It has been so long since my last entry. Alhamdulillah...Now I am back!
A few weeks ago I had this conversation over nasi lemak and hot milo at Kafe Kreatif with a colleague of mine. We were talking about her daughter who was a student of mine for the duration of two weeks for a programmed named English Camp 2010. This programme was organised by the staff of UiTM Dungun Academy of Language Studies. We were talking about her daughter for a few minutes until we changed the topic to what's new in her life. So, she was telling me that she was involved in this programme called "Membongkar Rahsia Alam Bersama Angkasawan Negara" that was scheduled to be on the 16th of February 2011. I was a little bit nonchalant when about it. But I kept on asking her questions anyway. When she told me that she was involved in the bureau of sponsorship, she got my attention back. This is because a few years back (2009) to be exact, I was involved in the same bureau for an event in Penang. So I kept on asking her on how to get sponsorship from the private sectors and bla bla bla. We also talked about how important it is to really meet the potential sponsors in order for us to really get them to get interested in the project that we do and bla bla bla. Then, I was still not that interested in the programme that she was organising.
My perception changed a few hours before the event started. The meeting with that first ever Muslim Malay Malaysian angkasawan was held in two sessions. The first one was held in the morning and the second one was held in the afternoon at 2.30pm. Since I had to conduct a class with my Computer Science students that morning (at 8.00am till 9.55am), I had to forgo the first session. So, I patiently wait for the time to pass. Amazingly I was kept busy with a few things that I never knew had to be done. Except for the meeting with Kak Shikin and the rest of the "Language Carnival 2011" committee at 12 noon until 1.30pm.
After the Zohor prayers, I decided to Google info on the Angkasawan. I wanted to know something about him before the actual event. So, I Googled away. So, I learned something about him and I also learned something about orthopaedic as well. Okay. Then, suddenly I got excited in meeting the Angkasawan. I had no idea where was this feeling coming from. But I kept my cool. Ahahaha...So, the three of us (Cik Mazni, Cik Sham and I) went to the hall from Cik Sham's office at Sarjana building. My heart was pounding then. Totally unexplainable. Ahaha...
As soon as we were approaching the hall (Dewan Aspirasi), I could see that there were so many people already outside the hall trying to get in. There were a few more waiting at the entrance to void the ticket. I met a colleague of mine who was just got married over the Chinese New Year break and congratulated her on her wedding. She was just beaming with this smile of happiness. May allah bless her and her husband with a good and lasting marriage. Then, the three of us entered the hall.
As we entered the hall, I was greeted by two former students of mine named Nik and Zuhair. Interesting. Then as we moved to the front to claim our seats, I was greeted by a bunch of girls. At first it was quite difficult to recall their names...but after a few seconds (and a few hints), I managed to get all of their names...Among them were Fara Amira Roslan and Azmiratul Zaharah. Owh...before that i met two of my Hotel Management students outside Dewan Aspirasi. They were Nadia and Isya.
Our seats were in the front row, at the far left of the hall. I was a tad too disappointed but itulah..siapa suruh masuk dewan lambat...(we entered the hall around 2.20pm). Anyways, we took our seats and waited for Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor to arrive. The emcee tried to be funny when he announced the arrival of Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor the first time. It was a hoax! I hesitantly stood up to witness the arrival of the revered angkasawan. But alas, it was just an attempt from the emcee to get the audience to settle down as many of us were anxious and quite noisy as we were waiting for the angkasawan to be with us in the hall. Then, finally, the emcee announced the arrival of the one and only, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor into the hall. After the du'a recital, the angkasawan was introduced by the emcee and he started walking up the stage and adjusting the mic. As soon as he started talking, I could hear a loud cheer from the crowd signifying their adoration towards him.
The beloved angkasawan started his presentation by telling us his "speech outline". Then he started to take us with him from the beginning of his journey till the day he touches the ground after his 10 day quest at the International Space Station (ISS).
Here are some of the pictures that I took while Dr Sheikh was presenting.
Alhamdulillah, I got the chance to meet him in person. That was just wonderful. Awesome indeed. I asked him a very relevant question (at least that is what I think).
