It's been 11 days since my newest family member arrive. Ilex Itsham Kusuma, my sister's second born son. My prayer is that he would grow to be a strong Muslim, a joy to his parents, family and community.
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Friday, 12 June 2009
Updates
Duddingston Park South, my new digs. We moved on 22/05/2009 and will be here for the next six months or so. Can I say that it is home-sweet-home? Well, to a certain extent, it is definitely more of a home than Caddon was. The four of us, Mauricio, Rocio, William and I, are enjoying our time at the flat even though the first few days were a challenge; we had to figure out how to turn on the gas and electricity. Then, there is the fact that the flat wasn't cleaned when we first moved plus we had to get our own furnitures...the first few days were a nightmare.
To illustrate, the picture below was taken right after we cleaned the flat and unpacked all our stuff. It took us a week to actually recover from the move. Of course, there was the flooding of our kitchen due to the washing machine. Sigh.
(Will is the one on the floor)
Anyway, now that we've settled in, we've been experimenting with food - Mexican, Taiwanese, and Singaporean dishes plus some other types of Western style. We've also been exploring round the neighbourhood. It's a great location, if a wee bit far from Heriot Watt. Five minutes to the East is Fort Kinaid which is this big shopping area with lots of brand name retailers. Then 10 minutes NorthEast is ASDA, a giant supermart, good for cheap food and items. 10 minutes to the West is Lidl, a another supermart. So, shopping is not a problem.
What excites me most is the easy reach of some beautiful places - Portobello beach (okay, it's not white sandy beaches, but it has a charm of its own), Duddingston Loch at the foot of the hills of Holyrood Park, Craigmillar Castle (I've yet to explore) and more. So, I think we managed to get a good place.
Now, all that remains is to work on my dissertation (and get a job).
To illustrate, the picture below was taken right after we cleaned the flat and unpacked all our stuff. It took us a week to actually recover from the move. Of course, there was the flooding of our kitchen due to the washing machine. Sigh.
(Will is the one on the floor) Anyway, now that we've settled in, we've been experimenting with food - Mexican, Taiwanese, and Singaporean dishes plus some other types of Western style. We've also been exploring round the neighbourhood. It's a great location, if a wee bit far from Heriot Watt. Five minutes to the East is Fort Kinaid which is this big shopping area with lots of brand name retailers. Then 10 minutes NorthEast is ASDA, a giant supermart, good for cheap food and items. 10 minutes to the West is Lidl, a another supermart. So, shopping is not a problem.
What excites me most is the easy reach of some beautiful places - Portobello beach (okay, it's not white sandy beaches, but it has a charm of its own), Duddingston Loch at the foot of the hills of Holyrood Park, Craigmillar Castle (I've yet to explore) and more. So, I think we managed to get a good place.
Now, all that remains is to work on my dissertation (and get a job).
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Animals of Heriot Watt
These are some of the animals that can be found at Heriot Watt; the first two photos were captured by my friend, Nicole, recently on her walks across HW. Enjoy.
Trip to the East Coast of Scotland and England
Sorry for this very long delay but having moved to a new flat roughly three weeks ago, I've been deprived of the internet for quite some time and then there is my dissertation proposal to be crafted out. Well, this morning, I am taking a short break from it to recount some of the adventures I've had.
Saturday, 16th May, was a good day. We were finally free of all the exams, and were on our way to enjoy the east coast of Scotland and England. Our first stop was Holy Isle...as you can see, the ten of us were bundled up nicely for the day was quite cold. From the right (back): Chen Jia, Shuyuan, Yi Xing, William, Rocio, Mauricio. From the left (front): Amy, me, Alexi, Nicole, Etienne.
The isle was a religious centre of the kingdom of Northumberia once upon a time and the celtic influence is visible as seen by the Celtic cross below.
Next stop was Bamburgh castle, which is now situated in England. In the early days, it was the centre of Northumbria.
This was the first sight of the castle which is situated along the coast. The beautiful golden carpet seemed to beckon us towards the castle, a welcoming sign.
In the old days, the coast along Bamburgh saw many shipwrecks and so a tradition of knights on horses patrolling the shore in storms were born. While there are no knights today, the tradition of riding/galloping horses along the shore still continues.
Bamburgh castle as seen from the moorland bordering the castle and the shore. I like the silhoutte of the castle against the sky.
Fresh from our adventure in Northern England, we went back into Scotland and ventured to a remarkable landscape where a bird colony awaits. St. Abbs Head, Berwickshire, Scottish Borders. Below is just one of its many cliffs, a dramatic coastline so different from the gentle beaches of Bamburgh, only an hour or so away.
There we were, after braving the rain and the winds, walking along the edge of the cliffs at some point along the trail. We finally reached the bird colony behind us where hundreds, if not thousands of sea birds were nesting and breeding.
Fiona, our guide, told us that some of these species might be in danger as their food source near these traditional breeding grounds are running scarce.
On our way back, we took a different route and saw this lochen within this valley that I found charming.
Saturday, 16th May, was a good day. We were finally free of all the exams, and were on our way to enjoy the east coast of Scotland and England. Our first stop was Holy Isle...as you can see, the ten of us were bundled up nicely for the day was quite cold. From the right (back): Chen Jia, Shuyuan, Yi Xing, William, Rocio, Mauricio. From the left (front): Amy, me, Alexi, Nicole, Etienne.
The isle was a religious centre of the kingdom of Northumberia once upon a time and the celtic influence is visible as seen by the Celtic cross below.
Next stop was Bamburgh castle, which is now situated in England. In the early days, it was the centre of Northumbria.
This was the first sight of the castle which is situated along the coast. The beautiful golden carpet seemed to beckon us towards the castle, a welcoming sign.
In the old days, the coast along Bamburgh saw many shipwrecks and so a tradition of knights on horses patrolling the shore in storms were born. While there are no knights today, the tradition of riding/galloping horses along the shore still continues.
Bamburgh castle as seen from the moorland bordering the castle and the shore. I like the silhoutte of the castle against the sky.
Fresh from our adventure in Northern England, we went back into Scotland and ventured to a remarkable landscape where a bird colony awaits. St. Abbs Head, Berwickshire, Scottish Borders. Below is just one of its many cliffs, a dramatic coastline so different from the gentle beaches of Bamburgh, only an hour or so away.
There we were, after braving the rain and the winds, walking along the edge of the cliffs at some point along the trail. We finally reached the bird colony behind us where hundreds, if not thousands of sea birds were nesting and breeding.
Fiona, our guide, told us that some of these species might be in danger as their food source near these traditional breeding grounds are running scarce.
On our way back, we took a different route and saw this lochen within this valley that I found charming.
All in all, it was a lovely trip where we could decompress and refresh ourselves.
Friday, 8 May 2009
Feeling maudlin
Tomorrow is my second to last exams and I should be asleep. However I've been feeling maudlin for the last couple of days. Mother's day is coming and I miss my father. Why should I miss my father on Mother's day? Mother's day to me means thinking about my mother's passing and makes me conscious of time. Time in a sandglass - each passing moment is a grain lost. Time that brings all of us closer to death. Precious time in which I am not there for the one person whose influence in my life cannot be measured. My teacher, mentor, rock, shelter in the storm of life, sparring partner, role model, and so much more - my father.
So this Mother's day, I dedicate it to my father.
So this Mother's day, I dedicate it to my father.
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