it.could.be.a.good.excuse

Of hobbies and pretty things

confessions of the sleepy beauty

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

I have a confession to make. I love to sleep. I need my sleep. I cannot function without enough sleep. But the problem is, i also have difficulty waking up early. For as long as i know i had been this way.

Although i was quite amazed that during my secondary years, morning session school. Managed to wake up at 5.45 am and be ready by 6.20 to catch the feeder bus. But of course i will sleep in the bus at any opportunity, meaning i must get a seat everytime. I feel the day had already gone wrong if i didnt get my journey nap. of course, taking any chances at school to just close my eyes. erkk…

Same thing when i got a job as a kindergarten assistant teacher.

And when i went to university. I try to avoid morning classes or if there were no other choice for a specific subject, well, i make sure i dont have classes till late afternoon because i would want to go back to my mahallah as early possible to get a noon nap.

Please understand that throughout this sleeping ordeal, it means i will wake up for subuh prayer and then i will go back to sleep for sure.

That’s where the problem is. It is not good to sleep after subuh prayer and i just cant help it. And for the longest time i succumbed to it.

I tried to change. I did. Its either by sleeping in early, i tried to stay awake after subuh either by reading the quran, the ma’tsurat or reading other books. But then i cant function because my brain believed i was deprived of sleep. And these acts ceased to be habits.

And then…i stumbled on productive muslim website. I enjoyed reading the articles, their infographics, the short entertaining videos with a message and i even joined in one their web seminar. Bit by bit, i tried to put in their tips to my life. And as you might have noticed from my recent posts, i am trying to make life more productive and enjoyable.

And as fate has it, abu productive was invited to give talks in singapore and i had the chance to attend them. Out of all the points which was shared, one really struck me. They suggested sleepyti.me to check what is our sleep cycle, the right time to sleep and the right time to wake up. Its like a revelation to me! Hehe.

A person will have a unique sleep cycle, and need about 3-4 cycles per night for a good rest. You are supposed to be able to wake up refreshed with the right timing.

So now i am regularly checking my sleep cycle. Trying to understand my sleeping time. But alas, its been difficult and haywired these days because i will be sleeping say at 10.30 and my first sleep cycle will end at abt 12.30, i will really be awakened but then i will have to force myself back to sleep because i dont function with 2 hrs of sleep. No. but these nights, i will be waking up at odd hours! I will be observing my self throughout the day and see how my body and brain work with a certain amount of sleep.

I didnt know it is not that simple. Of course, to develop a new sleeping habit will take time. I am determined.

So your sleepy beauty here wants to make a change. I pray that i can stay motivated and achieved my goal of waking up earlier than subuh, get to prepare breakfast for my husband and stay awake till my night bedtime.
(but heh, a 15 min power nap if i am desperate during lunch)…

Till the next post!

pilates newbie

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

20130203-183302.jpg

First it was sewing, now its pilates. Its nice to be learning something new. Hopefully this is easy enough and motivating for someone who is ultimately laaazy to do any form of exercise with the forever excuse of pain inflicted legs.

Ow yes, cycling ongoing still. The only sport i will do.

seri the seamstress

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

and so i did it! i signed up for the sewing class!! burnt a hole in my pocket a bit but i guess its worth it. i am so excited to start class next friday.  and my goal is to finish class by May perhaps and who knows i might just make my own raya dress!! weee i am so so excited!

and life seems a bit more…well, life! and heh, the name kinda rhymes, seri the seamstress..

january had been fun so far and already its february, it really is going fast nowadays. i was just discussing with my teachers yesterday that out of sudden we have so many things to achieve and do already. no more dilly dallying. and so have decided to have a meeting with teachers every thursday so we can be updated every week on our pending items. time is really precious.

i am glad i do no teaching this year…which i really hope this will stay as it is for the rest of the year!

