turn my swag on

This semester...

It's just the same really.

The time provided is exactly the same.

I had 2 weeks last year and so is this year.

The number of modules are reduced from 5 to 3.

The number of credits are lesser, 40 compared to 50 in the 1st semester.

Perhaps, the level is higher.

Perhaps, the modules are much harder.

Perhaps, I'm freaking out as time is running out.

And I should probably turn my swag on.

i'm chasing the rainbow...

adlan wafi, you've already met some morale boosters over the weekend. 

and Allah told you that he will always be there.

this feeling is natural, so just face it bravely.

and let's stay here for the next 4 years shall we...

andalusia

Cuak, cuak, cuak. Exam's coming and I'm publishing a post O_o

Firstly, I planned not to write that much cause my ASN, SF and REN are in dire need of being read. So, I'll just write as simple as I can.

Andalus, Spain

Adlan - Hosni - Syahmi - Ameer - Fikri - Ahmed - Syahir - Syamil - Adib

17-22 Dec 2010

Day 1, Gibraltar

 

Since the Leicesterians haven't arrived yet, we chose Gibraltar as our first stop.

Europa Point, Jabal Tariq (Gibraltar Rock), Tariq bin Ziyad, the southernmost mosque in Continental Europe, the day I learned to start using my DSLR extensively and how I wish I could go to Morocco!

Day 2, Granada

 

We went to the Granada Mosque, watched Alhambra from afar at night and had dinner at a restaurant where we met a brother from Morocco (lupe nak mintak nombor, hehe) and a lovely mak cik that allows us to have milkshakes included in our meals.

Oh yeah, we picked up the Leicesterians from Malaga Airport and headed straight to Granada afterwards. By the way, if you looked at the design featured in the Granada Mosque, you will actually see some resemblance with the arches at Mezquita in Cordoba.

Day 3, Granada

 

It's the day we go to Alhambra. 

Highlights include the pool which can reflect the moonlight, the court of the lions (thanks lah orang yang rosakkan!), the motto of Nasrid dynasty in Arabic calligraphy being written and sculptured all over the place and the encounter with a sweet lady by the name of Hope.

"...Don't you see how water overflows the borders 

and the warned drains are here against it? 

They are like the lover who in vain 

tries to hide his tears from his beloved..."

(I just love this part of the poem which was encrypted on the basin of the Court of the Lions)

At the Palace of Charles V (the only Christian building in the whole fortress), it was destined that we found Hope. Working in the museum, she offered us a tour and it was complimentary. And throughout the fine, expressive elucidations, I just can't deny that she somehow illustrated her izzah towards Islam, masyaAllah. And among the things which I could recall (that was originally from Islam) include the order that we dine during a meal (starting with soup and end with sweets) and even those platform shoes; that were the cutting edge of fashion at that time.  A short story on Ziryab was also presented to us by Mak Cik Izzah (yeap, I call her that). And Mak Cik Izzah was so overwhelmed by the crafts and artwork produced by the Muslim men as they were clearly made by meticulous hands. She even said that Muslim men prioritize cleanliness and they even have perfume for the mosque. Ok, this maybe a bit irrelevant but she said that white and blue had always been the colour of royalty. And I said to myself, "no wonder I love blue" :P 

Anyway, the main thing is, everything that we found out from this tour, it all traced back to Islam. Before we go, she asked us to translate her name to Malay and we said, "Harapan"...

Day 4, Cordoba

 

So, we then reached Mezquita where the once majestic mosque is now constructed with chapels at the sides and the middle is now filled with a cathedral. Even Mak Cik Izzah agreed that it is a shame really that the cathedral is built within the mosque. We did go to other places as well but my battery was low so there weren't that much of pictures. And also, a lot of places were closed on Mondays. Anyways, I just want to say to Ahmad Shahrul Kamal and Muhammad Hakim Razali that I don't really mind that I didn't go to you-know-where :P

Day 5, Sevilla

The Great Cathedral of Seville, Giralda (the remaining part of the Mosque which was a minaret, now a bell tower), Real Alcazar (the royal Moorish palace) and we even stopped at Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza (a bullring; since Syahir said it was his childhood dream of going to the place).

Day 6, Malaga and adios

Didn't spend much time here. We stayed for a night at a hostel that uses my card as the key for all the rooms. Cool giler!

The next morning, we went to the beach despite the rain and wind that continuously making our paths more treacherous. And the beach? It was dainty. The black sands and the turquoise water served as a good ending to this journey of ours.

-END-

And so, that is it.

I know that Arabic is very useful cause apparently, some of the people that we met prefer to converse in Arabic after Spanish.

I know that Allah has blessed this place to be the location for the Umayyah Caliphate once upon a time.

I know that Muslims rule!

I know that there is Hope...and I know there is hope...

kembali

I have never heard such a loud groan from the members of the audience whenever it's time to sing the theme song, hehe.

Anyway, I'm back in Notts and I have to get ready for the thing that's coming in the next couple of weeks. Seriously, I need to be ready.

Firstly, don't worry. The post on Spain will be coming soon insyaAllah. For now, let me enlighten you with something else.

