A Whole New World

i know that the title of this post is a 'lil bit cliche....but it's the best phrase of all...it is the best to define what i've been through for a week in the US....

what i've been noticing about the differences between the Wisconsin,USA and my just-turned-52-years-old country-Malaysia is that:-

• the bus system in wisconsin is WAAYYYY better! no offence, but they do not practice "janji melayu" here in the US...just now when i waited the metro bus, the timetable pointed that the bus will arrive at 4.30pm...i thought it is a joke to even make a timetable for things that are unpredictable like bus schedule...alas..the bus arrived at 4.31pm...siot!!
• "pedestrians are always number 1" is their motto in wisconsin...when you are on your foot and try to cross a road, the cars will stop for you to cross, not the other way around that happens in Malaysia...
• Student card is way more efficient...it can let you in a building, register for classes, make payments, buy food, etc. etc. etc. so far, at INTEC malaysia, the student id can only be used to 'lepas pak guard' and to borrow books...sheesh...
• time is essence...during the time when i was registering for my student card, there's a long queue...i thought this is going to take a day to even finish my card...but, i was wrong...take a picture, a 3-minute wait, and i'm good to go with my 'bau kedai' student ID...
• helpful is one of the best word to describe the white people in wisconsin...they'll help you as fast as they can when they see you in need of help...when i was carrying a full load of food container and i can't enter my dorm building without my student id card stuck in my wallet, the people from inside the building ran to the door and help me to open the door...back in malaysia, i think maybe i can get help...but only after all the food containers fall and scattered on the floor...or only maybe...hah...

this post is not to 'kutuk' malaysia...i love malaysia forever and ever...but those few points that i wrote above should be taken as 'iktibar' for us malaysians so that we can be as advanced as the white people...even little things such as manner can give a great impact to the country...ciow...

my 'berbuka' meal every day excluding nasi...tortilla+cheese dip+strawberry...and they're cheap!

My Baby

ASUS G51VX-RX05

love this specs:-

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M graphics
  

• 320GB SATA hard drive (7200 rpm)
  Provides plenty of storage space and fast read/write times.
• so far, no game can make this machine sweat. haven't tried crysis yet...looking forward to play it...
  

Pembunuh Bersiri iPhone

oleh kerana harga iphone melambung naik dan berjaya mematahkan hati ramai pihak yg tergila-gilakan nya (termasuk aku), harus aku di sini beri semula harapan (walaupun mungkin harapan palsu) kepada mereka supaya tidak mudah putus asa...

sekarang, makin pelik aku rasa setiap kali berlalu-lalu di tempat jual handphone...mengapa harga iPhone yg dahulunya rm3000++ telah jatuh mendadak sehingga rm299?? setelah meneliti 'iPhone' tersebut, rupa-rupanya hanya satu lagi barangan ciplak China bernama MINI IPHONE...
oleh sebab putus asa terhadap iPhone yang sebenar, jadi aku hanya bersyukur kepada pilihan ini:-

Nokia 5800 Xpress Music

masih agak baru untuk aku nak menilai bende alah nih...aku masih baru dalam proses taaruf ngan ia...


Specs:

2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network: HSDPA 900 / 2100
Weight: 109 g
Screen: TFT resistive touchscreen, 16M colors
Storage: microSD (TransFlash), up to 16GB, 8GB included
3G: Yes
WiFI: Yes
Bluetooth: Op kos la YES...
Camera: 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, LED flash
OS: Symbian OS v9.4, Series 60 rel. 5
GPS: Yes, with A-GPS support; Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch

cuba la bandingkan dengan iPhone untuk specs-specs di atas...nokia nih dah memalukan handphone yang menjadi fenomena remaja-remaja sekarang iaitu si iPhone...jadi, LU PIKIR LA SENDIRI mana lagi berbaloi...

