masalah nak dapatkan ATAS certificate

Dear earthlings,

Siapa yang nak pegi UK for PhD mesti tahu yang kita kena isi borang ATAS untuk dapatkan ATAS certoficate tu kan..

1) Sila isi borang kat sini https://www.atas.fco.gov.uk/public/welcome.aspx
2) Tunggu la bulan jatuh ke riba untuk dapatkan clearance. (die cakap 20 hari bekerja masa yang diambil untuk dapatkan clearance)

As for me, saya kena tunggu dari 16.06.2013 sampai lah 21.08.2013 untuk dapatkan clearance...2 BULAN!! memang dah tak keruan sangat dah masa tunggu tu..yelah..kita kan nak dapat CAS letter dari university lagi, pastu baru bole nak apply visa...homaiii...depa semua ni tak pikir ke yang kite banyak urusan lagi nak settlekan? Nak stat 2.09.2013..alamatnya delay lah..ape lagi...

Yang paling haru lagi adalah, they dont have any contact number..x ade telepon number!! yang ada hanya lah alamat email yang mereka tak reply...pffftttt...baik tak yah bagi contact details kalo mcm tuh...

walau bagaimanapon, kite try jugak la contact dengan cara yang ade tu..iaitu email..nak tunggu depa reply memang orang kampung sy kata, don't hold your breath...bile email sendre tak jalan, mintak university representative intervene untuk pihak kita..try je la ape cara yang boleh nak dapatkan attention depa..last skali, sy email, cakap tolong lah reply sebab saya dah nak start 2.9.2013 which is like 9 hari bekerja lagi yang tinggal..lepas tu, baaaaaaaaru lah depa reply, cakap ade masalah technical (pffffttt banyak2) and akan issue the cert esoknya...boleh pulak nak issue cecepat kan..
ape2 pon, alhamdulillah dah dapat cert tu..this post will remind me of the times when hoping was the only option despite that hope being crushed day after day..stay strong!

OK, bye.
Adventure Addict

Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe (Baked)

Dear earthlings,

So the festive season is here again..Eid Mubarak to all muslims out there..Here's a simple way to make yummy blueberry cheesecake..I made this on for the first day of Raya, and it was as sure hit (despite me thinking otherswise, initially)

Stuffs you must have:

For the base

• 10 Digestive biscuits (Crush until the biscuits become fine crumbs) 
• 50g of butter

For the cake

• 500 gm of Philadelphia cream cheese
• 200 ml of light sour cream (I used the Bulla brand)
• 2 tbsp of plain flour
• 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 175gm of caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence
• blueberry filling ( I got some left overs from the blueberry cheese tart that I made, you can get them at any shop selling bakery stuffs I think, got mine at Seksyen 7, Shah Alam)
• fresh blueberry (from Cold Storage)

Here's where the magic happens

The base

1. Melt the butter in a small pan or you could even melt in in the microwave.
2. Mix the mashed biscuits together with the melted butter until the mixture seems to stick together well.
3. Pour all of that biscuit crumbs mixture into a springform tin.
4. Bake in the oven for 7 minutes at 170 Celcius.
5. Take it out and let it cool.
6. Put it in the fridge to cool it even further for another 30 minutes.

The cake

1. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla essence, eggs and flour in a bowl. Using a hand mixer, whisk all the ingredients until they are fluffy.
2. Add in the sugar and blueberry filling then continue whisking.
3. Pour all that yummy goodness in the springform tin that you have prepared with the biscuit crumbs earlier.
4. Bake in the oven for 170 Celcius for 55 minutes. (make sure you use the waterbath method, if not, you are going to get your lovely cheesecake quite tanned on the sides)
5. Once you are done with the baking, take the cake out, let it cool and then chill in the fridge overnight for best results.

The topping

Halve the blueberries and put them nicely on top of your cheesecake.
Pour the remaining blueberry filling on top of your fresh blueberries.

Have fun trying!

My super tanned cheesecake..I did not use the waterbath method to bake this one hence the tan.

Can you taste that soft, fluffy cheesecake in your mouth right now?

Another mistake was I used too much Digestive biscuits and too little butter so they did not stick well

What made me truly happy was the cake was happily gobbled up by the relatives who came for Raya...Someone even said I should've made 2 or 3 batches of that cheesecake..yeaayy :)

Yours Truly,
Adventure Addict

The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Dear earthlings,

This time I'm going to take a break from blogging about the tedious preparations for going to the UK procedures...Let's talk about something much more enjoyable and meaningful..

Last Sunday, hubs took me a short retreat right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur.. Despite getting lost a few times, we finally managed to find ourselves on the doorstep of The Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur..The moment we arrived, my eyes was straight away attracted to the person who was welcoming the guests..He was dressed like some kind of British soldiers in the Colonial days...

When I stepped inside the hotel, the staffs were immediately attending to my check in needs..and guess what, the staff incharge even escorted us to our room and gave a brief room orientation (gasps!)

Enough chit chat, let's have a look at this worth-every-penny-stay...

a super comfy King-sized four poster bed

this bath tub was THE determining factor in choosing this hotel..hehe

modern decor

very useful for people who wants to sew some beads on to their baju raya (yes, that would have to be me)

since I'm all about soft-sinking-head-pillows, I'm loving this!

What better way to relax than this, you can just soak in the bath tub while watching your favorite movie! Super Loike!

Since it's the fasting month, The Majestic KL offers sahur brought up to our room for a price of RM55++ per person...

OK, so, all in all, we were very satisfied with our stay at The Majestic Hotel..we will definitely consider coming again some other time..

Yours truly,
AA