Moving into my new abode

Alhamdulillah, after spending almost 3 weeks in Jeddah, I managed to get me a house in the campus. Good for me as i don't have to commute between Jeddah and Thuwal everyday which is very tiring indeed. It's close to the university; well its a university town where all/most of us live, work and play here :D

Here are some shots of the neighbourhood:

:D

the beacon

 houses

 harbor library, the other 'sister'

Marhaba!

Marhaba . Ahlan Wa Sahlan. Welcome & Hello.

Masha-ALLAH, how fast time flies and I am now into my first day here. The bus ride from Jeddah to Thuwal (where KAUST is located) took about an hour and half. What a bus ride it was. Had to be ready at lobby by 6:30am and took the alocated bus for KAUST employees. There were quite a number of us there. Alos found out that KAUST staff were scattered all over Jeddah; staying at several other hotels ..... 

 Inside the library

Another interior view

 Another shot ...

Met with the library director, Dr Branin as well as the other staff. Made to feel welcome, Alhamdulillah. I must say that the library is probably the best looking building in KAUST apart from the main mosque. Masha-ALLAH. Its overlooking the red sea, equipped with the lastest technology but we were still low in terms of staff numbers.  Our print collection isn't that big compared to my previous place but still the electronic collection is growing and growing! Masha-ALLAH.

>Enjoyed the Arabian hospitality! and of course tried out several local food and drinks! i think my family will like it here. However, i must say; still need to get use to the lifestyle here .. since we are not a big city here and people still shuttle to Jeddah; i guess they're used to it compared to me.  

Got my stuff done at HR and meet several people over there as well. There were hiccups along the way, but we have to instill the Can-Do spirit! Insha-ALLAH, kita boleh!!

First glimpses of Jeddah and KAUST

Landed@Jeddah on the 5th Dec and went straight to work on the 6th Dec.  Excited and anxious to see my new place of work. In the mean time, I put up at Crowne Plaza Jeddah near the Corniche. Very cosy and good location. Good food too!

 Crowne Plaza, Jeddah

Crowne Plaza Jeddah

Here're some pic on the food .. mostly asked for room service ... the food servings are HUGE! I ended up asking for kiddies meal as i could not swallow the whole lot. Wished my wife and family were here to enjoy this.  But like i said before, the food is sumptuous and delicious.

Dec 2009: To Jeddah via Dubai

My flight from Spore to Jeddah via Dubai.
Remembered that my connecting flight to Jeddah was delayed. Masha-ALLAH. I was having a pretty bad headache maybe corz was watching in-flight movies and not having much sleep! But i must admit Emirates is good with their in-flight entertainment system .... 

Resting in Dubai while waiting for the connecting flight >

Dec 2009: The day has arrived ...

Woke up early in the morning and got ready to go to the airport.  Feeling excited, sad .. mixed feelings .... going on this journey without my family is something that i had not looked forward to .. leaving them behind for a few weeks/months would be a new experience for me and my wife .... we decided to be strong for our kids ... esp the twins ... Masha-ALLAH

Abdul Matin still sleepy

 some of the uncles and cuzzies

 some of the aunties ...

me, wify and abdul matin

Before the BIG MOVE ...

Before the Big Move, we had to sieve through countless items, gave away some of them, threw away a lot more and get ready the others for shipment.  I must admit that i was more a sentimentalist at heart than my wife.. she's the practical one and advised me against keeping those that would not serve us over in KSA.

Above picture shows how our holding area looks like in the living room. We converted the playpen area to 'hold' most of our ship-bound stuff .... it was hard work .. gotta thank wify and her 'gang' ... especially with little Abdul Matin playing this antics around the house.

MEN AT WORK:
Here are several pictures of the movers working on our stuff for the sea / air shipment.

 My study desk being prepared ...

Counting the total number of boxes and tallying them

 "Did i forget something?"

Abdul Matin decided to weigh himself ...

The previous abode ...

Ahh those were the days!!
Relaxing on the sofa (wonder who we gave it to) and watching the EPL matches, movies etc etc while eating and munching .... I remembered the place quite fondly as it was near to a lot of amenities .. mosque, MRTS, bus stations, the MALL etc etc ...

Food Glorious Food

This was a gathering of the mosque board members.  Alhamdulillah, it was one of the few moments spent with them before i flew off to KSA.  Serving in a mosque board was an unforgettable experience; the trials and tribulations; the snide remarks; and lots of other stuff that comes with it..... Alhamdulillah, we took it in our stride and persevere; May ALLAH swt reward my board member friends; protect them and give them the patience to face future challenges ....

One of those gathering: Group of us went to Sedap Corner in Bedok. The 'elders' treated me to some very tasty and delicious food, Alhamdulillah. Hopefully one day, God's willing, we'll get the chance to meet up again, insha-ALLAH.


The servings were large .. i had trouble finishing them up all by myself ... Masha-ALLAH.

Here are some pics... YUMMY!! (Big Time)

Getting ready ...

Dateline is approaching pretty fast. Been very busy preparing, putting aside and giving away stuff. Hopefully, we get it all done before the sea shipment date arrives. Its times like this that we found those things that we couldn't find previously.

:)

Kids and wife are all anticipating the move. Anxious and all other feelings rolled up into one. Wife esp. She's been occupying herself in reading up the information available on the web (blogs included).

As for myself, I'm trying to prepare myself mentally and physically. Been in contact with some people over there. Been enquiring about how things are, what to expect .. the works.

However, i guess its when u get there, then the adventure begins.

Till later ... Syukron for reading.