by right i have many things to say. but to keep it short: productive muslim series in singapore was great. the guy was really awesome and inspiring. what do i know, the website i had been following, useful posters i had been using for classes, and the person behind it was here!! and having a real discussion with him and his wife. and i was even more humbled when during one of his talks with the youth, he asked for my opinion of how he as the speaker was doing. my goodness. brother, you were doing just great. its our students who are not responding. but really, im touched that he thinks my opinion matters. alhamdulillah. hope productive muslim will continue to be successful and be a great  speaker and motivator for the muslim youth.  awesome and humble guy. he should come down again and give more talks.

and i settled all my pme (performance management evaluation) with the teachers and the youth officer. and this time around i had been better in delivering it and more confident. i was a bit soft previous years and doesnt really know how to conduct an evaluation, but i think i improved a bit and it was so much better to actually be discussing it. things are more clearer and the teachers are also clearer with the expectations and they understand better why a rating was given as such.

i was invited to an fgd one of the days with the colleagues from ace centres and that was another discussion which all of us were really honest and really let out our opinion and grievances of the system. our stand was especially the recognition for our teachers in terms of salary and training. enough of paying them degree holders pittance. they must be recognised as all those recognition that even maids and cleaners are getting.  me being where i am, i really dont care how much they are paying me because really it doesnt help at all, but i care for the teachers and what they are getting is just ridiculous. its not ten years ago when you can live with that kind of pay.

sorry, this is supposed to be a light happy post. haha. but really it has been all discussions for me this week.

must be this three 0 thing.

on the playlist.. Mojo. this band might just revive my interest to msian bands again.

listopia

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

it’s only tuesday, no?  it has been two productive days! i think some new habits im trying to develop is working. hope this stays as long as it is, although today i almost broke my promise about having ME time during lunch. but i stopped, just leave my table as it is. and had lunch and prayed, i definitely work better after that.

anyway just yesterday i was listing out things NOT TO BUY. this morning, i go and make a wishlist. haha.

nothing major, its all those materialistic things of a person who doesnt have much responsibility like having children. just a pair of dr mart boots (i miss wearing boots!!), a turqoise and a maroon coloured watches (i love watches. not too worry though coz i go by ‘the watch chooses you’, so i havent seen any that have that kind of calling) and a fujifilm instax 50s.

i will stop at that. 😉

i am going to spend more on skills and workshops.

that also i have a list:

first up to go is Sewing class, which i’m going to sign up this Friday! woohoo!! cant wait! actually no need to go also can. learn from youtube videos like that boy in the newspaper…i tried…but there are certain things i dont understand, maybe learning live under an expert would be better. well, let’s just have a try anyway.

and then breadmaking..i know it’s like any woman can make breads themselves why bother go to a class…but i dont have that cooking skills you know, so i think im going to just go for it when the opportunity comes. why not cakes? my sis in law bake awesome beautiful heavenly rich like-you-can-taste-it-just-by-describing-it cakes. i dont have that creativity with cakes. bread looks easy with a set of ‘formulas’. i mean how many shapes can a ‘bun’ look?

scrapbooking class for the fun of it! i know husband wont be supportive in that, creativity is enough to him…but anyway there’s no more Made With Love (MWL) shop at Plaza Singapura, and Paper Market dont look so interesting and as friendly as MWL…so it may take a while before i take this up, in the meantime, its all a mix and match and learning from scrapbook websites..

and archery!! i miss archery so much!! i was an archer back in Uni. and i know there is one archery class in the neighbourhood, except its on weekends, and yeah my weekends are burnt..but i hope one day both me and husband will get to do it sometimes.

and then floristry! there’s a diploma for it ok!! i want i want! laugh if you want but flowers make me happy! and i have always been amazed with people who can just do up a bouquet so easily! im going for it ok, that is, if i cant go for any Masters in Education or Diploma in HR and Training courses. haha.

and of course, any forums/workshops which is kinda trending these days locally. if i can afford it, i will take the opportunity. makes life more interesting. otherwise its work work work. bleurgh.

so im building up a utopia mind for myself. whatever that means.

 

shopping list

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

hmm no…WHAT NOT TO BUY…list 🙂

for the next six months at least.

