gatherings

both gathering at rhoda's and with mls buddies at csc bowling centre was a blast! (: less than a month to ord and backpacking trip (:

happy holidays

just came back from a short getaway trip across the causeway. stayed a night at puteri pacific. we didnt go shopping cause it was more of a budget holiday. i bought a winter jacket, at the reject shop, for my backpacking trip though. it was a bargain, only RM90. haha! however, we did spend quite a sum on food. bought lots of pastries at the hotel cafe and had dinner at kenny rogers! yummy!

):

i hate the sudden feeling of emo-ness that fills me. ):
cos duty tml. wow! i love doing wkend cos.

mus

(:

a) met david for lunch at ayer rajah food center.
b) met diana and had frap at starbucks west coast plaza after maghrib.

mus

hello readers.

went to the cinema today to watch madagascar 2 with my mama, faiz and 2 sisters. really enjoyed the show. am glad it was worth our money.

(:

i orgas everytime i click the confirm button. and when i get the confirmation e-mail from the airline, i orgas once more.

Friday 13 March
Berlin Schoenefeld to Barcelona
Check in opens Fri 13 Mar 14:00 Closes Fri 13 Mar 15:20
flight U2 4527
dep. Fri 13 Mar 16:00 arr. Fri 13 Mar 18:35
Payment: $100/EUR52.24

mus

2 more flights..

ok, i've booked the following flights on SAS.

Zurich to Copenhagen

Sunday, 8 March 2009
Departure:
07:10 Zurich, Switzerland - Zurich
Arrival:
09:05 Copenhagen, Denmark - Copenhagen Airport, Terminal 2
Airline:Scandinavian Airlines SK3502
Aircraft:Airbus Industrie A320-100/200
Operated by Swiss
Fare type:Economy - Fixed
Baggage:20 kilogram(s) per traveler

Flight payment and ticket
182.00 SGD
(940.54 SEK)

COPENHAGEN-BERLIN TEGEL

Tue 10 Mar 2009
Departure: 14:20 Copenhagen Apt T3
Arrival: 15:15 Berlin Tegel Apt
Airline: Scandanavian Airline SK679
Aircraft:MD 80
Baggage: 20 KG
Fare: 91 SGD

mus

planning in progress

wow! i didnt know that planning for a backpacking trip would be so time consuming, with all the small details that you need to take into consideration so as to ensure a smooth trip. i'm finally done with the spain, listing out all the possible activities(read: day trips, attractions) and accommodation.

yes, talking about accommodation, let me take this opportunity to address an issue that has been raised by a certain relative of mine. i do know that in Islam, it is wrong for a man and woman who are not mahram to go out, what more stay together(read: hostel room with mixed dorms). yes, i do know this, and so does my parents. so why cant you just inform instead of educating my mama regarding this matter? without you knowing, you have in fact hurt my mama's feelings due to the tone and words that you use to address this issue. tsk. in today's context, it is very hard to not mingle with the person of the other sex. i understand your concerns. do take a step back and reflect. didnt you realise that this matter is also occuring there. how sure are you that your son, who resides at the uni hostel doesnt mix freely with people of the other sex? well, have you seen the pictures of him and his friends on facebook? i doubt you have. at least we asian know our limits. we have values and traditions that we hold on true dearly.

i'm glad that my parents are ever so supportive. there was never a time when they said no to whatever i wanted. well, ok maybe on a few occasions. anyway, what really matter most is that my parents trust me. i guess it is hard to find parents who are willing to let their child travel halfway around the globe aith a stranger he made friends with on an online travel forum. well, i consider myself lucky. (:

to solve this problem, i've informed min that it would be in my interest if we could stay in separate gender dorms. n i'm really glad to have a friend who understands my situation.

ps. i may consider staying in uni hall nxt yr.

mus

3 more months to ord!

we've decided to reduce the countries that we plan to visit so that we will have more time to spend at a particular place. as for now, it will be 1)spain-barcelona, madrid(toledo), granada(malaga) 2)france-paris(versailles), nice(grasse,monte carlo, cannes) 3) switzerland-geneva/montreux, interlaken(and jungfrau region), lucerne(zurich). i still do not know where to go when min flies back home on the 8th. i've got until the 14th before it will be my turn to fly back home. (:

i'm currently working on the itinerary for switzerland. will try to make it as cheap as possible cause it's an expensive country to be in. :x

mus

home

im finally back.
no more singing 'somebody save me'. haha! pics can be found on my facebook.

i've replied.
signing off as mr red shoe this time round.

