Merdeka memories

The best memories I have on celebrating Merdeka was way back in Form 4 at my alma mater, Victoria Institution. That year, about 100 of Form 4 students were selected to be part of the Merdeka celebration to become the human formation of the Malaysian flag, National celebration logo and the slogan. That year it was a bit special because the formation was done at night so we had to dance with these colourful torches in our hands. Also, instead of being done at the Dataran Merdeka, that year it was at Stadium Merdeka. Initially, my class wasn't chosen to take part but after a lot of coaxing on our part, some of us managed to join in the fun. I do believe those were my best moments at secondary school.

We had to learn steps of simple dancing, which involves a lot of practice. After a while it was like 2nd nature to all of us. The fun really started when the combined training was done. I think about 20 schools in KL were involved. Hey, you need a lot of people to make up the National flag. Our colour was blue so we're really just a small part of the whole student troupe. I said it was fun because there were girls, and I mean a lot of them. Come on lah, we were Form 4, hormones was raging and VI is a boys school. So, you put all that into context lah. :)

The first training stage was at our school field. Second stage at Sekolah Menengah Cochrane and the final training was done at the venue itself, Stadium Merdeka. Ini lagi best lah. The training was done at night, so we all got permission to sleep at our school as the training ended quite late. (VI is just next to the stadium). So for about 3 or 4 nights, we all roamed the school. It wasn't very comfortable to sleep on hard wooden tables so we stayed up actually. We laid in the middle of the Quadrangle and sang Taman Rasyidah Utama. Some of us went to check out a happening disco at that time, Piccadilly but couldn't enter because we don't have enough money to pay the entrance fee. Lagi best, about 5 of us, climbed the wall surrounding the swimming pool and had a dip in there. Since it was dark at 2 am, I think we all just skinny dipped. Hehehehe, some of the things that were done during our youths.

The event went quite well, actually. The organising committee chairman, Sanusi Junid was happy with us and gave us extra pocket money. All in all, it was a lot of fun, I made many new friends and missed many days of classes. Also, it was quite a proud moment to be able to contribute albeit in that small manner. At least, if someone asks me what is the National Day motto in 1992, I could confidently say, Wawasan Asas Kemajuan, and I was part of the letter 'N' in Kemajuan!!

Haziq's First Steps

Haziq took his first steps a couple of days ago. He just recovered from a long bout of fever and suddenly when we coaxed him to walk, he took those steps unassisted. Quite exciting, I have to say. Aiyo, after this he'll be running all over the place, I'm sure I'll be out of breath catching up with him.

Tomorrow is a holiday, Malaysia's National Day. This year, the celebration will be held in Kuantan, the first time ever in an East Coast city. I don't think we'll be watching the procession live this year as well, have never been actually, it's always on the idiot box or most of time, I just missed it. I won't claim I'm a patriotic person but I love it's history and I want it to be a better place to live in for my son. I really want to ask those flag waving people if they really know how Independence come about and the sacrifice made by our forefathers. As usual, they showed Sarjan Hassan again last night, the same thing year in year out, at this time of the year. Really gets boring after a while, even the film quality has badly deteriorated.

Like most people, we'll just enjoy the mid-week break, catch the KLCC Merdeka concert on Astro Ria and go to sleep before we're supposed to wait at the side of the road when midnight comes to shout 'Merdeka' 7 times. Gawd, some of the stupid things politicians said.

30 things that tell us we're Malaysians Read lah!

I, usually don't purchase NST but since Star wasn't at the newsstand yet yesterday morning, I resorted to buying a copy of NST. At least, I could read the weekly pullout on Football. An article, titled "30 things that tell us we're Malaysians Read lah!" was the main feature for the Youth Quake section. Since, Merdeka Day is just around the corner, there's a lot of articles about being Malaysians and what independence meant to us, bla bla bla. Just thought I'd share it with you all. :)

A Lot Has Happened

The Astro current tagline is "Macam macam Ada" or MMA. That kind of rings true for me as well as to what had happened since the last blog entry. At that time, I just came back from sending Awi and Haziq to Bidor. Later during that week, Awi then came down alone to KL to attend her training in Bangi. Haziq was left under the care of Awi's parents. At first, we all thought Haziq will cry his eyes out upon being left behind but he was just fine with his Atok & Opah actually. It was the mother (and the father a bit lah) that worried but nothing bad happened and my boy was fine and happy there, even making friends with cats, chickens and 2 Indian girls living in the neighbourhood.

Haziq was left in Bidor a three nights before we both came to take him down to KL. We joined Abah's company trip to A Famosa, Ayer Keroh. It was a lot of fun with Haziq playing at the water park, saw a lot of animals and basically chilling out with the whole Nik Farid Kamil clan. All of the five siblings joined in the trip including Razif, Razi and Iskandar. It's been sometime since we were able to join in family trips such as those, I think, this was the first since Adiknor got married.

We came back from Malacca on Sunday and the plan was to drive back to Kerteh on Monday. We did get some distance on the journey as the car broke down on the Karak highway. For some reason, the radiator cap came off and all the water had turned to steam causing for the engine to fail. It was a really distressing moment for me. I personally checked the radiator water level one week before embarking on the journey and it was fine. I'm sure I put the cap on really tight at that time. Anyway, what to do, we had to travel back to Bangsar with this good Samaritan and the car was left to be repaired. I was in a really foul mood because I've planned to go back and now everything had gone haywire. At that particular time, there's some sort of crisis at work as a virus was on the loose, a computer virus that is. I'm sure the boss wasn't that happy with me being in KL at that time and now having delayed my comeback, I don't suppose I'll be in his good books for some weeks.

The next day, we decided to borrow Adiknor's car since the repairs will take more than one day. (At the moment of writing, after 10 days, the car is still not ready). So we drove back and along the way, I succumbed to a bout of flu and was just glad to be back in Kerteh safely. My colleagues were working the night off to clear the virus from affected PCs but I just don't have the energy to join them.

Rightly so, the next day the boss kind of 'sindir2' me for being away while they had to face the crisis. I just make dumb je lah, what to do, certain things were just out of my powers. I can't be at the office all the time, right? The others just have to make do, I suppose. Nobody is indispensable, in my opinion.

Then a few days after coming home, Haziq got the fever, his body temperature shot up. We went to see a normal GP a couple of time, gave him the medicine but it was only short relief. Last Saturday, we brought him to see a paeditrician in Kuantan and he prescribed some antibiotic to Haziq. He felt fine for a few days then on Tuesday, his body became hot again and it won't come down even after we gave him the fever medicine. So on Wednesday, we went down to Kuantan again to see the doctor. He offered to ward him but we were not so keen to do that and so a stronger antibiotic was given. Alhamdulillah, after a few days, his body temperature is now back to normal and has remained for a couple of days.

Adiknor also experienced something unfortunate this week. She had a miscarriage on Tuesday and had to undergo a short operation to take out the feotus, if that is the right term, at 10 weeks old. I do feel pity for her and Razi because she was so excited about wanting a baby and I hope they'll try again. She'll be 24 this year and Insyallah, kalau ada rezeki, they'll have many babies in the future.

My newphew, Iskandar also got the same symptoms that Haziq experienced. Fever coming on and off, especially during the night. It's kind of worrying if there's some sort of virus going around. We've been calling it the Malacca since both of them got sick a few days after that trip. Maybe it's the hot weather or the late night at the Cowboy Town. Whatever it is, we should take caution in the future especially, like Haziq who had to travel every 3 days or so, average.

As I mentioned in the beginning, it sure has been a busy 3 weeks. There's a lot to be done at work as well, things are progressing reasonably but my team needs to be pushed further. It's a challenging environment and we need to prepare for what's to come.