  • shoes
  • perfumes/body mists
  • shower gels/soap/etc
  • lipsticks and eyeliners
  • books (i have no confidence in this though)
  • notebooks and pens (for the whole year perhaps)
  • bags (i dont do brands anyway, but the one i just bought today, that should be the last of it)

so should be enough for some savings and my knowledge/skills bank.

the ghost of me

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

it is very rare of me to be blogging two times in a day. it has always been in a frequency of once a month. haha. and although i am supposed to do some work, but holding on to the principle of it is my off day, i am alone since my husband is working, i deserve this me time while i can.

i have the sudden inclination of writing down, i mean blog about…the changes i faced, about my self which i have learnt and grown to love more. im not saying i didnt love my self. i realised that i learnt a lot about my self these few years. i am a latebloomer that is for sure. i dont act adult-ish, if you know what i mean. just following through the ages. while i see many of my ‘cohorts’ married and have children, well, im happily and devotedly married just not a mother yet. oh well, maturity is one’s development at own pace. i finally realised i need to dress properly and smartly, a bit more effort in the dressing.

i have definitely learnt a few things in my twenties. for one thing, i have finally embraced that work is not everything. yes i would love to move on and probably earn more than i do now. you can never know but at this moment, i will focus on what i have to do as God has planned it.

home and  crafts

being a Cancer, i know i love home and everything that has got to do with home. i love pretty things, i love sewing, scrapbooking. and these are hobbies i want to improve my skills on and do as much as i can. i want to learn cooking and i have always wanted to learn breadmaking. but one thing at a time yea.

books

i love books and i know i have developed and recognized the genre of books and authors i love reading. memoirs, spiritual, inspirational, drama, and somehow i found myself reading Man Booker prize books, although many i havent read. still loving fantasy but rather choosy of the authors. i tried reading romance, chick lit, but i dont enjoy them as much as i do the rest. although Nora Roberts is one author i would look for if i have that sudden interest to read those genres. and i wanted to try reading other genres such as thriller or investigative novels, but apart from Dan Brown, i dont know of any other authors who i can grow to love.  anyway, knowing what books i love is good so that i wont do impulsive buying when it comes to books.

what woman wants

in a way i have become a conscious buyer. well, a work in a progress still though because i still love shopping but i know what i like and what suits me. i stop impulsive purchases. online shopping…well i had many experience in online shopping. the ugly dresses that came not as promised, the ones which never came, the ones which is nice to look at but not for wear. i have definitely learnt that if i am not sure of wearing them, or i am not sure of the material, do not buy. especially shawls. many times i do not like the material of a shawl, or its as big as a table mat, sigh, enough of all that.

and clothes/dresses too. i love block colours and checkered designs but choosy with prints. definitely love earth colours: purple, turquoise, teal, darker shades of green, brown or bronze, dark blue, and darker shades of orange and red. i know people around me already understands my preference.

no make up. i gave up on that. basic stuff will do for me. i remember one nice lady’s advice, you dont have to wear everything,  but a lipstick is all you need to give colour to your face. i dont know fashion but i took up the lady’s advice. i love m.a.c and revlon and sticking to those for now. i cant catch up with all the brands out there.

travelling has given me the love for handcrafted bags. i dont need many bags and i guess the bags out there are too expensive for me. i cant afford them. i have used and love my billabong tote bag which i bought in Bali many years ago. i still use it. many times i contemplated to buy them bags with some brands, after many thoughts, i ended up not buying. i have about 4 bags i regularly use, a timbuktu sling and denizen haversack for travels, a new look messenger bag, all them bought during sales. and yes the handcrafted bags i bought from my travels, which dont cost much. im grateful and happy with what i have.

sound effects and overdramatics

anything else, well music and movies. i love anything fantasy and tim burton. and i have loved mind boggling movies and anything leonardo dicaprio (sans titanic, i dont get that movie, never, not even for Leo). time travelling and mutants a must and some dramas too but not too romance. apparently i loved a walk to remember but slept through the rest of nicholas sparks’ movies.