(:

in a few more days i'll be flying off to australia. yes, i am excited cause it will be my first time flying with Singapore Airlines. others wouldnt care much, but i do.(but why never give me the window seat lei?) since young i've this affinity to planes, airline and the travel industry. in camp, whenever im free, i would look through the countless trip reports on www.airliners.net. otherwise, i would search through the various sites for backpacking tips. my army buddies find me weird but tt's just me. (:

on a more serious note, i guess it's time for me to take the plunge. haha! ok, what a dramatic expression. -.- i wouldnt know if it would work out because only God would. so let us both just hope for the best. i've learnt lots from past experiences, in which i dont wish to talk about any further here.well, those lessons will definately help me this time round, god willing.

finally a post.

yes ppl. im finally posting something on this almost dead blog of mine. haha! ok, some updates on my mundane life. was out jln-ing raya with my jc friends(minus nazeera, sharhana, plus ariff). it's less kecoh without shar and nazeera around. that's because they're both the ones making all the noise and comments most o the time. haha! and nasuha, dont think you're that quiet, eh. hehehe! so here are some pics taken 2 days ago.


at khairi's


at zakee's


at shar's




in the bus

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ok, my return flight to barcelona is confirmed. just made a call to british airways to double check since i booked it online. here are the details.

Traveler and cost summary
MUSTAFAKAMAL MOHAMADSIDEK
Adult
Requested: Halal
British Airways #18573969
Taxes & Fees
$92.20
Booking Fee
$7.00
Total
$810.20

Flight summary
Traveling to Barcelona
Thu 12-Feb-09
Singapore (SIN)Depart 10:55 pm Terminal 1
to
London (LHR)Arrive 4:50 am
+1 day Terminal 4
6,748 mi(10,860 km)Duration: 13hr 55mn
IB Flight: 7571 Operated by: BRITISH AIRWAYS
More Information ), Meal, Boeing 747-400

Fri 13-Feb-09
London (LHR)Depart 7:25 am Terminal 3
to
Barcelona (BCN)Arrive 10:30 am Terminal B
717 mi(1,154 km)Duration: 2hr 5mn
IB Flight: 7451 Operated by: BRITISH AIRWAYS
More Information ), Meal, Boeing 757

Total distance: 7,465 mi (12,014 km)
Total duration: 16hr 0mn (18hr 35mn with connections)

Traveling to Singapore
Sat 14-Mar-09
Barcelona (BCN)Depart 6:25 pm Terminal B
to
London (LHR)Arrive 7:45 pm Terminal 1
717 mi(1,154 km)Duration: 2hr 20mn
IB Flight: 7454 Operated by: BRITISH AIRWAYS
More Information ), Meal, Boeing 757
London (LHR)Depart 9:15 pm Terminal 4
to
Singapore (SIN)Arrive 5:50 pm
+1 day Terminal 1
6,748 mi(10,860 km)Duration: 12hr 35mn
IB Flight: 7538 Operated by: BRITISH AIRWAYS
More Information ), Meal, Boeing 747-400

Total distance: 7,465 mi (12,014 km)
Total duration: 14hr 55mn (16hr 25mn with connections)

(:

a great loss ):

carol passed away on 1st september, and so did mrs fong 2 days later. both of them will be missed dearly.

well, heli live task was postponed because some other unit was having their atec somewhere near our AO. oh wells. anyways, my footrot's getting better. my feet doesnt itch that much, and the skin's dryer as compared to when i first got footrot. Hope it'll recover just in time for wallaby. i cant imagine walking 20+km each day with a rotting feet. urgh!

and yes, we've finally found the desired flight to barcelona. so here are the details.



