Of Graduation, Marriage and Unemployment : Part 1

Assalamualaikum and hello peeps.

Again it's been lightyears since my last update, I literally spent the last half an hour trying to figure out my password to this blog. But hey marriage and graduation are pretty good excuses don't you think. Hehe

Alhamdulillah all praises to Allah, 2014 has unexpectedly been one of the biggest years in my life, especially the last few months in particular. I graduated as a medical doctor on the 5th of June and was blessed with a husband approximately 2 months later (hi-5 girlfriend!). So these two big shiny things that changed my statuses warrant a few mentions in this blog hence this sudden phalangeal urge to dance on the keyboard again.

Graduation

I love how the Irish managed their conferring ceremonies, it was never an elaborate affair for them which was quite the opposite in Malaysia.. My friend's dad who was a lecturer in a local Malaysian university was impressed by how efficient and straightforward the ceremony is. Unlike Malaysia, they don't hold rehearsals and it wasn't like a huge carnival where people sell flowers and graduation teddy bears and such. The ceremony itself was just announcement of names without arranging graduates according to their achievements. It was just a simple and intimate reception attended by families and friends of the graduates from our faculty, followed by a small reception with drinks and tidbits. Conferring for them wasn't a place to show off your achievements, it was merely an event of acknowledgement, much like putting a nice happy ending to our 5 years in  UCD.

We walked to UCD's O'Reilly Hall at 8am (can you imagine? Conferring starts at 11am okay semangat tu nampak) for pictures' sake. Pika and I grabbed our robes and ohmygod that feeling when you put it on, it was a kind of happiness beyond words. Like, "This is it guys, this is the robe I've been dreaming to wear since my first year."  I used to watch my seniors graduate thinking how happy I would be if I get to wear that robe, and there I was, vain and all.

Seeing my parents proud smiles were the highlights of the day. Mama and Abah flew miles and miles from home to see me graduate. They squeeze in what remained of their annual leave (coz they need to save some for their Hajj this month) and spent 10 days in the land I called my second home, together with Makngah Yan (Mama's sis) and Kak Noli (my cousin residing in Ireland). Man I reaalllyy need to find time to write about our awesome trip together.

 My backbones. (Mama really need to practice on her candid laugh pose)

Aaanyways, although my name was slightly mispronounced by our Dean (He said Zur Zulaikha instead of Nur Zulaikha lols), it was a happy 2 seconds on stage. My degree was in Latin which is quite a hassle because I had to pay another 60 euro for an English translation boooo.

Also graduating means I have to say goodbye to Dublin. No more heavy coats to warm myself outdoors, no more checklists of umbrellas, empty bottles (for hygienic toileting outdoors haha), heavily moisturing lip balms and hand creams, travel leapcard before leaving the house. No more checking the weather forecasts EVERYDAY because it kinda affects my choice of outfits. No more Yan telling me off for donning a skirt on a windy day. No more Pika saying I'm crazy for wearing just a blazer on a cold day. No more awesome Internet speed for smooth streaming and downloading. No more squinting through ingredients on packages at the supermarket to look for 'Suitable for Vegetarian' and non-alcoholic food. No more frequent 'Please' and 'Thank you'. No more sneaking clothes into fitting rooms to pray. No more free coffee and scones every evening from clinical conference leftovers. No more checking Dublinbus's Realtime app to make sure I have enough time to pin my scarf.

Ahh.. my 'no-mores' can go on forever. But ending a chapter in your life means starting a new one. I had no regrets, medical school by far is the witness to my growing up and  had definitely toughened me up a bit. It was in that moment that I realize it has come to an end. Friends who were by my side will soon partake their own journey as a doctor, and we won't be seeing each other as much as we used to. Probably even once or twice a year when someone gets married or have a baby sobs.

Pika's fake-laugh pose + Yan's batman attempt + Akem's retarded face (totally normal guys)

It's time to let go of my student status. Thank you to those who have been ardently praying for our success.

To build suspense I'll continue my marriage story and everything else I deemed important in my next post (padahal pemalas)

muah muah xoxo,
Wife and Doctor Ika

Ending.

Assalamualaikum.

From this point onward, this blog will be flooded with sad sappy posts from a girl/lady trying to let go of her carefree student life and move on to another phase of life.

This will probably be my last post as an undergrad. Next week hopefully I'll be posting as someone new, inshaAllah :)

These past few days were mere reminiscence of memories; every route we take to the hospital, every conversation over free coffee and scones, every bus rides, every lunch session, every glimpse of familiar wards-- all of them reminded us that we're that close to the finishing line.

