HELLO HOLLAND..!!

According to the label, this post is about Jalan-Jalan.. It's not actually.. Unless you count the walk to and from the course venue back to the hotel as Jalan-Jalan.. But luckily the course organizers gave us one (and a half) day break to explore more of Holland.. And boy did we explore..

Oops, I forgot to give some intro.. Hee.. It was declared by the upper management of my company to attend a 2-week course in Delft, The Netherlands a mere 3 weeks before the said course. Alhamdulillah, me and my fellow colleague managed to make our preparations accordingly and were on the 12 hour flight to Schipol Airport on the 13th June..

The city we stayed in, Delft is in South Holland, an hour away from Amsterdam and is located between Rotterdam and The Hague. It's a quaint and quiet city and everybody mostly got by on foot or with bicycles. I read somewhere that it is one of the prettiest cities in Holland and I have to say the article did not exaggerate. With its winding canals and wonderfully preserved buildings it has a certain charm big cities are so lacking these days. It's nearing summer there so it's not really cold. We even had to take off our jackets in the last few days there. But the rain is not so predictable. Thankfully, I learnt my lesson from Kelana Convoy last year and brought an umbrella with me. And also, the days are quite long. Sunrise is at 3am and dusk were around 10pm. This may be why our course is from 9am to 7pm everyday. Long, huh.. And the shops here close at 6pm.. Great..

On days where we finished class early, or skipped class (just once!!) we would walk around the city and do this thing we call SHOPPING.. Heh.. We mostly went to souvenir shops (duh..!), supermarkets, clothing store and our favourite spot: a Turkish cafe which serves up heavenly kapsalon (french fries and shredded chicken with melted cheese).. Yum..

When we got the time, we took the tram to The Hague and the first place we went there is Madurodam. Madurodam is a miniature city where most of Holland's landmark buildings are scaled down to a 25th of its original size. It has castles, churches, and even the Schipol airport. Trains and trams all run their course and stopping at their stations. Being there literally makes you feel like a giant. And being our first time there we initially ooohed and aaahed at almost every structure, which stopped after a while. They even had these little human statues sort of froze in motion and when you take a picture, you wouldn't know that thay are miniatures.

We went to a friends' house not far from Madurodam. Mun lives with her two children, Amni and Amar. Both soo adorable I regret spending soo little time with them.

Mun brought us to Zaanse Schans where we could be a bit closer to the windmills, and even go inside one. The stairs were so steep that the safest way to go down is facing the ladder. We saw how they made cheese and clogs and even got to taste some of the cheese with yummy dips. On our way out I bought the collectible calendar with our faces on for a frikkin 10euros... Expensive much?

Then, we took off for Volendam. And as usual when in Volendam, it's Dutch costume time! Mun treated us to fried seafood for lunch, which is like super tasty. Especially after almost everyday of bread and butter. The shopping here was fantastic, almost everything is cheaper so in order not to fel too cheated, we bought a few souvenirs.

Mun dropped us at a bus station heading to Amsterdam and after a while spent wondering around finding the canal ride, we gave up and just took the tram to Museumplein for a picture with I amsterdam. When we were queueing up for tickets back to Delft, a kind lady gave us two daycards, which meant we got a ride home for free..!!

The last few days were spent looking for things to bring back home. We bought loads of stroopwafels and I got myself a few shirts (All of them black.. Blegh..) But I especially loved the "Good Girls Go To Heaven; Bad Girls Go To Amsterdam" one.. We went to the same souvenir shop five times (even went in twicw in ONE day!!) at went out with different things in hand.. LOL..

I truly thank Allah for giving me the opportunity (again) to be in this part of world.. It seems surreal now that I'm back in Malaysia.. Like it all happened in a dream.. With His permission a dream I will get to live again, Insya Allah..

GOLF CLINIC

For 10 weeks me and a few co-workers, Huda, Zaim and Zaid took a golf introductory class at the Monterez Golf and Coutry Club. And being the awesome person that I am, I was the only one who went to all ten classes. However, that still didn't make me the best at golf.. LOL.. But hey, perfect attendance, yo.. The rest of the class includes the fun-loving Kak Norlee, the adorable Kak Lin, sometimes gatal aunty Kulwant, ever-so-cool Sharon, innocent Is and Afnan the golf-pro. Zaim and Zaid joined in by the third class. The first class was joined by Syahida, her husband Naza and their super kiyut daughter Rayna.

Our coach is pro Khamis and he has a very soft voice. Which was why we had to lean in everytime he teaches us about a new swing technique or club. The best is when he would demo for us and his ball would travel towards the end of the range among the 'oooohs' and 'aaaahs' of Kak Norlee and Sharon.

Classes usually starts off with warming up and Pro Khamis teaching or refreshing about the techniques. Then it's practice time and he would go to each of us for a more personal one-to-one. I especially enjoyed it when we were learning clipping, blasting and putting because it made me feel quite like in teh greens. The driving range felt kinda stuffy and can get boring after a while. I still haven't gotten used to using the driver yet.

Abah would tag along occasionally, and even hit a few. In fact, he was the one who suggested that Zaim and Zaid to join. He is the happiest seeing the four of us swinging, probably because no one's in the family is as interested in golf as he. Sharon would also sometime bring her son, Makoto and her parents. So it was like an open class. FUN!!

Nowadays I try to get as much practice as possible at the range. And I have yet to try entering the green. People say the feel will be different. I'm gonna take their word for it for the time being. My swing has been getting quite rusty. H.E.L.P.

DREAM IN THE DARKNESS

Breath tapering thin

Amidst echoes of heartbeat

Holding onto the darkness

Behind closed lids

Imagination running wild

Transcending boundaries of time

Fighting a battle of hope

Praying for peace

Daring to believe

Dreams do come true

PINK..!!

So, today I'm wearing all pink.. Again.. For the second time this week.. Huhu.. Pink is such a good colour for a picker-upper.. I don't know exactly when my affinity with anything and everything pink started, but now I'm kinda surrounded with many shades of pink almost all the time. HoweverI am NOT obsessed with it and is currently very consciuosly trying not to be so attracted or influenced by it.

My outfit today.. I just finished talking to Yang which kinda explains the huge smile on my face.. Been so long since we've talked right? Miss you!! Oh, and the outfit is actually a present from Ama; it's my pengapit costume.. I love the cut and the colour.. Thanks Ama..

My phones.. My old ones..

My netbook.. I was actually hoping for a red one, but since it was a gift you can't exactly be demanding.. (Dunno why the pic turned out like this.. Soorry..)

My dancing shoes.. Bought these in Langkawi.. Love them to bits..

My cute little purse.. Notice the chain with Junsu's name.. (Thank Ayang!!)..

My tumblers.. One is for workout (amidst the pink bag and pink towelette) and the other for office (who're the cuties peeking out? Oh, it's TVXQ!!)..


My office.. Actually my walls are light magenta but people always thinks its pink.. The softboard IS covered with pink wallpaper..

My umbrellas.. I love the square LAMAN umbrella.. (Again sorry for the pic misorientation)..

My pillows.. Love the black and pink heart shaped Princess one..

And my newest pink addition.. Worked very hard to put it together because the darn screws were just too tough.. I even slept for a while to regain strength before finishing up.. LOL..