I Love the ECE!!

At last, after all these years of driving behind heavy lorries and facing unnecessary dangers due to overtaking, I can now enjoy what people on the West Coast had been experiencing all these years. Earlier this week, the long awaited East Coast Highway (Expressway) or ECE is now open for use between Karak and Kuantan. It's kind of a coincidence that I have to do a lot of travelling through and fro KL this week so I've had the opportunity to test out the new highway. And let me tell you that I am going to be the strongest supporter of this highway. It's so much better in many ways. No more tailing behind lorries or slow cars while awaiting for a chance to overtake. No more 90 km/h speed limit, it's 110 km/h all the way man!! Of course, I went up to 150 at times but it's just to test out the road and it's so tempting seeing the empty road in front of you. It's such a lovely and excellent experience. I did 4 hrs from Kerteh to KL the first time we drove down. Today, I did 5 hours from Bidor to Kerteh. Can you believe that? Usually, it would take me 8 hours to travel that distance via road. And it's not as stressful as well, in fact, I truly enjoyed to drive, which is something really rare for me.

I'm sure most people won't mind paying the toll because of all the hardship endured for so long. I hope the highway will also be a catalyst for economic activities in the 3 East Coast states. Logistics has always been a problem, hopefully after this, and also once the 2nd phase is completed, there won't be so much of a hassle to move things quickly here from KL or the West Coast.

New Phone

Alas, I made the decision to change my phone. The Treo 600 I've been using since last November hasn't really performed up to mark. It kept starting up on its own after being knocked around a bit, it's just so sensitive. I guess it is true that PDA doesn't make good handphones and vice versa. Also the unit is a bit bulky but I've endured the hardship because I really like the idea of having a phone and PDA functions together in one unit. Beats carrying 2 items all over anytime. However, the time has arrived for me to make the change. I've paid the deposit for a new phone but since it hasn't arrived at the shop yet, I'd better not make any announcement, in case something happens between now and tomorrow.

Bring On the Competition Maa!!

An article that came out in a local daily, written by a well known individual was brought to my attention at the end of last week. It was another commentary on the Petronas IT outsourcing issue. His article was on two factors that weaken the Malays, the first due to a has-been politician expressing his intention to contest as a candidate for the party presidency and the second was because of the outsourcing. It's quite a farfetched theory, in my humble opinion but do have a read on the excerpts below and my comments which followed it.

Berita hangat di pelbagai akhbar pada 10 Julai itu ialah tentang hasrat Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah menawarkan diri untuk dicalonkan bertanding merebut jawatan Presiden UMNO dalam perhimpunan agung tahunan parti itu bulan September nanti. Surat pembaca yang tersiar di Utusan Malaysia pada 6 Julai itu adalah tentang penswastaan perkhidmatan teknologi maklumat (IT) di syarikat gergasi Petronas.
Manakala kesilapan Petronas menswastakan perkhidmatan IT-nya itu pula bukan sahaja akan `membazirkan' bakat dan sumber tenaga manusia Melayu di satu bidang yang sangat penting dan kritikal, malah lebih merunsingkan daripada itu ialah kita (Petronas dan negara) berhadapan dengan satu risiko kebocoran rahsia penting kepada warganegara asing.

Sebelum penswastaan itu dilaksanakan, perkhidmatan IT Petronas diselenggarakan oleh lebih 500 orang pakar IT yang sebahagian besarnya terdiri daripada tenaga-tenaga muda Melayu yang mahir dalam bidang tersebut.
Sebahagian besar daripada mereka, malah mungkin seluruhnya, memiliki kepakaran tersebut dengan bantuan biasiswa Petronas sebaik sahaja mereka berjaya dengan cemerlang dalam peperiksaan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). Ertinya Petronas telah melaburkan satu modal besar untuk memberikan pendidikan kepada mereka menjadi pakar IT.
Apabila perkhidmatan IT Petronas itu diswastakan kepada satu syarikat yang baru dibentuk, tidak sampai sepertiga daripada pakar-pakar IT Melayu yang seramai lebih 500 orang itu menyertai syarikat tersebut.
Sebahagian besar ingin kekal menjadi kakitangan sepenuh masa Petronas dan oleh kerana terpaksa melalui satu proses mendapatkan kemahiran semula iaitu proses memperoleh kemahiran baru di luar bidang IT.
Manakala syarikat baru dengan kekuatan tenaga pakar sepertiga daripada yang diperlukan untuk meneruskan perkhidmatan IT untuk Petronas itu, terpaksa mengimport tenaga luar, terutama dari India.
Dengan demikian satu komponen yang sangat penting dan sangat kritikal untuk operasi Petronas itu sekarang terdedah kepada orang asing yang bukan sahaja bukan Melayu malah juga bukan Malaysia.
Sekali gus ini bukan sahaja merugikan Melayu malah menakutkan Malaysia. Tidakkah mungkin kita berbalik ke pangkal jalan? Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO dan ahli-ahli Parlimen Melayu patut meneliti perkara ini lebih lanjut. Semoga yang tertitik tidak akan tertumpah.

The main points he made on the outsourcing issue were:

1. Malays are losing out because what used to be a Malay dominated field in Petronas, will now be given to foreigners party, specifically from India
2. A critical operation to the country, (Petronas being a national oil company) will be 'exposed' to foreign powers and influence
3. the author suggested that UMNO Youth and Malay Members of Parliament will take up this issue and fight for the so-called weak Malays

My comments:
The points in the article is so backwards and not suitable with this age of globalisation. Malays as a race don't need protection, we need to be competitive and the ability to stand tall with the rest of the world. If we just want to be protected and not allow competition to arrive on our shores, then I'm really afraid for our future children and countrymen. Being one of the person that joined the new company, I am quite insulted, as I'm sure my other colleagues, by what the author wrote. We joined the new setup because we want to be better IT professionals and to do what we love and know best. Simple as that. We knew of the risks leaving a larger and more establised company but I guess the spirit of being pioneers kind of appeals to us. It doesn't matter who work for the company, be it Indians or Africans or even the Eskimos. What we need to do is learn from them and espouse to be as good or better than them. Foreign workers are a norm in many of our larger companies. They've been there even before the IT outsourcing issue was raised a couple of years ago. I suppose someone told the author about this issue but not the whole story. Being someone with credentials his writing would carry weight I suppose among the highly emotional group, but economic sense would just prevail, I hope. I believe the new UMNO Youth Deputy leader will not be caught into such issues. If not, then I don't know where this country is heading to.

I would like to share what another local writer wrote in Personal Money. Azizi Ali wrote under his article Spare Change,
"Competition will ensure that you remain on your toes, get better, innovate, reduce your cost, be creative, be resourceful and grow. And that's how you grow big, strong and rock the world. So, remove the barriers and let the fight begin. No one owes us anything."

Myths of Outsourcing

An interesting piece on IT outsourcing. This is something really close to everyone's hearts at the moment but as the author wrote, "The only constant in today's work environment is change." It's how you handle the change which really matters. Those who couldn't shape up might have to ship out.

Long Absence

 It sure has been quite a while since I wrote in this blog. Not sure why it was so, could it be because IE on my house computer screwed up or I was just plain lazy to write. Maybe I'm experiencing some sort of writer's block. Whatever it is, I've changed the look of the blog again, want to have a darker look on it. Just to recap some of thing that occured over the past month or so:

• Abah & Cu came over here a few days ago. It was the first time I met up with them since they got back from Mekkah. We haven't travelled down to KL for a month now.
• Awi got into an accident but she is okay. The motorcyclists she hit were not so lucky. Someone else was at fault but hopefully that person would've learnt her lesson and either she does something about her driving or better yet, hang up her license lah.
• Adiknor is confirmed to be pregnant after 3 month's of marriage. The newly weds must be in a hurry. Also they got their wedding pics inside the magazine, Nona.
• I'm settling down rather nicely in my new position. However, there are some unfinished business in terms of the management, hopefully the people at the top can clear things up quickly because us little people down here just want to carry on with our jobs. People who are dissatisfied should just put up with what's happening now and move on, for God's sake.
• Greece, lo and behold won the Euro 2004. As usual England had to bow out, yet again on penalties to Portugal, who went on to meet the Greeks in the final.