Every day we talked about how we won't be seeing each other as much come July, how we'll all go our separate ways, how we'll meet again in some random medical conference in 10 years' time, yet still connected to the same memories of 5 years we shared together, memories that will last a lifetime.

To these people (specifically the 8 makciks and one pakcik) you guys know who you are.

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

How very true.

Mes amies.

Assalamualaikum and bonjour.

I'm trying to shift commitments for a little while, just because. (I have to put 3500 words together for an essay before Thursday but alas, here I am, putting words in blog instead.)

Have you ever paused in the middle of doing something, and a friend popped up randomly in mind? Suddenly you wondered how is she doing now, is everything treating her well, is she happy wherever she is.. just because you haven't met/ talked to each other for a very, very, very long time.

Hmm. I did that all the time. It's a weird kinda 'longing'. You longed for her company, her jokes, the little silly chitchats you used to have with her, the things you did together, the good times and bad times, I'll beee on your sideeee forever moreeee. wah ternyanyi

Sometimes you thought about what changed, when in fact, nothing did. You're still the same old you, she's still the same old friend you knew, it's just that you don't see each other as much as you used to anymore. Or you may see each other but not in the same way you used to anymore. But she'll always be a friend who left footprints in your life. A friend whom you thought about subconsciously in your prayers and in your random daily chores, always. Well I guess I just miss having certain people in my life right now.

Allah blessed me with few friends, but realllyyy good ones. When we thought that we learn values in schools and lectures, amazing how much values there are in a friend, for us to learn.

May Allah guide my dear friend/s whenever and wherever you are, and may all the love in the friendship you gave me, return to you multiplied.

Haihh. cheq ghindu sungguh laa. Great, now there's a lump in my throat.

Trial and error.

Assalamualaikum and hello awesome peehpul.

Ok I know rarely keep this place updated but urmm sorry Medicine seems to be quite an overly attached boyfriend lately so most of my times are spent completing my logbook cases and all that boring stuff. Pffttt. The past few weeks were a roller-coaster ride, dragging myself out of exhaustion each day. Oh well, the present still is.

Usrah this morning talked about Allah's tests. Allah has His special way to put each of us through difficult times, mainly to see how we pull through.

I think myself was tested differently although in fairness everyone has their own challenges. God sifted me from the main pool, throw me into the big blue sea, to see how I swim in different waves and temperatures. Allah tapis keluar, untuk bagi ujian berbeza dari orang lain. To see who Zulaikha truly is. Like they say, the truth is always bitter. Zulaikha is flawed in many ways, and struggling to improve and swim like the rest. Doakan :) (al-Hajj 22:35)

All seriousness aside, here's what happened last week:

1) I've recently moved houses, and loving my new room! Although another Tullamore posting doesn't really give me the chance to sleep on my own bed. I'm getting a lift from one of the girls tonight so cheers to saving on train tickets.

they helped a lot. Thank youu!

2) We sent the PMC lads home for good last Monday. A really sad day. But I'm used to being left behind so yeah we'll be fine. Hopefully Penang treats you guys well!

bye miffyy :(

3) Logbook cases are a pain in the gluteal muscles. I know it should benefit students in many ways but to choose a suitable case to write is really time-consuming and actually turned us into insensitive monsters. We flipped through medical charts much like hungry customers flipping through pizza menus at PizzaHut. "Chest pain?" Already had one. "Anemia?" Not interesting. "Collapse?" Chart not readable etc. And Mrs Minah or Mr Mamat had already turned into "Oh that patient with DKA in bed 16 etc" =.='

Ok pray for my good health and study. Byee

Meriamz.

Assalamualaikum and helloo brother. (movie Salman Khan in the 90s- Hello Brother, ingat x?)

Aaanyways, this is the second week of my winter break. As much as I miss those two makciks who decided to ditch me for Malaysia, I'll be very happy to forgive them if they brought me some sweet-smelling durian fresh from home. *cehhh padahal diri sendiri yg xmau balik.

Random chat that cracks me up each time. Hahah

The house feels empty, but I'm enjoying every relaxing second in the comfort of my room. Today's boxing day, for those who don't know it's the famous discounted day for the shoes and tops you've been aiming all winter, normally a day after Christmas, in Ireland they call it St Stephen's Day. Although I know this might be my last boxing day abroad coz next winter will probably be spent at home for electives, I pampered myself with a huge breakfast and a tub of Ben&Jerry instead. Nyums.

              

Last weekend a close friend hit a milestone :)  

too selekeh to be enlarged. hah

Someone who happens to know her recently looked at this picture of us and said, "Gosh how long have you guys been friends?" I never really thought about it, but come to think of it, it's more than a decade now :) Wishing her the very best in her next level-up! :p