OUTBOUND
Duration of the trip: 18 hours 35 minutes
Departure
22:55 Thu 12-Feb
Singapore - Changi International Airport (SIN)
Arrival
04:50 Fri 13-Feb
London - Heathrow (LHR)
Class: Economy
Plane: 744

Departure
07:25 Fri 13-Feb
London - Heathrow (LHR)
Arrival
10:30 Fri 13-Feb
Barcelona - El Prat (BCN)
Class: Economy
Plane: 757

INBOUND
Duration of the trip: 16 hours 25 minutes
Departure
18:25 Sun 8-Mar
Barcelona - El Prat (BCN)
Arrival
19:45 Sun 8-Mar
London - Heathrow (LHR)
Class: Economy
Plane: 757

Departure
21:15 Sun 8-Mar
London - Heathrow (LHR)
Arrival
17:50 Mon 9-Mar
Singapore - Changi International Airport (SIN)
Class: Economy
Plane: 744

we'll be booking from www.edreams.com with iberia as the airline of sales, but british airways as the operating carrier for all leg of the journey. (:

im leaving on a jetplane, in 5 mths time..

did a transfer of $1255 to min's account yesterday. tt money will be used to pay for the return airfare to barcelona. (:

i really miss my friends. it seems like everyone's busy with their own individual stuff. ):

tiring week

yesterday's ndp preview went well. it had to because national day's just a week from now. i had 4 preview tickets, 2 ballot tickets and the other 2 given to me by ps, which i then gave to uncle em. sorry to all those people who asked for them, especially those who suddenly dropped me a msg on msn, although i remember the last time i chatted with you guys were probably a few months back. tsk tsk. no shame.

ok, on to europe 09, the france and switz sector has somewhet been confirmed. 5 days in france and switz each.

16th-arr geneva (1315 fr BCN)/(1900 fr MAD), 1N geneva

17th-dep geneva 0836 arr interlaken 1250, 1N interlaken

18th-1N interlaken

19th-dep interlaken 0704 arr lucerne 0904, 1N lucerne

20th-dep lucerne 1410 arr zurich 1456 dep zurich 2240(for salzburg), 1N on train

for switz sector, we've decided to cut 1 day off zurich stay so as to save cost and time.

24th-arr nice 1250(fr vienna), 1N nice

25th-1N nice

26th-dep nice for paris(timings to be confirmed), 1N on train

27th-arr paris (timings to be confirmed), 1N paris

28th-1N paris

1st-dep paris for london(timings to be confirmed)

as for france, we've decided to make nice as one of our base cities, ie do day trips to cannes, grasse and monte carlo from nice.

well, that's all for now..

europe09

-planning in progress-
ok, some hints for readers(if i do have ppl reading my blog).
spain - barcelona, madrid, malaga/granada
switz - geneva, interlaken, lucerne, zurich
austria - salzburg, vienna
france - nice, paris
britain - london, bath, salisbury, manchester

will update more when i have time.. (:

mls bbq

Yesterday's bbq was a blast. It has been so long since we had a gathering, complete with the presence of all 7 members. Yes, there were only 7 members in the club. it's pretty amazing how we managed to survive. :) Anyways, the bbq was held at Nas's hse. Food was provided by her parents. Afnie brought some marinated chicken wings, Naz epok-epok, khairi fruits, zakee charcoals, while me and Shar just brought along our empty stomachs. HAHA! so we started the pit after we did our asar prayers. The initial plan was that others cook while i watch and eat. The main reason was because i was wearing a white polo t so it wouldn't be wise for me to be near the pit. However, in the end, i did the initial bbq-ing. This didn't last long as i soon got tired and was replaced by Zakee and Khairi. So hungry me gobbled down sotongs, stingrays, chicken wings, sweet potato, corn, fish balls and hot dogs. We sat outside, eating on a tikar, and this certainly gave a kampung-like atmosphere.