indie rocks. verbatim. i have my faves and my hates. those bands i still listen too sometimes. used to remember those teen crazy times of BSB, Britney Spears, what’s that group with a Justin Timberlake? but BSB was IT lah eh. haha. but once after i turn 15 yrs old i made a 360 degrees round and my interest was into rock, alternative, whatever they call it lah those times.  so many of those bands. I was an LPUnderground member ok! but nothing to be proud of. they are just songs i listen to while growing up. nowadays, a bit more mixed but stick to my ‘roots’.

my self

its true they say, experience matures a person. i developed some characters along the way. i like tidiness. although there have been many times the room or the workspace are just a mess, but i love the feeling of cleaning them up and that clear mind of knowing things are in place. i can work properly when all things are in place. i have learnt to show or tell what i feel or think when the need is there. if i dont like something, i will say it. i had been the one to be on the willing party or just let the other person have their way, but when you start working, you really have to say out your mind. people took advantage of my kindness. no more. nowadays, its my way style already. just hope i can manage that style and not be too demanding, but im not that kind of person lah. its a cancerian thing.

i have always been the neutral kind of person. and i guess that evolves into the way that i dont take sides anymore. i still believe on the good side of everyone, but i learnt to be critical and not take things at face value. it’s a skill i acquire because dealing with children and teens, i believe in the best of them, and for them to believe in themselves, i have to pave the way.

one valuable thing i have learnt so far, i think is, to go beyond the difficult people and their attitudes, and learn to accept them as it is, it enables me to see the goodness within them. learn to live with that or else, ignorance is bliss-  still the best policy.

im naive and agreeing all the time, but nowadays, i have been a bit more critical and less agreeing to whatever people say but learnt to give a bit of opinion. i just need to have more facts though.

im rambling much. sorry to bore whoever is reading this. i thought it good to just take note of the changes so i may then move on and improve more.

motivation

despite all these, its going to be a spiritual year for me. i want to spend more time for the spiritual me. otherwise it will be the ghost of me. like a mantra now since the new year. WORK IS NOT EVERYTHING. i do not want to rush through my prayers anymore.  i want to indulge in it. i used to pray as fast i can thinking of work. i am sick of it and ashamed of myself. my brain must learn to segregate itself. when praying, everything else on pause.  please ok seri. Insya Allah.

royal groupie

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

it had been a very interesting week i must say. i have become a groupie.

but it’s all because this could be the only chance i had of ever meeting the royal duke and duchess of cambridge, in my homeland nonetheless! some people might say why the heck i go all the way and why the fuss…but i couldnt think of all that. i just felt doing it, what’s more all this while i’ve been ‘stalking’ kate middleton online and loving her by the day with her gorgeous gorgeous dresses. i had to do it! don’t care what people say! 🙂

since the day news came out that the royal couple are going to have their asian tour due to the queen’s diamond jubilee, i have been waiting day in day out for news of where they might be visiting when they visited singapore. so when details came out, i’m desperately excited about it! they were to go places such as gardens by the day, botanic gardens, queenstown and kranji war memorial. being a newbie groupie, i thought i had to park myself somewhere in queenstown the whole day just to get a glimpse of the royal couple. but thankfully no.

it was made known to the media their whereabouts, even ‘recommended’ areas for the public to see them! i’m doubly excited! having known they are going to be at the gardens by the bay at 10am on 12th sept, i know that’s my call. haha.

took a half day despite having an administrators’ meeting and my mosque being the host somemore, i couldnt step back and let this opportunity go. it’s only for half a day, and the meeting will take a whole day. i had to take this chance!

and i did. my beloved babies Nuri and Khidir accompanied this crazy sister of theirs. ‘dragged’ them early on a wednesday morning, battling the morning train crowd, with take away kfc breakfast just because i want to be early. but alas, when we reached gardens by the bay, there’s already a crowd! quite a surprise though because apparently there are many others like me who wish to see the couple live! it’s heartwarming!

and so the wait begins and i got excited by the minute! but of course they had to be fashionably late but despite it all, it was worth it!

i got a good spot i must say. i mean, gardens by the bay had put barricades around the supertree area and after a good hour’s wait, the couple came in a buggy with their entourage and already people started screaming and shouting their names. so the buggy passed exactly where i’m standing and kate was waving her hand with that bright smile of hers! but alas, the buggy went quite fast and i could only got a glimpse of her and couldnt even get a nice picture!!

and i thought that’s it, but seeing the crowd further up were shouting and cameras all up above everyone’s head pointing to the couple, i thought no, i cannot stop here. i went all the way up and rightly so, the couple are still hanging around there shaking hands with the crowd! i braved the the hustle. i really did!