A lot more had happened but I just couldn't be bothered to rack my brains remembering all of them. Hopefully, I can safely say, I am back at blogging after rather long absence.  

Everything Changes But You.......NOT!!

This line from a song by Take That suddenly appears in my head when I was starting this blog entry. It just dawned on me that everything changes even you, by that I mean everyone and anyone. The past few weeks and days have all been about change, that's what life really is. Haziq just turned one year on 15 June 2004. I've suddenly been elevated to a higher responsibility position due to the departure of Am to Kuantan. It really is scary and daunting but my motto in life at the moment is to take things one day at a time. It is not an impossible task and equipped with the right tools and people, anyone can do this job. It's not like a PM's position, right? Nevertheless, similar perks would've been great.

There's a lot of work to be done and with Am away in Kuantan, the boss now wants us to fly on our own. And it really is a swim or sink situation. Challenges are abound but so far we've been able to handle them. Things like no office space, no PCs for the new people to work on. These can all be dealt with given time and resources. I just hope they can focus on the job and have the dedication to stay the path. I guess it is my job now to lead them. Funny how things turned out, eh?

With new people, there will be new challenges as well. I saw one example yesterday a situation concerning one of the new people. It really is kind of simple actually. A user called the IT office at 4 pm, which is the end of office hours on a Thursday here. The user is having some problems with his PC but his office is like so far away inside the plant. Of course the new guy who answered the phone wanted to go back and was relunctant to attend to that user's problem. The new guy cited that it's already at the end of office hours and basically gave the message to the user that it's too late, can we do this next week? To me, that's not a good response to the user. He must be thinking that we're providing crap services. The new guy should've tried to understand the user's problem and give other alternatives like logging in to another PC or inviting him to the IT office and do his work there and so on. Instead of closing one door, other doors need to be opened. That's what our job is, to provide service and assist the users. They don't want to listen about no connection, server problems or virus. They just want to do their jobs so it's our job to take up the problems. It's not an easy job but I guess I like the part about helping people which kind of draws me to it. It does get exasperating at moments but once I know I've helped a user in completing their work, I get a feeling of satistaction. I suppose best practices say there shouldn't be any problems in the first place but hey, we are in the real world and things do screw up.

So, mindset change is required and as I also have a lot to learn, the new people also need to catch up in terms of knowledge and culture.

My God! England is SO DAMN STUUUPID!!!

I can't believe those bunch of idiots. Already leading by one goal, got the chance to finish France off with that penalty and Becks couldn't get even that right. Down to the 90th minute, Zizou got a free kick and converted it. Shit lah. After that a cock up combination by 2 Liverpool players, one currently playing for it, the other is an ex. In the end, France got a penalty and Zizou effortlessly scored it. From facing defeat, they got a win. Call that class or what? England was too negative in the 2nd half and it serves them right, I suppose.

A Dream

"It is our dream & wish that you all move forward in your career in the new environment with CONFIDENCE. Pls take this as an opportunity to progress and continue learning. In this critical moments we hope you to keep spirit high, enjoy the challenges, be united, be focus and NEVER forget to PRAY to ALLAH to ensure what we do are with the BLESS from ALLAH."

I've never thought I'd be quoting my boss in this blog but this mail he sent to us yesterday really marked a new beginning for me at least. It is confirmed, Am will be transfered to MTBE to head iPerintis operations over there. I guess the boss had been mulling over this issue for weeks and yesterday he made the decision to push forward with it. The transfer was approved within a few hours and Am will be heading down south in I guess a couple of weeks, maybe less.

I guess it is good for Am to be in that new capacity but I will definitely feel a loss. Dah lah kat sini memang tak cukup orang and personally, I think we need as many experienced people as possible to keep this place intact or stabilised. But the management as decided and there's not much I can do or say to stop it. As the boss said, it's going to be challenging and Wan even remarked that I'll be the one facing the most challenges. Mostly new people will be coming on board in the next few weeks and there's a lot to be done to improve things over here. I suppose I have to be a good XO to the boss since I'm the most senior executive here after him. I don't covet any position just as long I can perform and do something I like. My passion still remains but it sure is daunting to take over Am's responsibilities because I've never been much exposed to the things he's doing now. So with him gone, I have to assume that role.

Whatever it is, I can only pray to Allah for strength, support from my family and friends and hopefully a lot of patience and resolve.

Great News!

I got some great news from my ex-boss regarding my performance last year. It sure is gratifying to know that your hardwork and effort is recognised by the company even though I am not part of anymore, per se. Nevertheless, it did strengthen my point in deciding to join my current company, as I know that this is my calling. Hehehehe, not really lah but at least I hope to do something I can be good at. So this decision is, Insyallah, the correct one.

It's kind of interesting observing different type of people who are affected by the current transformation process. Some just want to be rebellious, some accepted the fact that change is inevitable and chose to either remain in the same field or move on to something different. Whatever it is, the reaction that you express kind of shows the type of person you are. I suppose people like myself who opted to join have experienced it all. The looks people give, the whispers, the jokes, dry comments, dissatisfaction about this and that. Maybe I am too young to really bother about all this and in the end, just want to go to work, do something I enjoy, regardless how challenging it might be and go back home to my family. We can have an impact on things we have power on. Can I stop the sun from rising in the East? Can I avoid what is going to happen from the 1st of June? Some people just need to get off their high horses and reflect on how they themselves can contribute and not just criticise or 'berlagak bagus'.

People Management

"Lawa baju". "Merahnya!!". I've been getting these remarks from almost everybody when I walk around my old company. The new jacket colour is flaming red which can be seen from miles away. In the beginning I was quite self conscious to wear the new jacket but my friend Am just didn't seem to give a damn wearing it, so I'm now more comfortable wearing it everywhere. :)

It has been quite an experience to be thrown into an unfamiliar territory and to take up quite a major task, the biggest so far in my short working career. I see now that the most difficult is in managing people, not the technology or working culture. It is the people that we have to take care of. In my new working environment, I can see a lot of the people whom I'm interacting with are wary of our presence. Some are not sure how to deal with us, some are just downright cold as ice. Which is to be expected but not really what it should be. People should just be professional especially in handing over tasks and responsibilities. It's now we're the ones who are causing all these. It's the people up there, our bosses. If you don't like it, take it up with them not us, who just want to move forward and get on with our lives. You chose your path and I have chosen mine. We should just respect each other.

On this matter, I'm quite impressed with how Am has been dealing some 'difficult' people. He's just being happy-go-lucky, sometimes acting manja-like, but never showing discomfort or anger. We know that we're getting a not-so-good deal but our passion for the job and if we do things well, I'm sure will bear sweet fruits in the future. As been said before, the power of 3 will work wonders in this region. Whatever challenges lies ahead, we can overcome them if we use our heads and work together. Nothing is impossible, right? Regardless of the colour of the jacket we wear, what matters is what we do and produce. The rest is just cosmetics and makeup.

Still in the Office!!

I'm still in my new office (read: KIPC Data Centre) which is freezing cold. I'm just hanging around while the security system server is being configured. It crashed a few days, it's 4 GB hard disk space just couldn't cope with us being here. Hehehehehe. Actually, it's part of the handover process from the guy who is actually doing the work tonight.