I went to the city this afternoon in the hope of finding a knitwear or a vest and to get 3 chicken wraps for myself. Instead, I found 3 vests O_o. But that's not the point. I accidentally went to the city with the jacket which I wore during the winter gathering in Sheffield. The thing is, I've put on a very cool looking badge on the jacket during the event and the badge looks like this:

Hahaha, too bad no one realized that badge (or did they?); if they did, it would have been a very funny experience. So yeah, I got to see lots of lovely faces during the past few days. I've always have this predilection of meeting them...probably because being with them made me stronger. And I don't think I'm exaggerating by saying it gave me that fervent passion to go on. Cause I think it's important really for someone like me to be constantly reminded.

Other than that, a friend of mine flew back to Malaysia several days ago. I actually made plans to meet him but I don't think it was that practical (see Hosni, I'm realistic...sheesh). So yeah, he's back in that place called home. I just hope that he'd be fine...always.

Besides that, I've been reading this book which I borrowed from Fikri (Mat) of Sheffield when I was sleepless in Birmingham, waiting for the flight in the morning. I found this in the novel:

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

Mitch Albom, tuesdays with Morrie, page 43

Which reminds me, I haven't actually tell this to the ones that I care in Nottingham. I probably need to do this soon.

And thus, I proved once again that my style of writing is multi-definition!

And I really need to start with my anatomy...

burn

It was still winter at that time. The coldness in that room didn't seem to differ from the atmosphere outside. It was probably the air-conditioner, or perhaps it was that peculiar feeling of fear towards the unknown; that mixture disposition of excitement and timorousness. The module convenor walked into the tasking room along with his favourite biochemistry lecturer. The presence of the two lecturers seemed to illuminate the gloominess that appeared to be surrounding that dull room...

...or it might just be his imagination.

So basically, that was how I felt on the 1st day in the Dissection Room. And it was also the very 1st time I met my cadaver - the cadaver that my group members and I have spent so many hours with in this whole year right from 29th January till 3rd December 2010. 

At first, I have to say that I was quite nervous cause I was unsure of what to expect but after several weeks passed, I learned to be familiarized with the cadaver. Let me just explain some of the things that people could probably be wondering what's going on in that freaky room.

The Rumour

And the rumour that cadavers smell; well, they don't actually. At least, mine wasn't. The only odour that will stick to your clothes for hours and hours would be the chemical which we would usually spray at the end of the session. But I never really get nauseated by the smell, so alhamdulillah for that. And the rumour that there are male cadavers only; well, there are female cadavers as well cause we still need to learn about the fairer sex.

The Tools

And the tools that we used; well it ranges from a saw to a butcher's knife, or even chisel and hammer. Interesting, ain't it?

The Dissection

And the dissection; I would truly miss it. That's the best part of anatomy I think. I can still remember the parts which I managed to dissect and got the lecturer's attention - the skin (haha), the anatomical snuff box and the posterior cruciate ligament. The thing which most people dislike, is the last 30 minutes of every session - the assessment!

The Assessment

I have developed a skill on how to hide from my lecturer in his or her presence, thanks to this assessment part. Below is a list of dissection sessions that we had throughout the year along with the grade which I obtained and the topic that we covered. I don't really mind writing it down cause they're not that impressive.

Sem 2:

Week 1 - C - Mediastinum
Week 2 - B - Triangles of the Neck
Week 3 - A - Roots of Neck
Week 4 - Safe! - Flexor compartments of upper limb
Week 5 - Safe! - Wrist and hand
Week 6 - C - Extensor compartments of upper limb
Week 7 - A - Thigh (Anterior and medial)
Week 8 - Safe! - Gluteal region and thigh (Posterior)
Week 9 - Unknown - Leg, popliteal fossa, leg and foot
Week 10 - Unknown - Joints of the lower limb

In Sem 3, I decided to write down the names of my lecturers that assessed us for avenging purposes.

Sem 3:

Week 1 - Unknown - Abdominal Wall - BP

Week 2 - Unknown - GI tract - BP

Week 3 - Safe! - Pancreas, Gall Bladder, Liver - HS

Week 4 - Safe! - Posterior Body Wall, Kidneys, Diaphragm - LE

Week 5 - B - Bony Pelvis and Contents - WE

Week 6 - Safe! - Perineum - RG

Week 7 - B - Pelvic Organs - BR

Week 8 - Safe! - Back and Spinal Cord - BP

Week 9 - Safe! - Face, Jaw and Scalp - BR

Week 10 - B - Brain, Cranial Nerves, Skull - PR

Week 11 - Safe! - Oral Cavity, Nasal Cavity, Pharynx & Larynx - RG

Week 12 - Pending (it's this Thu) - Eye and Ear - RG (I think)

1 session is about 3 hours, thus 21 sessions means we've spent about 63 hours with the cadaver. Wow! And the very last session would be cadaver-less.

Anyway, it has been quite heck of a year. Truth be told, I enjoyed the dissections in the previous semester better. Truth be told, I'm scared that I might choose anatomy as my project for 3rd year. Cause I really like anatomy but I don't know, I never scored well.

Actually yesterday, I went to the funeral for the cadavers. My cadaver was scheduled to be cremated this morning but I didn't really have a friend to go with me today so I went to the funeral yesterday. Initially, I thought we'd be in a large room and we could see the fire being lit up as it engulfs the coffin. Me and my imagination~

It was quite pleasant I think. We all went into the chapel at the crematorium and sat to listen to the persons entitled to deliver the services. The interesting part is, our module convenor was one of the people and she was the last one. Cool giler!

"And surely to our Lord we must return."

(Az-Zukhruf, 43:14)

So, the coffins which were brought into the chapel were put behind the curtains and later, when the curtains were drawn and reopened, they vanished...