Fast Forward

jika sebelum ini, ramai yang kecewa tatkala mendapat berita tiket flight bakal ditunda ke 25hb ogos dan bukannya 23hb ogos...9 orang yang digembar gembur 'bernasib baik' kerana fly lambat dan dapat berpuasa lama sikit dengan keluarga pasti tertanya-tanya mengapa nasib mereka sebegitu 'bernasib baik'...

mereka yang 9 orang tu ibarat mendapat sampul surat 'fast forward' dari MARA!

tapi, disebalik sesuatu musibah pasti ada hikmahnya...it turn out to be that the 'lucky' 9 people are indeed LUCKY!! terdapat perubahan pada masa kritikal atau last minute turnover pada jadual flight mereka...fly 2 hari lagi awal dari yang tidak ditukarkan masa flight (termasuk aku)...

19 pelajar yang lain seperti mendapat detour...fly lambat sket dari 9 orang tuh...ades...

alahai...untung diaorang dapat sesuaikan diri di sana lebih lama (hilangkan jet-lag)...kami yang baki-baki nih, terpaksa sampai-sampai jer terus kene join SOAR (orentasi) berbekalkan bontot yang masih kebas...

Get Set

phew...after three days of wandering around 3 different cities (seremban, shah alam, putrajaya), i'm done with the shopping...

gotta start packing from today onwards to avoid some last-minute-chaotic-moments...

things to do on the comings days:

• get fit (not totally, but enough if i can get back my stamina)
• get math (refresh back all the algebra, trigo, and stuff)
• get money (exchange all the money i have in dollar)
  

Surat Cinta

salam to all of u,

latest info on flight details.

Drake - confirm flight on 14/8 (Friday), 8pm at KLIA. please be on time!

CSM- not yet confirm but most prob will be on 16/8 together with Maryland students.

Maryland- confirm on 16/8(Sunday), 8pm at KLIA. on time, please!

Michigan State - 19/8(Wed) flight at 2359.
Purdue - 19/8 - same as above.

both Purdue & Michigan State students, please be at KLIA by 7pm, no excuse!

SUNY & Minnesota - 21/8 (Friday) at 2359. so please be at KLIA by 8pm
Minnesota, previous itinery scheduled on 19/8 was cancelled due to unavailable seat, so u'll be flying with SUNY on 21/8.

Wisconsin - divided to 2 different group with 2 different date.
one group will fly on 23/8 and another 9 students will be on 25/8
those who'll be flying late, i will inform MARA DC to inform ur university
(can't help much for this one as well since flight very critical at this moment)
so wisconsin students, i'll update u guys from time to time.

Michigan - 24/8 (Monday) ur flight is in d morning 0940
so please be at KLIA by 6am. SHARP!

RIT & Stevens - flight scheduled on 26/8 (Wed) at 2359
so please be at KLIA by 7pm, no later than that!
ohya, Stevens, u guys will be arriving a bit late.
i'll inform MARA DC as well.

so as per today, this is what i can share with all of you.

and please take note that i'm not going to wait for u guys in KLIA so make sure u guys arrive earlier than me....
if any of u missing at that moment, i'm gonna proceed the check in without ur ticket. ( i'm sure u dont want me to do that)
so students, please update with others who do not receive this email from me.

regards.

love,
ms adlina

Dirge of KTM

it has been a while since i've written an entry in english...fearing that my english will become 'broken' or rusty, it's better if i can write something once in a while...

"Dirge", which brings forth the meaning of grief element or lamentation...which commonly accompanied during funeral...maybe the word is not the right word to be used in such commotion, as i cannot find any words yet to match my emotion, let's stick to dirge first...

because of the bad train service, we've sacrificed big money to pay for the cab..

yesterday was the worst yet outing i've ever been experiencing... it's not about the friends or the shopping, but the condition of the ancestor of any modern transportations nowadays - the train, owned by the most senior of all train council in malaysia; KTMB (Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad)

the morning before the i meet up with my friends, i took the train from the starting point of the rail system which is the seremban station...the train was kind of stranded by the time i arrived there...but everything inside was OK...but i have a kind of intuition that there's going to be a problem...but i never thought it will be the train!

patience is the best virtue..."oh really?"

after the outing ended, i was the 1st person to depart from the gang as my father called me to get my arse over to nilai station in the shortest time...my friends have something more to shop...i started to wait for the train at 7.20pm...i noticed that maybe there's a train to nilai that had just departed before i arrived...

this is the last picture before i departed at 2012 hours sharp...