I know Haziq will already be sleeping once I got home. I'll miss carrying him around the house like I usually do after coming home. So, I only got to spend a few minutes this morning with him and it kind of sucks that I couldn't spend more time. Hmmm, biasalah kot, being a father to have these sort of feelings. Hope Awi won't suddenly get jealous sudah lah. :)

It's almost 10 pm and I hope the work will complete soon so that I can go home, have dinner, watch some TV, sleep and wake up to play with Haziq tomorrow morning!!

Jalan-jalan di hari Sabtu

Awi and Haziq are flat tired now. Both of them went to bed early after a day trip to Kuala Terengganu. We met up with Abah, Mak, Adiknor and Razi this morning when they travelled by air to the state capital of Terengganu. Their main objective was really for Razi to be 'officially' introduced to all our family members in Terengganu. I also did this when I got married a couple of years ago but we went around, just the two of us.

Abah showed us the new house for my grandmother, Siti, which is currently being built. Quite a good location and not as big as the current house. There's some complication with the land on which the current house is located on as a result of it having a status of wakaf land. After that, we visited several relatives and we were on our way back at 5 pm, once Abah and Mak left for the airport.

The drive back shouldn't have taken more than 1.5 hours but the police force decided to do a road block, causing a long traffic jam, all for them to inspect everyone's driving license. What a waste of time and energy. Are they seriously going to catch criminals by doing such meaningless roadblocks?

Reached home before 8 pm, to find my auntie and uncle, Mak Chak & Ayah Nik to be at the house. They're on their way to KT from KL and since their son, Hadi is staying here, they decided to stopover. We had dinner at one of their relative's house and I am now back home, fresh after taking a bath and can't wait to go to bed. It's been a hot and tiring day. Can't wait for work tomorrow....

Culture Shock

I do believe that my cousin, his wife and friends are experiencing some culture shock after being in Kerteh for 2 days. All the adjectives have been said, quiet, relaxed, small, no big shops, nothing happens on Friday etc. Kesian lah jugak but that is the reality of living in Kerteh. I guess the place just grew on myself over the years. It did got me to think about the time when I just touched down in Kerteh. Just the two of us with Reza, my old housemate. We moved houses a couple of times before settling down in Panalex housing area. I guess, we took things in our stride and did manage to last until now. I do feel at home nowadays, but I still bitch about the long traveling hours. I'll try to reassure my cousin because things can only get better, right?

Trip to MTBE, Kuantan

For the second time in one week, I travelled with my boss, this time to MTBE, Kuantan which is another location which falls under the responsibility of my boss. At times, I do pity him because the new management had assigned him with quite a considerable heavy task. Looking after a huge area, encompassing about 10 companies which would have about 3000 thousand users. It's not an easy task and I do feel the uncertainty but I really want to see if all of us, a minority group, are able to pull this through. It's such a massive challenge and I don't regret the path that I had chosen. I suppose it gives me a chance to prove myself. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be handpicked to run a large corporation like Wahid (Telekom) and Che Khalib (TNB)? Hehehee, wishful thinking, I guess.

 

Anyway, the trip to MTBE wasn't as difficult I thought it's gonna be. We're supposed to collect data on the company's IT inventory but it turned out they've already done it. Somehow, someone lost the information and we had to dig it up again. Thankfully, the MTBE people were helpful enough and our main objective was achieved within a few minutes. We then proceeded to check out the data centres in the proximity. I have a feeling I'll be visiting those locations many times in the coming months!!

 

During the drive up and down, the boss and I talked on a variety of things. From the interesting (read: sex-filled) court cases to his old colleagues to how to strategise our approach in handling our new clients. He realised that he's no superman but I liked the way he's going to take things one at a time. I could sense his nervousness at taking up the big responsibility but I intend to give my best to ensure our success, as I'm sure Am and Wan will be doing so as well. I still remember the vision that our old setup had in EPEMSB, which is to be the best IT setup in the East Coast. I believe that vision still holds except that it is only left to a handful of us. Thay're many naysayers but I have moved on and it is time to look for the future and work our asses off.  

Testting Mail2Blogger

Blogger has updated their template and features so I've changed mine and this is just to test out its mail to blog option. It'll be easier after this...:)

Overdue Blogging

I just came back from KL, attending my new company's orientation program. Quite an interesting half day event. To me the highlights of the event were the opening remarks by the CEO and one of the founders of the company. They basically stressed the importance of teamwork, loyalty and wanting to be the best. I have to say that I was quite inspired after the session. There's a lot of effort, time and energy that needs to be put in after this. I think most of my colleagues in the East Coast region are ready and will plough on despite the new challenges coming our way.

All Modes of Transport

Yesterday, we made the journey from Bidor down to KL and then up again the East Coast to Kerteh. We drove down in the morning using Adiknor's car, went for lunch at my auntie's house in Kg Tunku, then back for a while to Bangsar, then took the train from KL Sentral to KLIA, flew to Kuantan and finally drove home on my trusty Honda. I would be lying if I say that it wasn't tiring but I suppose it beats driving any other day. Awi also felt the fatigue and we're not really looking forward to the traveling that we have to do again this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I love to be in KL but the journey can literally kill you. If not the road accident, the fatigue can really put you off balance for a few days. Especially for a mother like Awi, it is not easy to do all those. I hope we can rest for a few weeks after this because there'll be more events coming up in June pulak.

We went down to KL for a few functions. The main one being to attend Awi's best friend, Amy's wedding. They were housemates in Kerteh for four years before Awi got married. We were at the akad nikah on Friday night. It was kind of boring because Awi left me alone waiting outside while she went up to the bride's room with Haziq. There weren't many people who I know, in fact none. :) So the groom came and did all those akad nikah's stuff, took pictures, I'm sure some women must've cried and we proceeded to dinner, which was quite a delicious affair, masakan ala kampung dgn kerabu and sambal belacan.

The next morning, we had breakfast with the new couple on the street, Razi and Adiknor. My parents with Cu and Ucop went for a short holiday in Langkawi. It was a long weekend due to Labour Day, Maulidur-Rasul and Wesak Day happening on 3 consecutive days. The original plan was to have Kak Nik and Razif also but Razif got the fever, so it was just the 5 of us.

After breakfast, we then drove up to Bidor to visit Awi's parents. Usually the journey took max 2 hours but it took me almost 4 hours to get there, plus the stops I made to take a nap. Many cityfolks took the opportunity to balik kampung like we did so in resulted in a major highway jam. Only in Malaysia, I believe this could happen. A traffic jam along a highway!!

On Sunday, I drove up to Kuala Kangsar to visit my good friend and ex-housemate, Basheer. His wife, Sarah just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Fatima something. We both got married in the same year, 2002 and I haven't seen him since then because he then went to Japan to work. He's back in Malaysia now and I hope we can meet up more often after this.

So, all in all, it was quite an eventful weekend. Tomorrow, I will start work as an iPerintis staff. I do feel some sort of excitement and some unsureness but I hope to give the best I can in my new position. I foresee more responsibilities and challenges. However, it is good for my career and the most important thing to remember is that I chose this path so I must make sure that things will go well. It is within my powers to do so, with God's assistance of course.

PS: Do check out my photoblog. Got loads of pics there from the wedding and events over the weekend.

My Little Sister

I promised Adiknor that I'll write something about her in this blog once she got married. Well, she did so, last week. It was a rather elaborate ceremony I have to say but that's the modern Malay way of holding weddings, I suppose. Actually, to ask me personally, I thought she got married a bit young for today's standards but come to think again, why delay something which is encouraged by our religion and if she found her life partner this early, she'll be among the luckiest people in the world!! I know many who haven't still.