Image
that’s how close i got to the prince

i’m like pushing my way in this crazy sweaty crowd holding my iphone tightly and not daring to take out my camera. i was scared ok! but i got as close as i can to get a look at the prince!! he was such a polite man! one disappointment for me was when i got that close, kate was nowhere near! she must have been escorted away already. but seeing the prince is good enough.

and that was it, the prince was escorted away and the crowd dispersed and i had to go back to my normal life. i didnt regret doing it, i enjoyed it and it was a nice experience. i will continue to love this royal couple of my generation.

well, i was my mother’s daughter. she was head over heels with the late princess diana. i remembered those magazines with diana in it, newspaper cuttings about her, i grew up watching her flipping through those magazines over and over again. i remembered too well how angry she was at prince charles during those turmoil days of the royal life and definitely that night we all found out diana was killed in an accident, she cried and mourned for diana, although at that time, i was sad more for my mother than diana’s death. i didnt think i could have developed this interest when diana passed away, but kate middleton has re-ignite that love and interest. heh, my mother was all supportive when i told her i wanted to stalk the royal couple when they are here.

it was nice while it lasted. the royal couple is now moving on with their tour. i am back to normal routined life, but for that half day, i am happy.
.

fine MAYbe

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

Love the past few days. Me and the teachers got to go to the Sultans of Science exhibition and the Science Centre and my goodness, a whole lot of information which our scholars had all those years. i am extremely awed by the mechanisms, the knowledge, research and inventions. truly awed. of course an hour’s visit is not enough, as i had to rush to finish a research and a meeting. but im definitely going back there! with the kids probably. and im thinking of bringing my sibs there too. im sure they will love it!

the astrolabe is my favourite, as i had always wondered how it was used. it really is complicated but truly truly a work of art and mathematics, and awesome knowledge of the stars and universe. really. they are truly sultans of science. so it seemed i got a three day off without taking leave and i really am grateful and so happy with this break. i got to do some sewing and scrapbooking, play games, badminton with hubby and reading. bliss. and i know some of the teachers were happy too to have this rare three day off. if only i can travel. but looking forward to june for a short trip to langkawi! can i just forget the fact that i have to work tomorrow?

apps geek

/ livingseri / Leave a comment


I have become obsessed with apps. ok obsessed may sounds wrong. but i love my apps and i find myself browsing at the appstore to find if there’s any good new apps to add?!! freak.

i have become reliant on this iphone which i feel there is pros and cons. but you have to live with the times yea? And some of the apps are really helpful in making my life more organized and goals more achieveable. and its not just about games. i only have a few games which i know i play at times. but the rest are really, more ‘life’ based. oh, and photography is the worst! in a good way. i never know i love taking pictures until all these cool photography apps came up!

If it’s any interest to anyone, you may see what are my faves:

On Photography:Camera+,PowerCam, Hipstamatic, Camera!, Leme Cam, Puddingcam,Photostudio, Pixlromatic. And these are just because of their filters!! I love filters. makes my otherwise boring pictures more interesting! but the downside is, it takes awhile to choose from all these filters i end up randomly choosing an app, take a picture and use whichever filters available. you need time to go through all these filters but i love them still. It actually makes me crave to travel so i can take pictures and use them filters!

On Life: I love the Notes and Reminders original apps. Very useful coz i dont need to bring my notebooks everywhere i go. But now I also have Wunderkit to organize my worklife and things to do. it helps me alot… because if many of you know about my work, i dont just handle the education unit, i do other things as well and there’s events i need to organize. so Wunderkit allows me to categorize my work into workspaces and it each space i can inlcude in tasks checklist and notes. makes my mind more organized la. otherwise, im like doing everything everywhere.

there’s the Organizer which i dont use as much except to organize my fridays, Money Journal organizer which makes me record my spendings and stop myself when i see the savings are decreasing. this really helps me alot in managing my financial. otherwise i always thought i have money to keep on spending without thinking. and i have diligently recorded my spendings and it gives a piechart of my expenses. so if i see a side of the piechart gets bigger by the day, i know i have to stop somewhere.