"the train to seremban has been delayed" or something like that rang through the speaker...i always ask myself why only the train to seremban always get into problems? i maintained my composure while standing for quite a while (there no more bench seat available)...i watched closely the digital clock for the next scheduled time..."oh, only 20 minutes more to wait...okay..."...guess what? the next train and the second next train also have problems..."Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! KTM Fuck!!" screamed my heart...i even watched one pregnant Arab woman walk around restlessly...pity her, fuck KTM...

last night will be my last KTM ride for quite some time...dirge is the right word to label the service from the biggest train service provider in my beloved country...to hell with KTM...i'm fucking off to the US...chiow...i fucking hope that their service will be better by the time i come back...

oh yeah, did i managed to get a seat in the train? fucking NO! all the way to nilai...

Gulai & Kopi

alhamdulillah....syukur semuanya berlangsung dengan lancar...pada 9/8/2009 telah berlansung majlis bacaan doa selamat sempena aku nak terbang ke amerika...

antara tetamu yang berkunjung...antara hidangannya adalah gulai daging salai...negeri sembilan special menu~

uiks? nih belakang aku nih...still pakai baju class of 5sc2...

golongan wanita yang makan di bahagian dalam rumah...

haa...yang dua baby tgh baring tuh namanyer Zahirah (2 tahun) dan Alia (baru bulan2)...kedua-duanya adik beradik...ironi bukan? sebab zahirah dan alia yang aku kenal kat intec kedua-duanya kawan baik...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

semasa perjalanan, ternampak pulak airplane tgh fly...pastu aku tangkap plak gambarnyer...cam teringat satu post blog aku sebelum nih pasal isu tangkap gambar member fly...haha...

bergambar dengan ayah angkat aku pak khamis di seksyen 27...dialah yang menjaga aku masa aku umur 2 tahun dulu...minum kopi dari cawan sama, jaga aku time mak bapak aku kerja...mmg takde ganti jasanya...

nih la kawasan rumah flat yang keluarga aku pernah tinggal dulu...

mak minah...mak angkat aku dulu...aku perasan mak minah cam rindu sangat kat aku ngan adik beradik aku...maklum la...17 tahun tak pernah jumpa...

Preparasi 3: Pakaian

jika hendak bertandang ke tempat orang, haruslah berpakaian kemas-kemas (cheewah)...research aku ni berdasarkan harga di Walmart yang boleh didapati di kebanyakan bandar-bandar utama di US...Walmart adalah seperti Giant di Malaysia, tapi jauh lagi besar! jadi, ayuh kita lihat apa yang menanti kita di sana...

Preparasi 3: Pakaian

Jeans: OMG! ini adalah jenis pakaian yang aku takkan boleh miss untuk pakai sebab aku benci seluar slack! melalui research aku dalam bidang pakaian, jeans adalah antara pakaian paling mudah untuk dapat pada harga yang murah di US...mari kita lihat apa jeans yang ada di Walmart:

• Levi Strauss & Co. Jeans : $12.50 ~ $ 16.00 (***** asal murah giler babeng? kat Malaysia rm200++!)

Upper Attire: mungkin ini pendapat aku sahaja dan mungkin aku syok sendiri...tapi bagi aku, t-shirt design and style amat 'kebudak-budakan'...balik-balik nak kasi nampak ganas, taruk gambar skull...mungkin dipengaruhi taste aku untuk baju style indie...tapi, di sebelah yang lagi terang (on the brighter side), harga baju amat amat amat murah!

• Polo shirt: $3.00 (W-T-Fish!!) ~ $ 20.00++
• Cardigan: $9.00
  
• Shirt: $10.00

Kasut: tak banyak yang tepati citarasa aku (kasut ala-ala converse), tapi bagi sebagai info saja...

