Flying into the unknown

I just found out that I only have 2 decent shirts for a conference. Off to Zara laaa apa lagi?. Thus I bought a whole new wardobe complete with collard T-Shirt and shirts. A lil bit body hugging but who cares... Thats why I work out...(With a lil bit of cheese cake on the side).

And Presto! My bag is packed complete with matching suits... Nie nak gi conference keee fashion show nieh?

Before that I'm messaged my bro amir that I was gonna crash at his joint...

Amir said, lets bukak posa at Masjid MArocco and pekena Hariraa and tajiyn.. So we went... and buy it was a hefty bukak posa. The Harira was great, ada dengan roti arab and roti canai. Met new friends, takleh cakap English. But boleh cakap dutch and Arabish sahaja. So, there I was again speaking broken Dutch and arabic... I guess "Darabic is my third language" A real creole made up by De Heer Ziad.

I've never met such a nice person like Amir. He treats me like his own bro. Kalau Ziad mai mesti dia masak. Alot of surprises bila Ziad mai. He's the kind of person that honours friendship. I learn from honoring friendhip from him.

He gave me his keys and ask me to leave it in his kast so that i have ample time to rest for my flight to Sweden

I was expecting for a big ass airplane and it turned out that it was a small plane. But it was still a jet plane so, I guess its better than kipas plane. thankfully it was not very bumpy and not that tiring although puasa.

There I was all alone transit semua.. I guess i'm used to it... I have my own time and in a survival mode. Alwiz check and raba2 to check wether my pasport is there or not. And raba2 my back pocket for my keys although I'm not using it. I guess it has became a habit.

Well, from the sky, it seems that there's alot of lakes in Sweden and lots of trees. Most of the trees are sprucy and its all green. Sampai airport than I observe the people. They are not that tall... At least shorter than dutch.

Alhamdulillah my serunding lepass!!! takde orang check passport pon. I guess europe is very intergrated and they trust each other although Sweden uses their own currency. Keluaq2 je pagaq ada booth European Regional Sciences Congress (ERSA ) with two hot blonde naturally bleached hair waiting for deligates. Yang bestnya aku langsung tak nampak those blondes, yet alone the booth. Keluaq2 ja pagaq kalut dok cari bas nak gi Jonkoping. After dekat sejam aaa gi balik kat pagaq, baru nampak booth.

Anyway, my friends were right. Among blonds, Swedish chicks are smoking hot. Clear blue eyes, blonde hair and petite. They almost made dutch girls look like giants. Tp bau hamis sikit, I guess they have worked alot for the congress. It is a very significant congress, dengan 50 year anniversary nya etc......... And yess pahala puasa bertaburan di Sweden....

Purposely datang sehari awal so that I can take my own time. Explored the city...... I noticed that it is very safe. I mean, tak rasa takut pon coz ppl there, I guess terlalu maju and they dont need to disturb people. Except for weekend of course... but still.... harmless people...

I dunno... I'm not really what you call religious.... I dont really join Usrah and top five dalam masjid. But I guess Allah selalu tolong. Time nak check in hotel, minah yang jaga hotel tu sikiiit lagi nak blah. Kalau tak, mana laaa aku nak tido n sahur malam tuu...

Bilik pon selesa sangat, although toilet share. Tp tak penah pon nak kene tunggu orang.

The view of lake vatern pon cantik, so breathtaking.... Dekat tepi2 jalan ada wild flowers.

Petang tu registration.....

So register laaa aku sorang2... Everybody seems to know everybody... Jumpa2 terus jabat tangan... berpeluk pon ada... Semua stok tua2... I guess most of them dah ada Phd and some of them dah professor.

There I was wandering alone in the sea of seasoned academicians. Berenang punya berenang, Jumpa jugak orang muda, tp still tua lagi pada aku... Budak Finland... So budak Finland nie pon intro aku ngan Finnish yang lain. Pastu pelan-pelan jumpa budak mexico, Korea, Venezuela, spain.. still they are older than me.... Ada aaa budak Philippine rasanya muda lagi drp aku.. tp sombong.. maklum laa duduk Germany... bAu tengit jugak..

And then it was my turn to present. Gabra nie Allah sahaja yang tau.. But as the time is near, makin kurang rasa gabra. Seblom tu call mama dulu, and she knows my schedule . Prof pon nak turut serta dalam audience. Prof was very supportive despite his busy schedule. Alhamdulillah the presentation according to the audience was ok (great). Lots and lots of questions raised by the delegates

Among the questions yang participanta tanya... lawak jugak..

Can we not pay Zakat every year and pay it in a lump sum with interest?

How about the influence of peer preasure as one of the factors why people pay zakat?