And then came Day One. when i need to write down short thoughts and feelings secret only to me. i have downloaded many other diaries app but none kinda stick with me. you know how when you choose diaries, you would really touch it and feel it calling to you and you know you are going to write in it everyday, it feels the same way when choosing a diary-like app. Day One attracted me most because its so neat and smart looking and touches of my fave turqoise colour. oh one rather cute thing about it, it reminds me to write! hehe.

and a Ritual lite app to track my habits. yes, it may sound weird but in trying to be a productive muslim, i need to know i do specific actions on a daily routine. and it’s actually like a motivator to see my checklist all ticked!

My Womanlog helps me track my menses. very useful for someone like me who have irregular menses. and… i just downloaded a workouts app which have many workout videos. im going to try and exercise haha!

On reading, people would have thought i have many apps because of my love for reading but no. i stick to goodreads at the moment, coz i am not yet much of an ebook reader. although i tried but it still gives me headaches reading from screen and mostly because, i think my eyes are tired looking at screens, it’s time to read from a real book. i cannot deny my love for real physical books still. so goodreads is just like an app version of shelfari, where i can keep up what books ive read and have reviews and recommendations on good new books coming up from the community.

Of all the Quran apps, i love Quran explorer and because i bought its full version, i am able to listen to various Qari. love the font and background as well. And Al-Qibla for in times of need for a Qibla compass. very useful.

and of course the semi essentials apps like twitter and tumblr and blogger although i still prefer to blog from a pc. oh yea, gotta love pinterest and flipboard for normal everyday updates. let’s not forget iTunes U. i can go crazy in there!! so many knowledge masya Allah!

to think ten years ago you can live without this but we have become so reliant on technology…shake my head..:))

10 km and an island

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

what does 10km walk and cycling around pulau Ubin have in common?
They both hurt my legs!!! haha!

but i enjoyed and loved the whole experience of them both.
the walk from macritchie, treetop walk and surprise, surprise, all the way to bukit timah’s peak, i never know i had it in me to endure the walk, the whole journey!!! seriously. exhausted definitely, but we just walked on and on and the nature made me forget at times the tiredness. walking to work may now seems like a very very easy feat. only that i need a good shoe~

i really love the walk, makes me sweat (what’s with all that sitting in the office) and my eyes enjoying the green green and more green (without specs nor lens)and it amazes me really that you can go from one place to another through this nature trails, away from the road. and especially when i found out that from bukit timah to macritchie, we had to take two different buses!

and if you’re wondering, of course i didn’t walk alone. there’s the master of walking himself. i love it, i mean, u. 😉

and after a one day rest, went to pulau ubin for a cycling adventure, as my little bro called it, he was so excited about it! but cycling was much harder than walking, for me la. even with all the 15 min cycles i did every day to work. but i must say i may have improved than the last time i cycled at pulau ubin. when was that? i knew that first time i really could not take it.

despite the cramps, i enjoy these outdoor days.

only….i saw the news tonight and cyclists on pathways can get fined if they are caught! does that mean i cannot cycle to work anymore??? but i just started to love cycling…and i cant possibly cycle on the road, can i? that would be more scary and yes the fact that it’s dangerous!

why do they have to take away the joy of cycling; it lets busy people like us have the chance to have some fitness routine (while cycling to and from work), and less pollution with all them cars, and less time consuming when we want to go to places around the neighbourhood. and the fact that it saves money to cycle. why do they have to make simple cycling difficult??!!

or perhaps i misunderstand the news? (ok got to check again!)

and then it’s “turkey”(bowling term) for malays in the singapore idols!! three in a row!! 😀

oklaaaa, few more days before the year ends. got to meet the girls one of these days and wow, a new year begins, exciting 2010.