• Running Shoes ntah apa jenama: $10.00
• Selipar jamban: $1.00 ~ $4.00
  

Shorts: tak ramai orang Malaysia, terutamanya yang beragama Islam yang suka pakai shorts memandangkan susah untuk nak solat (kene pakai kain pelikat) dan hampir menampakkan aurat lelaki (atas lutut)...tapi aku suka shorts sebab senang nak bergerak dalam dorm...

• Shorts ntah apa jenama: $5.00
• Wrangler Shorts: $ 12.50
  

Slacks: Argh!! benci slacks...tapi untuk iktibar/rujukan sahaja demi kebahagiaan bersama dengan orang-orang suka slacks...

• George Slacks: $12.00

Winterwear: Oleh sebab winter wear baru agak mahal (average $150), dan aku belum puas research pasal winterwear, jadi lebih baik pilih option untuk beli yang 2nd hand atau sewa saja dari kedai kat State Street, WI-Madison...

Preparasi 2: Alatan Elektronik

di dunia yang sedang rancak memodenkan diri, jadi tak patut la aku terus tinggal dalam gua/bawah tempurung...pasti alatan elektronik amat diperlukan di US kerana zaman mesin taip dan lampu karbait (apa yang aku mengarut nih?) sudah lama ditelan masa...

Preparasi 2: Alatan Elektronik

Laptop: memandangkan lappy aku yang sedang aku guna sekarang merupakan model ACER 6 tahun yang lalu (tapi masih boleh main DOTA! wow!) dengan saiz skrin 17", berat, dan menunggu masa untuk meletup, jadi aku mewajibkan diri untuk beli lappy baru di sana nanti. (MARA bagi rm3000 untuk laptop!)

Toshiba - Sattelite A505-S6965 ($749.99) wishlist!!

HP Pavilion DV6-1260SE ($918.00/$949.99)* must buy!!

*available at Walmart ($918.00) and Best Buy ($949.99)

Toshiba - Sattelite A505-S6965 dan HP Pavilion DV6-1260SE hampir sama dari kebanyakan spesifikasi....tetapi, toshiba mempunyai masalah paling kronik dalam laptop: bateri...ia menggunakan 6-cell battery dan hanya mampu tahan 2jam++ sahaja...HP on the other hand, menggunakan 12-cell battery yang mampu tahan 6jam+- dan ada ATi Mobility Radeon 4650 yang jauh meninggalkan Toshiba punya ATi Mobility Radeon 4570! walaupu beza harga mencecah $200, tapi mungkin berbaloi sebagai investment untuk 4 tahun di US...tapi...damn...HP Pavilion tuh boleh beli pakai credit card saja through internet...takde credit card~~(T_T)

Transformer: oleh sebab ada alatan elektronik yang bakal aku bawa nanti seperti kamera digital, MP3, dan handphone lama (untuk emergency), jadi transformer adalah wajib. ini disebabkan US menggunakan voltage 110V/120V walhal barangan malaysia menggunakan 220V/240V. bentuk pin juga amat berlainan.

Conair - Travel Smart 50-Watt Reverse Transformer ($19.90) must buy!!

Shaver: pabila rata-rata orang menggunakan shaver blade, aku hanya menggunakan electronic shaver...mengapa? kalau aku guna shaver biasa, misai dan janggut aku akan tumbuh dengan lebih cepat...tapi ini hanya dalam wishlist saja...mungkin aku terpaksa belajar guna shaver biasa untuk saving duit... (>.<)

Remington - Wet/Dry Goatee Trimmer ($14.99) wishlist!!

Printer: sebagai langkah berjaga-jaga, mana tau kene hantar assignment pastu computer lab tutup atau printer CC rosak, ini harus dimasukkan dalam wishlist.

Epson - Factory-Refurbished Stylus Multifunction Photo Printer/ Copier/ Scanner/ Fax ($49.90) wishlist!!

pada mulanya aku tertanya-tanya kat mana nak beli semua barang nih dengan harga murah...lalu aku tanya kawan baik aku yang sudah pun pindah kat US...dan dia recommend kedai nih yang merupakan 'electronic haven for electronic geeks':

Best Buy (store 208)
7357 W Towne Way
Madison, WI 53719
(608) - 829-1188
www.bestbuy.com

last sekali, macam mana nak pergi ke tempat nih? oleh sebab pelajar luar negara wajib sertai International Student Orientation, pada hari rabu (26 Ogos 2009), pihak International Student Society (ISS) akan bawa pelajar-pelajar ke West Town Mall untuk shopping barang keperluan*.

