bond with family while I get to recharge and settling in with the new book I've been reading.
As an applied mathematician, this really grabbed my attention. It's fascinating how calculus emerged as one of the world's greatest ideas.
Alright, everyone, have a fantastic time. You never know where life will lead, so just enjoy every moment. Bye for now!
Before the memories fade and get hazy, I need to write this down for my kids, Auni and Adam. I hope one day they stumble upon this space and know, without a doubt, how incredibly proud I am to be their mom. Every bit of exhaustion is worth it when I see them shine.
Last weekend, we had an adventure that I'll never forget. Auni dove into her first-ever swimming competition, and Adam faced his own challenge in a taekwondo tournament. And, of course, because nothing is ever simple in our lives, both events happened on back-to-back days. The chaos was real, but so was the excitement.
The past few months had been a mission. Auni spent countless hours splashing in the pool, her days and nights filled with dedicated practice. Adam gave up most of his weekends to train with his coach. They were preparing for their first big competitions, and their commitment was inspiring.
And then, the universe decided to throw one last test at us, just days before their events, we all got sick. But nothing could stop them. Even as they were still recovering, they insisted on competing. I let them, because I knew how much their hearts were set on this.
Auni fearlessly took on two events: the 25m Freestyle and the 50m Breaststroke. She competed against nearly 500 swimmers from all over the state, and while making it to the finals wasn't easy, she did something even more impressive, she beat her personal best. Watching her analyze her own performance and figure out where to improve next showed me the true spirit of a champion. She didn't just compete, but she learned.
In Lane 5, my girl waited nervously for the starting signal.
I'll make sure she can see me cheering for her, all the way from the other side of the pool.
As for Adam, he was the breakout star of the day. With his small size and still a junior white belt, he stepped onto the ring and commanded everyone's attention. He snatched two champion medals, one for Pattern and one for Sparring, making his opponents feel a little shaky just by his presence. He was absolutely incredible.
He radiated confidence, and his sharp, precise movements impressed the judges.
It only took him three fights to win the champion medal.
The look of pride on his face as he held his gold medal was priceless.
His performance was so powerful that he was invited to compete in the overall champion category against older, more experienced competitors with different belts. He didn't win that final match, but the experience of going head-to-head with adults was a prize in itself. What a lucky and brave boy.
He looked so small next to the other champions, but the experience of competing with them was a victory in itself.
I'm so relieved that both events were a success. The best part is that they're already looking forward to the next challenge, which tells me this experience has lit a fire in them. It looks like this mom will be rolling up her sleeves right alongside them. 💪
How's everything going? Things have been pretty good on my end, though a little dramatic tonight. It's pouring rain here, the kind of heavy downpour we haven't seen in a while. Since we've been needing some rain, I'm definitely not complaining. The air is cool and fresh, and this sudden chill has me thinking about one thing: my favourite comfort food.
Don't we all have that one dish that just makes everything better? I know I do, and maybe it's more than one. (Okay, fine, it's two!) The first is a ghee tosay with a pinch of sugar. When the sugar melts and gets all crispy and caramelized on the surface, it’s so good that I swear my problems just melt away in my mouth with every bite.
This is a perfect match: a ghee tosay with chutney and dhal gravy. 😋
But tonight, the rain has me craving my second comfort food: Gyuniku Ramen with Tori Paitan Soup. Specifically, the kind from Sushi-Ya. It's a bowl of thick, creamy, and ridiculously delicious broth topped with tender slices of beef and a perfectly cooked egg. There's nothing quite like slurping on that hot, rich soup when it's cold and rainy outside.
So, so good. I want it now!
Stop it, girl! It's already 11 p.m., and your bed is calling. No late-night ramen runs for you.
And just like that, I'm back to reality. As much as my mind is on comfort food tonight, it’s also on a different kind of satisfaction: the work I'm doing this semester break. Even though I have a few weeks with no classes, I'm not slowing down. Most people see this as a chance to relax, but I'm going full throttle. My main mission is to make sure all my PhD students are on track and ready to meet their deadlines.