I gave a speech during the lunch event but I didn't touch too much with regards to Adiknor. The thank you portion was so damn long, thank to Abah. Adiknor is 4 years younger than me and I like to believe that we wre quite close while growing up. We quarell sometimes but I think I've hold on to the position of the big brother protecting litte sister quite well over the years. We shared quite a lot of secrets, I knew about her many 'peminat' and she read all my letters which I've kept while studying in the UK. She even pried into my very secretive diary when I was in Form 4. There was once during the Mask toy craze and she wanted this one toy car. We shared money and we bought the toy together. I can still remember those days and I hope she was damn happy to get that toy because if I recall correctly, she kept it only for a short while.

When she moved to a boarding school, I was at the verge of flying off to the UK to further my studies. However, still we kept in touch through mail, phone and eventually, email, irc and ICQ. See how the technology progressed as the years of my living abroad increases. I visited her at school and even provided free Science tuition whenever she's available. Till this day I'm not really sure whether she was excited about me coming for the tuition classes or the McDonalds value meals I brought along.

Throughout those years I really did enjoy helping her in any way I could. I was away most of the time, after studying abroad, coming here to work. So, whenever possible, I will do whatever I can. What is a big brother for anyway, right? It was a good brother-sister relationship and I do pray that in this new phase in her life she will be happy and contented.

Adiknor, you want advice? Well, as I said before, it's a multitude of factors but work hard and make the wedding enjoyable. Listen to Razi and make sure he listens to you as well. No more retiring to caves in the forests, okay? Work with one another and not for one person only. A marriage is a partnership and I do admit that sometimes I don't do as much as I'm supposed to but I'll try to improve, right Awi? :)

All in all, Adiknor and Razi, have a happy marriage, enjoy the rest and don't forget to visit us one of these days in Kerteh!!

Perkahwinan Yang Gemilang, Cemerlang & Terbilang

Last week, my little sister Adiknor got married. All three of us went back early to attend the Majlis Khatam Quran, a ceremony to mark the finishing of reading the whole Quran. There were quite a lot of things to do. The women prepared the decorations and the men did the arranging of tables, carpets and lifting stuff. The last wedding done at the house was two years ago, which was yours truly's.

The main event, which is the akad nikah was on Saturday which was basically when the groom comes over to the house to get an official permission from the bride's father. The father or wali said the akad followed by the groom's ijab and then once all the witnesses agreed what the groom said was correct, then the marriage is official. My sister is now officially married to my new brother-in-law, Razi. After that, there was the usual ceremonies like membatalkan air sembahyang, putting on wedding rings on each other's fingers and eating a feast. The whole kenduri lasted till about 4 pm and that was that. Quite a simple process but the preparations put into it was massive. That night there was a power breakdown along the whole street due to one house further down being struck by lightning. I'm just relieved that it didn't happen during the day like during Kak Nik's wedding. The only disasters which occurred were a light bulb exploding and a leaking aircond.

The next day was the really major event for Malay weddings nowadays, which is the feast at a large hall. Everyone was so excited and nerves were kind of short. You see, usually people in KL do these kind of feasts at night but my father wants it done during the day due to some reasons, which I sort of agree with. Anyway, for the past few weeks, myself and Awi have been racking our brains to prepare a montage to be shown during the lunch at the hall, right before food was taken out. I think we did quite a good job, largely thanks to Awi, because she got really good ideas on the wordings and flow of the presentation. If left to me, I think it won't be that interesting, funny and memorable.

As usual, I had to give a thank you speech to all that contributed to the wedding. I was so nervous about it despite it being my 3rd time now. Nevertheless, once on stage, it wasn't too bad. I guess I could speak in front of an audience and if more practice is done and the speech is better prepared, I would've rocked. :) All in all, the event ended well, Mak and Abah were happy, the bride and groom were happy and I was happy. One funny thing was that during my speech I said something to the effect, of praying that my sister's wedding will be "perkahwinan yang gemilang, cemerlang & terbilang." It was a joke and people laughed but there was this one guy in the audience who was so pissed off because he thought I wanted to campaign for UMNO or BN. Haiya, joke sikit2 pun tak boleh ke? Some people are so narrow minded.

There's still more events this weekend. Now on the groom's side. We will be travelling down again tomorrow. It's tiring but as part of a family, it is something that we need to do as we are staying far away from everyone else. Tak nak lah jadi kera sumbang pulak. :)

In The End, It Was Soo Simple

I made a decision yesterday to join the IT company which has made me an offer. Initially, I rejected the offer because I didn't think it was as good as the one which I am currently enjoying. I've even almost secured a position in another department. However, during a performance appraisal session with my section manager on Monday, it suddenly dawned on me that I truly am enjoying working as an IT professional and I know I am good at it. It's not about being overconfident or what but I realise that this is something that I want to do and do well in it. Of course, it is important to work in a secure company but in order to excel, I must have that one thing in myself, if not I'll just put in a mediocre performance. And that one thing is passion.

In the end, the way I made a decision was quite simple actually. I set aside all the external factors like compensation, benefits, job security and concentrated on what I myself can do or change. And the only thing I can control is how I go about doing things. I love what I am doing so why do I have to stop doing it even though it is in another company. I don't have to care what other people say because I'll be the one doing the job. I truly believe that if I do well, and my other colleagues do well too, there is no reason why the company cannot excel? In the end, it is up to yourself. So, after much thought and deliberation, I then decided that I will instead accept the offer and I've told my friends and the boss that I will be joining the company, instead. And to tell you the truth, I feel so light as though a heavy burden has been lifted off my shoulders. Actually, I am not really looking forward to join the new dept because I've been there before and the work environment was not something I think suits me.

The coming months will definitely be challenging but I'll take it one day at a time and put my best effort. The most important thing is for me to enjoy the work and cherish the challenge.

New (Financial) Year!!

I guess all Finance people, at least in Petronas, celebrates their new year according to the financial year which starts from 1 April. I was April-fooled once today by Shai when he said he'll be getting married at the end of the year. Siot aje.

I'm still stuck at the office at 7 pm, supervising some job by the contractors. It's a bit tiresome but somebody needs to do it. I guess since I could be changing departments any day now, I should complete all my outstanding jobs asap. I don't want to think about the things to come because I'm not really sure what I'll be doing even though I've expressed my interest and long term career plans to my management.

My little sister, Adiknor will be getting married next week. Cepat jugak lah dia kahwin, she'll be 24 this December. But she found someone she wants to settle down with and since it is her wishes, so it is better for them to get married sooner rather than later. There'll be quite a number of functions to attend to and many baju melayus to change into. I even have to give a speech at the reception. I've got the things to say outlined, it's just a matter to go onto that podium and say it. Alah, don't want to think too much about it lah.

Haiya, bila lah diorang ni nak habis buat kerja? Bosan betul lah kena tunggu macam ni aje. :(

What Will Be, Will Be....

I don't intend to join in the masses of criticism of the recent general elections. Some parties have targeted their guns on the Election Commission, claiming that the election was rigged and so on and so forth. Rumours have been flying around about some people not satisfied with the result and wanted to create unrest. I suppose, there is a another perspective that people should consider. Put trust in Allah. He has planned for all this to happen even before there's Time or a universe. If there were really wrongdoings, then those who had wronged then they will receive the punishment in the hereafter.

Of course, Islam taught us to take action if we see something wrong but in this case, in order to respect the people's wishes, then just let things be as it is. Go back to the drawing board, learn about yourselves and where things went wrong. There is no entity which is perfect except Allah. Even the Prophet Muhammad encountered defeat and tribulation during his time, Uhud War being one example. But the Muslims at that time learnt their lessons and they went on to capture Mecca a few years after that.