*sumber dari booklet SOAR program UW-Madison. sini

Preparasi 1: Cara Untuk Berhubung

lepas 2 hari aku menjalankan research untuk menyediakan diri dengan survival skill ala-ala man vs. wild, banyak ilmu yang dah aku kutip kat tepian page-page website..

bagi memulakan pembentangan kertas kerja research aku, mari aku terangkan apa yang bakal aku (dan rakan2 sekalian) hadapi di tanah asing yakni United States...

Preparasi 1: Cara Untuk Berhubung

perkara pertama yang aku terfikirkan sejak dapat surat offer letter untuk meneruskan pengajian di luar negara ialah: macam mana nak call family bila dah sampai kat sana?

oleh itu aku telah planning awal-awal untuk beli iPhone 3G/3Gs memandangkan harganya baru lah $99/$199...tetapi selepas membuat research, harga itu telah mengaburi mata ramai pihak...harga itu tertakluk jika aku sanggup ambil pakej 2 tahun kontrak dengan AT&T (service provider paling teruk kat US menurut pelanggannya)...jadi, overall cost nya:

iPhone 3Gs : $199
AT&T 2-year contract : $199
Data usage package : $30/month

Total cost: $199 + $199 + ($30 * 24) = $1118* = rm3913** !

*total semestinya menakutkan...tapi itu total untuk 2 tahun...
**kalau convert ke RM hari-hari, confirm jadi gila ar!

PEMBETULAN

total iPhone adalah termasuk dengan pakej bual/sms = $50/month

so,

REAL TOTAL= $199 + $199 + ($80 x 24) + $70 (starting fee) = $ 2388 = rm 8477.40

kalau beli iPhone tanpa service provider : $ 999 <- the cheapest i can get! (ebay) jadi, iPhone....bye bye~~ (T_T) ..naqib, jangan menangis... seterusnya, mesti kene ada backup plan kan? jadi aku telah memikirkan 2 option nih: iPod Touch - oleh sebab aku tak suka cakap dalam phone dan suka sms jer, baik beli nih sebab ada WiFI...pakai e-mel sudah... ($250 incl. tax) must buy!!


Go-Prepaid - sama cam malaysia...call ke malaysia cuma $0.04! amat murah...tapi handphone kene beli sendiri...pakej termasuk $10 nilai prepaid... retail price: $40

Buta itu Cinta @ Cinta itu Buta?

semakin hari semakin pelik...intec aku sangka adalah sangkar untuk memupuk rasa suka sama suka antara pelajar-pelajar nya tak kira bangsa dan agama (dan jantina)...

bukan lah aku nih jaga tepi kain orang lain ke apa...tapi makin pelik bin hairan aku...dahulu, couple-couple yg berputik di intec memang 'hot'...hot disini bukan bermaksud panas mendidih mahupun seksi/hensem (jangan terasa da), tetapi menjadi buah mulut orang tak kira lapisan masyarakat...sedangkan lecturer-lecturer juga menjadi entrepot untuk gosip-gosip di kolej...

sejak akhir-akhir ini, hampir kesemua couple-couple yang berputik 'cinta' antara mereka sudah berpisah...mungkin tidak bersedia untuk menghadapi tanggungjawab/dosa/long-distance-relationship...mungkin juga telah buta sampai tak nampak kat mana tersoroknya 'cinta'...

jadi, fikir-fikirkan lah...kawan aku, kashan pernah cakap: "love comes after marriage." ...jadi apakah yang datang sebelum perkahwinan? intuisi aku berbisik: "lust comes before marriage, not love."

*ps: baru terfikir pasal nih lepas tengok 3R tadi...orang yang planning nak kahwin cepat rata-rata akan kahwin lambat...*