At night, we adults *ahem ahem* chatted and updated each other about each other's lives. I shall not go into details about what we discussed cause i like to keep my friends' private lives confidential.

All in all, we had fun. Loads of thanks to the host!

Now, when will our nxt gathering be?

breakfast @ vivo

pastries and waffles @ delifrance :)

yummy choc cake @ secret recipe :)

3 precious hours.

Come and have a look at my schedule for the past days.
Fri-guard duty
Sat-NDP
Sun-COS
Mon-NDP
Tue-CDS
Wed(ie today)-guard duty
Thurs-NDP

Ok, so i had to make time to meet my mother cause it has been so long since i had a good chat with her. Iman tagged along too since it's the start of the June holidays.

ayat-ayat cinta (the verses of love)

Ayat-ayat cinta is one of the very few malay movie that is worth watching. The story revolves round Fahri, an intelligent student at Al-Azhar University, and 4 beautiful women namely Maria Girgis(coptic-christian), Nurul, Noura and Aisha(german-turkish student). A must watch movie!

picture taken from www.ayatayatcintathemovie.com

tired

once again im here in the cold office of bravo company doing weekend cos duty. what a hectic wk. i had guard duty on fri, followed by ndp rehearsal yesterday afternoon(which as ususal ended late), and now am trying hard to keep myself awake due to the lack of slp for the past days.

hmm..

Well, had a good chat with my parents yesterday before coming to a conclusion. I apply, I study, they pay. :) Will go down to british council once my pay is in to register for IELTS. Thereafter, upon receiving the results, I'll apply for medicine at IMU cause apparently there are no application deadlines for IMU. IMU stands for International Medical University. It is a private medical institution in Malaysia that offers twinning pogrammes with universities in UK, Ireland, Australia, New zealand and Canada. Yes, all I need not is a 6.5/7 for IELTS. God Willing.

my new camera

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

Here are some pictures that i recently took with my new camera.

Me at Changi's new T3.

I like the wide open space of the terminal.

Excuse me young girl, are you lost?

Back fr school.

Lights.

Pride.

this is it

well, this is the real thing. no more fooling around like i did few months back. it's all serious matter from now onwards. 6 guys with different personalities under my charge. am i afraid? hell yes. this is real. whatever it is, everything's going to be alright.

it has been almost a month since i was posted to 3Gds. the first 2 wks was all play and no work. then come gcc which was by far the most enriching thins i have ever experienced in my army life. Having been accepted into the guards family after being presented the khaki baret and guards tab, i felt a sense of pride. this is the very same feeling that many of those before me felt. and yes, because of that, i am so very proud to be a guardsman. an elite guardsman warrior.

and yesterday was one of the days that i looked forward to in my army life (besides ORD-ing). it marks the begining of commandship. after going through 2 weeks of the Unit Induction Programme (UIP), it ended with us going throught PT13. HAH! PT13 was the most shiong thing ever. just imagine, a solid 6 hours of PT. and on the final lap before the beach pt, most of us were dragged down by cramps on our calfs, all thanks to the 7 knoll station. however, we stuck together and did manage to enjoy the beach pt. well, it was probably because we didnt take it as a tekan session. instead, we just took it positively. besides, it's all mind over matter. and so we were doing beach pt when the battallion marched past. as soon as i saw the red flag belonging to bravo coy, i was ready to charge forward to meet my men. "Bravo commanders, are you ready to take over command?". "Yes Sir!". "GO!" All of us dashed towards our fieldpacks and LBVs, wore them quickly and ran towards bravo coy.

and so there he was, the 2nd year sect comd. i took the bayonet from him before announcing to the company, "BRAVO COMPANY, I 3SG Mustafa, from today onwards am in charge of Bravo Coy Plt6 Sect1. 3Gds Aei!"

here we go again.

4 days of summex. just 4 days. it's all in the mind baby.

migrate

migrate to uk? yes please.

welcome home!

the family's back! :):):)