ARE Malaysians forced to pay Zakat?

Posiblity of obtaining panel spatial data

and many more....

Most of these questions, I answer to them by explaining the concept of "salvic merit" better known to us by Dosa and pahala. And this is to utilize this belief among Malaysian citizens to get them to help the government in terms of welfare.

They are very interested in the potential of Zakat in Regional economics research particularly in regional welfare.Because most EU countries are welfare countries.So, the welfare mmg mcm totally public funded.

BTW,

In that conference I get to rub shoulders with great professors from great universities. My professor pon dok kenen2 potential of Zakat research in regional economics. Also, I gained lots of contacts from scientist all around europe.

Sempat berbuka puasa semeja ngan Masahi Fujita, a living legend in Spatial econometric... Sempat bergambaq dengan Nobel prize winner for economics. Paul krugman. and banyak lagi lah.

Alhamdulillah, dapat merasa suasana ala2 cocktail party. Selalunya tengok dalam movie jaa tp nie dapat merasa first hand. Yang bestnya drinks walaupun ada alcohol, ada variety yang without alcohol. Sambil2 dok makan tu ada lagu2 Jazz. Mcm cerita Frasier la pulak.

Pastu malam tu plak ada formal dinner... Nie bukan sebarang dinner tau! yang jantan abis2 kurang nak kena pakai Kot semua... Yang pompuan sorry lah...mmg menjolok mata pakaian depa... Nampak mcm anak patung pon ada... mmg kureng banyaklah pahala posa.

Since duduk dengan living lagends of New trade theory, sempat aku bertanya.... Professor, what do you think of a single asian currency???

Prof: Actually I've conducted a meeting amongst policy makers and politicians from 16 Asian countries. Unfortunately, the outcome is quite pessimistic especially when China disagrees(ayat ini telah diubah) coz org jepun nie BI kureng.... Furthermore, in terms of economy, Asian countries are already integrated, so no need for single currency. Kalau single currency, tgk apa yang jadi kat europe dengan kes greece.

PAstu aku tanya lagi soklan:

This time, kindof a personal question:

How do you balance between your magnificent work and your family?

Dia terus peluk bini dia.....

Prof: My WIFE!! Number one!! hahaha

KAmi semua gelak... lawak jugak prof nie

Yang bestnya kalau dia tak tau, dia cakap tak tau.... Dia tak buat kapla.... Kekadang kami tanya.. What do you think of the collaboration of Physics and Economics?

Pastu dia Jawab: I dont know that coz i'm a mathmatician! Ask Kuuruugman(nobel prize lauriette for econs 2008)

Haha lawak-lawak... At least for me laa...

Ada jugak soklan yang dia refuse to jawab...Kami tau dia dulu penah mengajar kat Upenn(Ivy league university)

Kami tanya dia... Why did you leave Upenn and decide to be a prof in Kyoto instead

Prof: i dont want to answer that, it was a bad memory...

Best sembang ngan oraang intelek nie.. especially orang yang terkenal.....

Kesian kat prof aku, dipinggirkan oleh student yang kacang lupakan kulit hahaha... Tp dia sikit pon tak jeles... Infact, dia encourage... Dia cakap, since you are siting near him... talk to him! Actually prof aku nie tak interfram mcm aku... Low profile, tp publish berkajang...

After the dinner is the JOGET LAMBAK time....

You can be surprised time conference, prof2 tua nie nampak mcm skemaaa je... Tp time joget pergghhh menari2 .... Ziad? ingat pasal bulan posa jeee kalau tak harus.... hahaha But it was aa great experience... Awek-- toksah dok kira laa Masyaallah tambah pulak Ziad jaa di kalangan orang2 muda, yg jadi tukang arrange student comel2.... Good thing bolan posa...

Next day, bangun awai... blah gi Gotheborg... Typical european city... surprisingly ramai Muslim... Nice view... naik ferriswheel with breathtaking view. Tgk banggunan lama2 berhala besaq...typical european city... Jalan mcm orang tak posa tuh... tp kekadang rasa gak peluh2 sejuk..... rest sat... pastu jalan balik.

Conclusion about conference....

BEST giler!!!! nak pi lagi! nak pi lagi! Next year Barcalona--- target! target!

Conclusion about Sweden

Dari segi view, cantik aaa tp holland n germany pon cantik... Banggunan lebih kurang germany... But the Chicks..... I think the only reason that I wanna go and visit Sweden again is because of the chicks mmg exceptionally beautiful. Tak tinggi sangat mcm dutch n german.... Rambut blond tahap bleach ... mata biru jernih(like they are staring into your soul)...kulit mcm porcelain...

There's a saying ... Swedish women makes British women look unattractive.... I agree with that...