My Current Kpop Playlist : INFINITE - INFINITIZE [FULL ALBUM]

I even bought the album all the way from Korea. Heehee!!!

Confession of A Chemistry Student

I have a confession.

My Chemistry lecturer is so smart that I feel stupid every time I enter her class. 

I don't hate Chemistry, hell no!! I love it and as much as I pour my heart and soul into it, I need extra time to understand the theories and mechanisms as I am slow in understanding something. I enjoy lab sessions very much because practicals seem to help information to enter my brain more easily and to be stored in there for a longer period of time. I can spend hours studying Chemistry, watching Chemistry-related video clips and drawing mind maps solely on Chemistry, yet I will never get bored with it.

Yet, I still feel stupid in that class. Just a confession.

But I will never give up in Chemistry.

Biology Field Trip

Last Friday's Biology lesson was the best in my life as a Biology student. We didn't stare at the biological terms in blue ink on the white board, nor did we end up with another experiment failure, but we went to the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) to learn about sampling techniques. Although I first found myself groaning at the fact that sampling is a technical procedure, which is something that I despise the most in Science, but there was a little excitement in me to join the field trip to have a better understanding in my future course - environmental science. Plus, I need more information for my university application. I admit, the trip was pretty fun, scratch that; it was perhaps the most interesting class I ever had.

I had been to FRIM twice with my family, just for leisure purposes. Well, FRIM is quite a run-down place and due to this, I had the impression that FRIM is merely an ordinary forest reserve place with not much activities around. I didn't know that the personnels and university students constantly do research in this institute. Well, now I know.

Being someone who has been going for jungle walks countless times, I wore my usual jungle attire - giant-sized shirt, shorts, socks and a good pair of sports shoes. By the way, I bought a new pair of shoes just for the trip simply because my old ones are worn-out and are about do disappoint me. However, I didn't expect to be welcomed by the huge and fat mosquitoes who were sucking my blood with delight. I counted, I had around 40 mosquito bites on both my legs. To top it all off, I fortunately stepped into a red ants nest, only to find the colony climbing up my legs, biting me. Hello, nature.

Speaking about attire, I had a good laugh at my friends who wore sandals to the forest. I mean, that trip had a little of jungle-trekking sort of walk. No offense, though.

We were divided into 3 groups and were given demonstration on bat sampling, plant sampling and insect sampling. 

FRIM personnel explaining about bat sampling.

Us, reckless students setting up our bat trap.

Our personnel's trap had 3 bats, cute ones. They looked harmless but I doubt that. Anyway, the little bag there is to keep the bats in it.

Weighing, measuring and determining the gender of the bats.

Equipments needed for plant sampling.

Tagging the tree.

Leaves are important for us to identify the species and their characteristics.

There are 3 ways to collect the leaves. 1st, using a pole. 2nd, climbing the tree to get the leaves. 3rd, use a wooden slingshot to shoot the leaves (pic). If a tree is too tall for us to get the leaves, we have to identify the leaf by looking at the fallen leaves around the tree and choose the common ones.

Insect sampling: An insect hut/trap. Dig a hole in the ground, deep enough to fit a cup in it. Hang a dung over the cup with a large leaf covering it to attract the insects, especially dung beetles. The leaf is to prevent the dung from drying up fast.

Care for insect collection?

Setting up insect traps and looking for ants.

We were lucky to catch the world largest ant Camponotus gigas thanks to Vincent and Sami.

Cookie Journey

I baked cookies. FOR THE FIRST TIME. *claps* *ngawwww* *flips hair, whatever*

Cornflake cookies with almond!

Well, yes. After being bugged by my friends for not baking raya cookies for them, I baked for the first time in my life!! Cornflake cookies with almond and chocolate chip almond cookies. And alhamdulillah, they TASTED GOOD!!! =) Okay, not as delicious as my other friend who is a professional in baking. And please, don't compare them to Famos Amos (my dad actually said that the chocolate chip almond cookies taste like Famos Amos). But they are pretty decent cookies. Not too sweet, not too hard although some complained that they were a bit hard. Nevertheless, I received much good feedback, even exaggerated ones, but thank you, my friends and lecturers. I'm glad that you enjoyed. Even Mr JP, the Further Maths lecturer complimented the cornflake cookies. Teehee!!!

Chocolate chip almond cookies!

I got the cornflake cookie with almond recipe from one of *Chef Wan's recipe books. I don't know if I can post it here, it would be violating copyrights, wouldn't it? As for the chocolate chip almond cookies, my mother found the recipe in one of the famous recipe websites. I'll post up the link as soon as I get it from her.

*Chef Wan is a local celebrity chef who is famous internationally with tons of amazing recipes ranging from local cuisines to Western food to pastries.

A visit to the bakery ingredients shop nearby.

Ingredients for cornflake cookies with almond: Egg, margarine, self-raising flour, corn flour, cornflakes and chopped almonds

Getting ready to enter the oven!

These look delicious even before they enter the oven!!

I'll bake more when I have the time to do so. Thank you mum for guiding and helping me. =)

P/S: So, anybody plans to make me as his potential wife? =O

3 Hadiths

A friend of mine shared this hadith with me and I would like to share it with my fellow Muslim readers too. Non-Muslim readers are welcomed to have a read to understand more about Islam.

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said,
"Allah says: 'I am just as My slave thinks of Me (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if he remembers Me.
If he remembers Me in himself, I, too remember him in Myself;
and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than them;
and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him;
and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him;
and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.' "
[Bukhari]

I recently read 2 hadiths on kindness.

It was narrated that Aishah said, " A group of Jews asked permission to come in to see the Messenger of Allah and the said: As-samu 'alaykum (Death be upon you). Aishah replied: Rather may death be upon you - and curses!   The Messenger of Allah said: O Aishah, Allah has enjoined kindness in all things.  She responded: Did you not hear what they said?   He replied: (I did and) I answered 'Wa'alaykum (And also upon you). "

[Bukhari and Muslim] 

It was narrated from Aishah, the wife of the Prophet, that Allah's Messenger said: "O Aishah, Allah is kind and He loves kindness. He confers upon kindness what He does not confer upon harshness and what He does not confer upon anything else besides kindness."

[Muslim]