I'm not saying that PAS is the worst thing to befell Malaysia but I do believe they are important to the development of Malaysia. I think they are the most misunderstood bunch of people in the country and rightly so, people are afraid of things they don't understand. Nevertheless, if I can say anything to their leaders now, I would say,"Accept the punches like a man, and learn ways to avoid new incoming ones". Look at the new PM as an example. He was put into cold storage once for a couple of years but he took it like a man. I'm sure he saw it as a test from Allah and just struggled on ahead. It is people like these who turned out to be great leaders. Those who suffered and knew the meaning of struggle. There is one such guy sitting inside a cell inside Sungai Buloh prison. I wonder if he would turn out to be among the great ones one day too.

BN obtaines resounding victory

Much has been said and written. In the end, it is up to the people to decide. And the majority has decided. BN is returned as the winning coalition and will form the national government and pending the recounting process that is currently going on, will also form all state governments. The Islamic party in Terengganu also lost and twice in 5 years, there is change of government in the state. I am confident Allah wants this to happen and so it did. There is no reason to deny or say bad things or speculate. I hope the government will work to provide the best for the people and we will all work together to make the nation a better place for us and our children.

At Last, A Decision Has Been Made.

I was in a kind of a limbo in the past few days. One day I wanted to accept the offer, the other moment, no lah, better to stay put. The next day, change my mind again. Today, the top man in the company making the offer came to Kerteh to, I guess, swing the vote for people to accept the offer. The response, at best I observed to be lukewarm. In our setup, Am, Wan and the boss, I am quite confident, will accept the offer. I wasn't very sure right to the end. I've already got an offer, which is not 100% guaranteed but I'm kind of confident of getting it. However, I do like the job I'm doing now even though I wasn't sure the career prospects with the experience I have obtained in the past two years or so. There are various reasons why I told my boss and my senior manager that I am going to reject the offer. Here are some which I can think of:

1. I'm worried that I'll be only good at general things and don't have the opportunity to obtain specific skills. The boss of the new company said that I'll be doing the same thing I'm doing now for at least another two years. Don't get me wrong, I love what I'm doing now but I need to think of the future because the world is so competitive and I wasn't sure the new company can help me in becoming more prepared for the tough years ahead.

2. The offer and the people in that company are not so enticing to me. Maybe if the salary offered is higher, then it won't be so difficult to make a decision. However, in general the whole package is not so great that everyone is rushing to join the new company.

3. Sentimental reasons. I have been part of Petronas since I finished secondary school at 17 years old in 1993. I joined the 'half' batch which flew to the UK to do A-levels. We were known as batch BTU 9.5 because we started one term later than batch BTU 9. It was one of the greatest period of my life. We were like the centre of attention because we were among the youngest of the BTU. Looking at old pictures, I looked like a nerdish dweeb but nevertheless, I had so much fun back then. And it was all under the Petronas banner. So, even though I've only worked only almost 5 years, I've been with the company more than 10 years. Of course, people will say that in today's age there's not such thing as loyalty to one company but upon presented with an opportunity to resign from this one company, I am not quite ready to do yet.

I don't know what Am and Wan thinks about my decision. I am sad by how things have turned out. The past two years were the most enjoyable in my career so far. To start anew and learn things again is quite a daunting task but I know I can do it. I have enough self belief in myself to say that I can perform well in the new position. I suppose if I just wanted to maintain the good old gang of ICM, I would have joined the new company but there's no guarantee that the setup will remain for long. Any of us could be transfered somewhere else after a few years. I'm not getting any younger and I need to find my niche soon. I thought it is with IT. As it turns out, it is not and hence, I need to make a move again. I pray it will be a correct one.

The Chicken Pox Boys

Haziq got chicken pox!! Guess who was the culprit who gave it to him? :) No prizes for the correct guess. Anyway, look on the bright side. At least he got it while he's small and won't really be scarred for life like your yours truly.

I started work proper today and of course the order of the day is the iPerintis issue. I have a really big decision to make in the next few days. For me, it's really whether the soft issue (job satisfaction, passion) versus hard issue (benefits, compensation). By far, the company, I'm working in at the moment gives better renumeration than the one making the offer. Today I also received confirmation of a department who is willing to absorb me should I reject the offer. Haiya, it's so difficult lah to make a decision. I suppose I'm one of those 'lalang' on this matter.

Yeah! My article got published.

You know my blog entry yesterday, titled People Power. Well, I sent it to my favourite online newspaper, Malaysiakini.com and it was published under the Letter section. They changed the title to make it more interesting, "Deny BN two-thirds majority and let them ‘work for us’". It's been a while since this sort of thing happened, the last time it was only during my university days.

People Power!

It is kind of pathetic that our only way of participating in the democratic process is by casting one teeny weeny vote. From this vote, the contestant with the majority votes, even by one vote, will get to be the representative either at the state or Parliament. It's a simple process and we've been doing it regularly every 5 years or so since we obtained independence.

I guess we're doing quite well for a nation of 47 years. But there's always this niggling thought at the back of my mind, "Could we have done better?"Could there be less corruption at all levels of our society? Must two prime ministers who came into power during my lifetime begin their administration talking about corruption and clean administration? Did it mean nothing was done by the former PM that the latter one had to start all over? Could crime be reduced instead of we're getting all these weird acts of crime being done?

I'm sure people will tell me, instead of pissing about it from the outside, join the party and do something about it. Yeah right, the image of a guy in the Sungai Buloh prison came to mind. Better just to shut up and put up.

There is another way but it requires for most common people like me to conspire in the general election and return more opposition candidates in the Parliament. No need to let them win any states, just put more of them in the Dewan Rakyat. Better still, deny the symbolic 2/3 majority that the ruling party covets so much. There's no constitutional significant at all for one party to obtain 2/3 majority. You only need a simple majority to form a government anyway. It's just a symbol to show that so many people support it and they would have 5 years to do anything they want.

Wouldn't it be great if the 2/3 majority is denied? The ruling party would realise that even though many people voted for them, a considerable amount also voted for the other party. It would say to itself, "Hmmm, we cannot just do as we like anymore. We must govern better, give better service, be a cleaner administration. We need to show to the other voters that voted to other side that we will be better so that in 5 years time, they will vote us back."

The problem with this country is that, when the ruling party loses a state like the one I'm working in now, Terengganu, it doesn't try to show that it is a better party. Instead it punishes the voters by taking away the bulk of the funds for the state and give them to the ruling party politicians for them to disseminate to the people. The people would like that, who wouldn't like free money right? But in the long run, it will have a bad effect. Say you have RM1000. You give RM100 to 10 families. I think most of them would go off to buy food or spend a day in Kuantan. What if you invest that money in buying books for your children? They will get knowledge and can use that knowledge to improve their lives later on. Are families responsible enough to go out and buy books for their children? No, that's why we need a responsible government which will arrange all these for us. Build schools, train better teachers, get more police force on the streets to thwart of criminals and improve public amenities. Right now the so-called 'wang ehsan' goes through the ruling party politicians first without any proper monitoring or accounting done and it is up to them to disseminate the money to whomever they like. Who dares to deny that those politicians won't take some of that money and channel them into their own pockets? In the end the voters lose out, the people lose out. And one parting thought, if I am one of those politicians, would I work hard to ensure the ruling party win in the coming election in the state? I won't because the wang ehsan might not be there for my taking anymore. So might as well lose but at least I'll still have money to bring home at the end of the day.

Flag War!!