Even though I get tons of requests to take on new students, I've been on a mission to limit the number I supervise. By having a smaller group, I can give each student my full attention. This way, they get the quality time and focus they need, and their work becomes even better. It’s all about quality over quantity, right?
Alright, that's all for tonight. It feels good to finally sit down and get all of this out. There's so much more to tell, and I hope I'll have time to share it all soon. And with that, I'm off to bed. Bye for now!
What a day! The kind of day that makes your head spin and your eyelids feel like they have tiny, invisible weights attached to them. I finally walked through my front door after a super hectic day. It's so hectic, in fact, that it deserves its own story for another time. I haven't been staying up late recently. Usually, my bedtime is respectable minutes after midnight. But tonight, sleep can wait. The comfy sofa and my trusty journal were calling my name, and I just had to answer.
There's something magical about finally settling in with a blank page, letting the day's chaos melt away. As I was getting ready to write, I found myself thinking about my PhD student, Tariq Azzam. I'd been doing a final check of his graduation requirements, making sure all his demands were in a row for his upcoming thesis defense. And boy, were they!
He's already submitted his manuscript to IPS, has four publications in the pipeline for Q1/Q2 journals, and has completed all his required courses. Basically, he's an academic rockstar. Or at least, mine. 😁
They're all on the road to graduation! One student is graduating, one is making final corrections, and two others are getting ready to defend their theses. Tariq is the one on my left.
We celebrated with a final feast, a special goodbye meal with the supervisors before they all left Malaysia.
Having a student like Tariq is such a blessing. He works remotely from his home country for most of the year, but every year, he flies to Malaysia for three months to really knuckle down and hash out the important stuff with me. It takes a lot of dedication, and he has it in spades. I'm really hoping he gets everything done smoothly and earns that coveted "Graduate on Time" title.
After you've mentored a few research students, you develop a sort of sixth sense about who's really ready to defend their thesis. The secret is simple: if they've done all the hard work themselves, they'll be able to answer any question thrown at them with confidence. It's a different story when they don't truly understand their own work, that's when things get tricky.
We were working around the clock during his final week to make sure he submitted the very best version of his work.
But with Tariq, there's no doubt in my mind. I've seen how hard he's worked, how many late nights he's put in. He's ready. And I know he'll ace that viva voce without a hitch. He's back in Jordan now, and we'll be preparing for his defense from afar. I'm really hoping everything goes smoothly and easily for him. 😇
It's been a week since my last update, and while things have been a bit less chaotic, I've been busy playing catch-up on a few important life missions. But let's talk about the real excitement: my workplace turned into a giant, friendly competition of steps last week!
It's not every day that your job encourages you to get up and move. The goal was simple: everyone, from the academics to the admins, had to contribute to their team's step count. We were split into six teams of ten, and I knew we needed a little kickstart to get those feet moving. So, I did what any good team player would do: I became the official Step-Motivator-in-Chief! 😎
Half of our crew, getting ready for a 5-kilometer walking adventure!
First, I rallied the troops for a morning walk. While 10,000 steps might be a walk in the park for me, I know it can feel like climbing Mount Everest for others. So, we made it an adventure! We didn't just loop around the campus; we became explorers, venturing to hidden spots I'd never seen before. It was a blast!
We visited a place in USM that I never knew existed. 😅
Soaking up the morning sun for my daily dose of Vitamin D. I need the sun's benefits, but I'm trying to avoid a sunburn. How do I do that? 😂
But I didn't stop there. The next day, I turned our school into a personal gym and hosted a cardio session. What I do daily might seem like a piece of cake, but I wanted to make it accessible and fun for everyone. And guess what? We crushed it! In just one morning, we racked up nearly 10,000 steps each for our team.
After-workout glow and sweat!😁 I'm planning to start a weekly activity like this for everyone at the school.
The best part of this whole step-venture wasn't the numbers, though. It was getting to connect with people I rarely talk to at work. It turns out, the "rarest" people are some of the most accommodating, fun, and easy-going folks around. It just goes to show, you never know who you'll connect with when you're all working (or walking!) towards a common goal.
