UKM 40th Convocation Ceremony || My Masters degree (finally)

Alhamdulillah, yesterday was the 40th Convocation Ceremony in UKM. I was there to receive my Masters degree in pharmacology. It was a very memorable day.

Thank you to my parents and brother for supporting me and my beautiful kids for being my inspiration. Also all my friends and extended family who made sure that the journey, though tough at times, was never lonely. It was not about the piece of paper, in the end it's about those who help you believe that anything is possible.

With Ezura and Dahlia, thank you for keeping me company (congrats to Asrul for his Clinical Masters)

With my roomie Mali, so glad that we got to convo together

Yousof, Aishah & Hamzah with so many gifts

With Mali & Nizar #teampharmaco (congrats Nizar for his PhD)

UKM Wondergirls #teampharmaco with Mali & Shar (thank you Shar for the teddy bear bouquet & for making all those years at UKM memorable)

Congrats DB :) Sorry we didn't get to take a pic together

To my fellow trainees at IIUM, thank you guys too, am so lucky to have such wonderful colleagues and friends.
PS: Photo shoot tomorrow ;)

This is Yousof and I love him for it - Happy Birthday

He wakes up every day at 6 am, brushes his teeth and makes wudhu'
He prays Subuh with me every morning
He takes a shower and puts on his uniform by himself
He takes a bowl, a spoon, a carton of milk and eats his morning cereal or oatmeal as I tend to his siblings,
He puts on his kopiah, glasses, socks and shoes and watches out for the school bus,
He salams my hand and I kiss him on the forehead and send him to the bus,
He comes home from school and immediately showers, packs a little snack for himself as we head back to my office in the afternoon,
He is tired from a long day at school so he falls asleep on the 10 minute trip to my office,
He quietly plays on the computer as I finish up my work and we go to pick up his siblings at Educare,
He reminds everybody to pray jama'ah and recite the Quran,
He helps me set the table for dinner,
He compliments my cooking regardless of whatever simple dish he is served and thanks me for making it,
He does his homework even though his younger siblings are running around and having fun,
He understands why I don't let them watch tv on a school night,
He helps me pack his books for school,
He brushes his teeth and gets ready for bed while I try to wrangle the other 2 to do the same,
He is so sleepy each night but he waits for me to salam and kiss him goodnight

He took sahur during Ramadhan with me and had iftar with me so that I was not alone,
He notices when I am tired or when I have not yet eaten,
He holds my hand when we walk together
He loves me unconditionally

For all these reasons and many more .. I love him

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOUSOF AMEEN 

May Allah reward you for being such a good boy and may you grow up to be the best that you can be 

Bossypants by Tina Fey (Audiobook)

I haven't actually picked up a book in over 2 months. For me, that is a very long time. It has been really hectic lately, and trying to squeeze in some recreational reading has been impossible. After prompting from both a close friend and my boss, I decided that I would finally give in and try listening to an audiobook.

I'm not exactly sure what I have against audiobooks but I guess it's mostly because growing up, I had always thought audiobooks were for children, really old people, the blind or illiterate. I realize now that this was a misconception. Audiobooks were in fact invented for people like me, people who love to read but simply do not have the luxury of "switching off" the rest of the world and doing so.

Deciding what my first audiobook would be was fairly easy. My friend recommended Bossypants and I thought it would probably be as good a choice as any. First of all, there are a few things I have to state. I do not watch 30 Rock. I know it's a breakout comedy that has a truckload of Emmys, and I have seen a few episodes. I find the humour too coarse and myself unsuited to watch it. Secondly, although I know who Tina Fey is I have not seen the Sarah Palin SNL sketch or watched her movie with that guy from The Office. So although, I knew who the author was vaguely, there really was no reason for me to listen to this book other than there was no other book in particular that I wanted to listen to instead.

I listened to this book early in the morning during my quietest but busiest time (5 am- 6 am) while I hung the laundry out to dry, ironed clothes and folded laundry. After 6am my house becomes a chaotic tornado of trying to get three kids ready before school. 

The experience was quite enjoyable. It was multi-tasking without feeling like an octopus. It was also nice that my quiet time was less quiet. 

The book itself was good. It was a biography of an interesting woman who was also funny. Of course, I did not agree with many of her opinions or views but her comic way of telling her own story was very enjoyable. Perhaps her greatest asset was her ability to make fun of herself. 

In the end I am glad that I tried this out despite my reservations. The only probable downside is, now the tiny voice in my head sounds exactly like Tina Fey!

Rating: 4/5