After being cooped in the house for the last 4 days or so, I went out with Awi and Haziq this morning to buy breakfast. I was kind of surprised to see the changing landscape along Kerteh town. It has started for a few weeks already and with the general election (GE) coming up, it is expected in this part of the nation. I am referring of course to the flag war. The whole highway is lined up with flags of the three main parties fighting for seats in this Malay heartland, the ruling party at federal level, BN, ruling party in the Terengganu state, PAS and the considerably new party of 5 years, Keadilan. It's kind of exciting and I can't wait for nominations day when the campaign season will begin. It's only 8 days but I don't really care because I can't wait to vote. More on this in later entry.

In addition to flags, some of the parties have used slogans to get across their messages. For instance,

3 Langkah Untuk Pembangunan di Terengganu:
1) Undilah Barisan Nasional
2) Undilah Barisan Nasional
3) Undilah Barisan Nasional.

A few are quite personal as well like saying this one party befriends the devil, swears, lies and does all the 7 Deadly Sins. Personally, I want a more matured debate between all parties. Be rid of all the rhetoric and present issues that matters to the voters. Issues like education, healthcare, corruption, abuse of power, rising crime, infrastructure like better roads and clean water. Do I expect to see them in this GE? Well, looking at the slogans along the streets, I don't expect there to be much. Our politicians don't think us voters are matured enough yet. We still have a long way to go. In the developed countries like the States and UK, you can see that the politicians don't treat the voters like small children. I remember in the UK, all parties including the opposition parties are allowed to airtime on TV and radio to state their manifestos. They could take up page ads in the mainstream newspapers to tell what they plan to do should they win. Representatives from different parties can slug it out in an open forum on the TV debating on a particular issue.

What about us? I don't know if this will happen or not in the near future but it is something which will benefit the country and its people. No emotions, no rhetoric, just plain old school type debate on issues.

And the Excitement Level Goes Up a Notch

MGG Pillai, you're proven wrong again. You said the general election won't be held on the same day as the F1 race. Well, the SPR said to hell with the F1 and decides that Malaysia will go out to vote on that very date, which is in 16 days time, 21st of March. I'm a bit excited this time because it's going to be the first time I'll be voting. I'm registered in Pantai Dalam parliament constituency in Kuala Lumpur so I plan to be there on the morning of 21st March. On the contrary, Awi is registered here in Kerteh so it's quite a situation we're in but we're both adamant to be responsible citizens and cast our votes. So, we'll think of something.

I'm not really keen to reveal my political affiliation but most of friends would know anyway. I was one of the idealistic people born out of the 1998 Anwar Ibrahim episode. I even went to see the man a few days before he was arrested in Bukit Damansara. I've been to a few of Kak Wan's Hari Raya open houses whenever I had the opportunity. I'd readily admit to anyone that my political hero is the Parti Keadilan's Youth Leader, Ezam Md Noor. There was also this one hilarious experience I had with Cu which I don't want to share here for fear of being scolded by Mak. Hehehehe, whatever it is we rocked the house that night, right Cu?

Please don't rush out to admonish me as being ungrateful and so on. I know how the system works and I've had the opportunity to see governments change in the UK without so much of a tremor. I know the country is working fine as it is under the current party but I believe we can be a better country with a stronger opposition inside Parliament and state assemblies. We want a better check and balance on the government. One of the cancer attacking our country now is corruption and it can destroy the country if not put into check. I hope one day the ACA will be independent and seen to be independent by making it report directly to Parliament.

There are so many things I would want which I hope can be achieved if we have a stronger opposition. However, I do know the reality and I'm sure the same parties will return to power except for some changes in seats. It's going to be interesting to see the results coming in on that Sunday night. Can't wait for it to come. :)

2nd Day of Chicken Pox Attack

It is only Day 2 of my chicken pox illness and I'm already almost dead with boredom. Not to mention the ticklish sensation I'm feeling all over my body, especially on the back and face. The pox has appeared in the scores if not hundreds overnight. I know I have a fever but it doesn't feel like the normal feverish cold. I feel tired and sort of 'lenguh' all over. Am brought back my notebook and even though I have the PPA form to fill out, I am just not in the mood to do much about it. Overall, it sure sucks to be sick and I can't wait for this thing to blow over.

One the worst thing about having a highly contaigous illness is that you cannot get too close to other people who don't have it yet. So, it's been about 2 days and half now since I get to hold Haziq in my arms and play with him. People say the virus takes time to develop in your body, perhaps a few weeks, so theoretically, I got the chicken pox virus from someone a few weeks ago. So, Awi & Haziq are most likely to have the virus inside them already. Well, better take some precautions I suppose. Pity the young boy since he just recovered from fever and a bad cough.

Awi also has been wonderful. It's not easy to take care of a baby and at the same time someone who's down with something contagious. I mean, I can't just take care of Haziq while she's in the bathroom or praying. I can just look from afar and make sure Haziq does not play with something dangerous or fall of the bed. I don't know how she does it but then I've come to realise, mothers are one kind of people.

So, off to bed now. Still not feeling on top of the world. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day.

Down with Chicken Pox!!

Can you believe it? I have the chicken pox. I've always known that I haven't contracted this illness since small even though I do remember Mak telling me to hang out around Adiknor & Cu when they were down with chicken pox, many years ago. Somehow, my immune system was so strong at that time, the chicken pox virus didn't have a chance against my antibodies. Hehehe, I never learnt Biology so if the terminology is wrong, cut me some slack okay?

So, I'm off work for the whole week. Really am praying that this chicken pox will blow over by next Monday. You see, we all received an email from the HR manager of the company that wants to take over the IT operations of my current company. They will be handing over the offer letter on the 8th March, which is next Monday. I really want to have a look at the offer because it's hard to make an informed decision about something major as this.

Don't want to dwell to much on that for now. Instead of speculating, lets just wait and see. It's only a few days wait anyway. In the meantime, I have to suffer these pox tickling my body all over. And people say, it's going to get worse. And the situation gets even worse because Awi also hasn't contracted chicken pox before. I do pray that she won't get it yet, if not for sure Haziq will be down with it as well. There goes my plans for the next two weeks or so. Anyway, we just pray and hope for the best, I suppose.

Are We Coming To The End of The Road?

Yet again today, the boss told us that the offer letter will be delayed. It was supposed to be sometime this week, or so everyone speculated that it will be on the 25th of February. However, that will not be happening as well. It doesn't look good for the company who is going to 'take over' the IT operations. Believe me, the easiest thing they're doing so far is to finalise the takeover. The hard part is actually in running the show once they finalised the deal. Man, it's not easy to run an IT shop. It's about meeting customers' requirements and we had to deliver them nevertheless. Sometimes, we feel like we're slaves, never really being appreciated for our efforts. But I've learnt to notice that some people do appreciate and it is for what these people showed, I am willing to go the extra mile while doing my job.

Maybe to some people (like my boss), it ain't over till the fat lady sings. But we need to look forward and see what opportunities will be coming our way. We should see this as an opportunity to consider our next course of action. Maybe it's time for a career change. To some people, the change will be good if they join the new company as they'll be able to develop further their skills. As for me, the judgement is still open on this one. It's been playing inside my head hundreds of times during the long weekend we just had. Do I want to move to KL quickly? Or should I do something that will be better for my career in the long run? Do I have the necessary skills to be competitive? It's not an easy decision to make. Actually, I told Awi, this is even more difficult to decide than the time when I decided to marry her. :)

I've been spending a lot of time at the plant in recent days, supervising the network upgrade project. It's tiring but I do enjoy myself even though Awi wasn't so happy when I came back at 4 in the morning. I kind of like working with the contractors assigned to this project. Even though they have some problems with being punctual but I like their attitude. It's good to see those traits in people and I'm sure they'll go far if they keep that up.