We submitted this with all the supporting evidence. It was a true team effort, with everyone contributing in their own unique way. 👏
But at the end of the day, it wasn't really about winning (though a little healthy competition never hurt anyone!). It was about making our workplace a little brighter, one step at a time. Whether we were sharing a laugh on our morning walk or coming up with new ideas, it just goes to show that a little movement can lead to big connections. Here's to making our office a better, more vibrant place for everyone!
It's that time of the year again at USM, marking season! And let me tell you, I've wrapped up all my tasks, even the tricky analysis stuff in the OCADS system. It feels like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders for this semester. I'm so relieved, I could practically float! 😀
They are all done and will be put in the cupboard now.
Being a university lecturer isn't just about standing in front of a class and sharing wisdom (though we do a fair bit of that!). It's a whole adventure, from conjuring up exam questions that'll make you think (or groan, depending on your caffeine levels 😉) to the secret life of exam invigilation, where we channel our inner detectives to ensure fair play as outlined HERE.
Once the pens are down and the final exams are collected, our real work begins, marking, analyzing results, and deciphering the mysteries of the grading system. And let me tell you, it's more than just adding numbers!
Think of your final grade as a delicious academic pizza, sliced into two main parts:
Coursework (CW): This is your ongoing effort throughout the semester, like all those assignments, quizzes, tests and projects you tackle. It usually makes up 60% of your total mark. Most students find this slice pretty easy to chew on, as long as you actually complete the tasks! We lecturers diligently enter your CW marks into our magical OCADS system, which then whips up a preliminary grade for you.
Exam Work (EW): Now for the other slice, the exam, which contributes the remaining 40% of your mark. After marking countless exam scripts (and maybe consuming a few too many coffees), we meticulously input these marks into OCADS. Poof! Another grade appears, specifically for your exam performance. As examiners, we take this super seriously. Personally, I'm like a hawk over those scripts, reviewing my marking a few extra times to make sure every single student gets the grade they truly deserve.
Next is generating your combined grade. Here's where it gets interesting, and perhaps a little mysterious for some students. You've got your CW grade and your EW grade, right? Well, the OCADS system then plays matchmaker, combining both to generate your final, official course grade.
Now, most of the time, the system is spot-on with our manual records. Sometimes, it might even give a student a slightly higher grade (and honestly, who am I to complain about that?). But, like any good superhero, even OCADS has its rare technical glitches that might, on occasion, result in a lower grade than what you earned. This is precisely why we lecturers play detective one last time, meticulously checking the final grades for each student. Our mission? To ensure no one gets treated unfairly by a rascal algorithm.
Many students mistakenly believe that their coursework marks are simply added to their exam marks to get the final grade. So, if you've aced your coursework and are practically floating on an "A," you might think you just need a tiny push on the exam to seal the deal. Sorry, my dear students, it doesn't quite work that way!
Both your coursework and exam components are evaluated independently to generate their own explicit grades. So, to truly snag that excellent final grade, you need to bring your A-game to both the continuous assessments throughout the semester and the final examination. Think of it as needing to ace both the appetizer and the main course to get a five-star review for your academic meal!
Hopefully, this sheds some light on the wonderful (and sometimes wonderfully complex) world behind your university grades. 😊
It's the middle of the night, and sleep feels like a distant. Maybe that quick nap I had earlier messed things up, or maybe it's just my mind buzzing with too many thoughts. It's funny how, even when we know thinking too much isn't good for us, it's so hard to turn it off. It's like one thought leads to another, and suddenly your mind is just full. It's like a tangled ball of string, each piece pulling at another, making it impossible to find an end and untangle it.
That's exactly how my thoughts feel right now. A tangled mess, with no clear beginning or end.
It's been too long since I just wrote freely, letting my thoughts flow onto the page without a plan. I have so many unfinished pieces saved, waiting. But tonight, there's just something I need to get out. It's like a feeling building up insi de, a quiet voice that needs to be heard, even if it's just by me, here in the quiet of the night.
Life can be tricky, right? You see people smiling, looking like they have everything together, but you never know the heavy worries they might be carrying inside. They might be putting on a brave face, a careful mask to get through the day, while deep down, they're fighting silent battles. And sometimes, it's the other way around. The quiet ones, the ones who seem to blend in, might be the ones with incredible strength, facing their own challenges with hidden power. It's a reminder that we rarely see all of someone's story.
So, no matter what kind of person you think you are, keep moving through life with all your might. You never know when you'll find your happiest moments. Embrace whatever part of your journey you're in right now, because every step is leading you somewhere.
Okay, I'm going to try some reading. Hopefully, that'll make me sleepy enough to finally get some rest. Until then, bye for now! 😊
Guess what, everyone? Just like that, July packed its bags and zoomed off. We welcome August today, bringing us even closer to the end of 2025! Can you believe it? Time flies without us even realizing it as we go through our lives.
For me, July was pretty remarkable because it was my most active month yet this year! I finally got into a super consistent groove with my daily cardio sessions. Seriously, I managed to stick to them almost every single day! I'd usually carve out about 30-40 minutes for it. Sometimes, I'd even kick things off with a quick 10-15 minute run on the machine just to get those sweat glands working overtime. Then, it was full steam ahead with the rest of my cardio routine!
Tracking my daily cardio sessions
Here's the cool part, sticking to this routine was shockingly easy! All you really need is yourself and a random YouTube video from your fave fitness channel. I love these two instructors, Mizi and Eleni! Their routines and music are fantastic, perfectly pacing and motivating us through our HIIT cardio workouts.
I'm loving her routines and music. She choreographs everything so well.
See, all you really need is a reference video, some space, and your own motivation. As for me, my gym is my dry kitchen. Why? Because the walls are mirrored, giving me total dance studio vibes! The only difference is, instead of a water cooler, I'm surrounded by yummy snacks in the fridge. Talk about motivation!😂
Oh, and to make it even better, I can literally wear whatever I'm comfy in. How? I sometimes get a little influenced by what the instructors in the videos are rocking. Haha! Us women, we're always inspiring each other, right? Since this is a do-it-alone-at-home-in-front-of-the-mirror kind of exercise, feel free to show off those thighs and abs if it pumps you up to get that flatter tummy and toned legs! 😉
Now, about the results... they're not exactly screaming ta-da! just yet. But hey, I've definitely lost a few inches, which I'm super happy about! The weighing scale, though? Not quite as cooperative. I've only shed about 2kg compared to the fasting month when I could drop 5kg like it was nothing (because I was quite strict with my food back then!).
This time around, I'm taking a more chill approach with my meals. I'm eating pretty much as usual, but of course, I'm keeping an eye on what I munch on daily, especially my sugar intake. You know me, sweet-tooth Amirah! I'm obsessed with desserts. Someone please physically drag me away from the kuih stall, because the temptation is real! Seri muka and cekodok pisang. How can I eat them every day without getting fat? Yeah, yeah, I can. Only in my dream. 😂
I often get asked what I eat to stay in shape? Ahh, a question as old as time. The quest for the mythical eat-all-you-want-and-still-look-amazing lifestyle. That's not realistic at all. I'd love to tell you there's a simple hack, like drinking green tea all day everyday. But to be honest, those days are long gone. At my age, the only way to eat what I want every day and keep my body in a shape I'm happy with is through hard work, hard work, and more hard work.
My body is officially a democracy, and every calorie now requires a vote before it's burned. So, when people complimenting, I just smile and know that the real credit goes to my alarm clock that goes off at 5 AM and the sweat-drenched sessions I commit to daily. Failure to do so will result in my clothes developing a sudden, mysterious aversion to fitting, and gravity doing its worst. 😅
However, what truly matters is your happiness and satisfaction with your body. If you're content with your current physique, then absolutely, embrace it! Just be sure to schedule regular health check-ups. Beyond that, simply enjoy life! 💕