Haziq hasn't been well also since last week. It started with fever and now he's having running nose and coughing. And since he's grown a bit too, it's more difficult to give him medicine and milk when he's 'meradang'. But Awi handles these incidents very competently...must be mother's instincts and skills, I suppose. Do pray that he'll get better in the next few days.

Change is Good For You

Haziq turns 8 months today. A lot has happened since that Sunday evening at Pantai Medical Centre. Anyway, he's really a bundle of joy now, ever smiling showing off his 4 growing teeth. He's also getting more active by the day. I'm sure he'll be crawling all over the house in no time at all!!

These past few days, the only thing that people from my profession inside the company are anticipating is the offer letter. Rumours keep changing by the day and the details seemed to vary on a daily basis. Seriously speaking, I'm getting a bit tired of waiting and just want to get the whole deal in front of me so that it'll be easier for me to make a decision. I suppose it's a bit frustrating because I can't do much about my future in this matter, even though I so much just want to take things into my hands!!

I gave to Ucop a book on "Who Moved My Cheese for Teens?" recently which talks about handling changes in our lives. In a nustshell, all of us will undergo some sort of change in our lives. Moving to a new house, changing jobs, getting married, having children even getting a new boss. We need to be able to manage these changes well in order to make something of our lives. If we resist change, then we will just be left behind. But, one thing I notice is that the older you are, the less receptive you are to changes. That's just the life order, I suppose.

As for me, I intend to take any changes coming my way positively. Either way or path I choose, i still need to handle the change. Either it being a new company or a new place to work at. I just wish it's for me choose sooner rather than later.

Flurry of Activities

Time really just flies by doesn't it? It's already early February. Where the hell did January go? Never really noticed it passing by. Anyway, since coming back to Kerteh on Tuesday, I've been busy as a bee. I encountered a really gross experience on Wednesday. I was preparing to bring out Awi's car for her to go to work and also to put Haziq into his car seat. To my disgust and horror, I saw a dead cat on the floor of the front passenger seat. Euuggh, it was soooo disgusting, with maggots, millions of them, I'm telling you. I almost cried when I saw it. Not because I pitied the cat. Noooo, I was angry at that stupid cat. Can't really recall when it quietly went into the car and I suppose died after being in there for 5 days. I almost cried because I knew then, that I had to remove and wash the car of all those disgusting stuff. Man, I know I can stand certain horrendous things but this one really takes the cake.

I called in to the office saying I'll be a bit late, that I had some problem with the 'car'. After sending Awi and Haziq, I drove back to the house and relunctantly changed into old clothes and mentally prepare myself for what I'll be going through. I kept thinking to one of the Fear Factor episodes which featured maggots and my knees went weak. The smell was so unbearable, took a deep breath and looked on how I was supposed to tackle this problem. First try was unsuccessful. I couldn't pull myself together. At the third try, only then I followed Nike's advice to Just Do It. I wore plastic bags around my hands and then collected the dead cat and put inside a garbage bag. Don't think it's still over. Nooo, there are the maggots to take care off. Man, I believe I can cry thinking back to what I had to endure. Never in my life I want to go through that experience again. Suffice to say and and to not delve into too much details of my sufferings, I decided to change the whole car carpet and properly clean the insides of the car.

I still wonder when that cat got into the car. Must be the night before when I was packing and preparing for the drive down to KL for the Aidiladha break. I do feel a bit sorry for the creature but not when I recall the horror I had to endure.

Okay lah enough of that story. I do still feel traumatised. The other day, I actually jumped when I saw a cat sitting beside me. Never done that before.....

Refreshing Weekend in KL

Just arrived in Kerteh after pushing off from Bangsar at around 10 am. Stopped over at Awi's best friend's (Nor & Zack) house in Sri Gombak before continuing with our journey. As usual, throughout the whole time driving, I kept asking myself when in the world will we stop doing all these traveling back and fro from the East Coast. I suppose we could just go back to Bangsar or Bidor not as usual as we are doing now, saving our energy and time, but it's not something we are willing to sacrifice, I suppose. In the meantime, we just have to endure the back pain, Haziq's throwing his tantrum (it will get worse when he's older) and spend 6 hours on the road every so often. :(

Nevertheless, we had a good time during the Aidiadha weekend, well I know I did. by right, we should be spending this Hari Raya at Bidor but Awi's parents are in Kangar, looking after Awi's sister's children. Since, it's kind of a long drive to Kangar, everyone agreed to spend raya elsewhere. Never mind, we'll be going to Bidor to meet up with Nyah & Abang Ngah when they come back from performing the Haj.

As usual, I just love spending time around the house. The renovated kitchen is complete, though I forgot to take any pictures of it. Went for prayers as usual at Masjid Bangsar. Came back and ate breakfast before proceeding to other places. To me the highlight of the Hari Raya was the BBQ dinner. The guys (Cu, Razif, Razi and myself) cooked beef, lamb chops, prawns and squid. Cu and Ucop loved the barbequed squid but I enjoyed the beef and prawns very much. I'm sure everyone ate till their stomach was full. I know I did!!! I just loved the feeling of togetherness as a family, hearing Abah talking about his life as a student in the UK while sipping hot coffee. Such a nice feeling and didn't want it to end but of course, all good things must come to an end.

We also went to see Adik (Awi's younger sister) in Serdang. She couldn't get a ticket to join her parents in Perlis and ended up staying alone in KL as all her flatmates have gone home to their respective kampungs.

On the last night in KL, us three brothers went to the DVD shop to find some more good films. Following that we lepak in Bangsar Coffee Bean and guess who did we meet? Khalil Yaakob, the Information Minister. I guess, some of ministers are kind of cool, as long as they prefer Coffee Bean to Starbucks!!

Anyway, it's back to work tomorrow and I must have a zillion things to do. Hope the boss won't hassle me too much.

Working late....

Here I am, in the office at 10:09 at night. I'm supervising some cabling job which is part of the network upgrade project I'm incharge of. I like this project even though it's such a lot of work and hassle. I wish I can just spend more time concentrating on this project but other tasks need to be taken care of as well. Wan Norimah just came up with this KPI Tracking system for us all and I have some 20 incomplete tasks. Hehehe, talk about being ineffective. Well, it's good to see all those tasks listed. Makes you more 'bersemangat' to complete them as soon as possible. But in my line of work, I don't think it is possible to complete all tasks. Attend one meeting and you have about 5 tasks to be done. What if you attend 2 or 3 per day like today? More and more tasks to be completed. Anyway, no use complaining about it. Just need to put your nose down and keep to it.

I don't really like to work late like this. Don't get to spend enough time with Haziq today, only a couple of hours after work, before coming here. Managed to get him to sleep, though. :) Still got the touch in me hands....hehehe.

Long Relaxing Weekend

Today is the third and final day of the Chinese New Year long weekend. We didn't go anywhere far since we'll be driving to KL next weekend for the Hari Raya Haji, which by the way is another long weekend. I took the opportunity yesterday (Friday) to catch up with work at the office. Spent the whole day rectifying problems related to the new attendance system. There's still some teething problems which, contrary to what the boss hopes and wants, will always be present because of the way the system is designed. Nevertheless, the visit by Shahrina earlier of the week, helped a lot in teaching me how to solve some of those problems so hopefully, life won't be so bad after this. So, thanks a lot Shahrina even though you ran into some problems like getting lost in KT!!

The West Wing DVD I ordered also arrived earlier this week, all 22 eposides from season 1. I've watched 15 episodes in less than a week and I hate to tell you again and again, The West Wing series is one of the best thing shown on TV. I don't care it has US propaganda or Jewish sentiments. It's a story about people with power and how they handle the power. My favourite character is Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) the deputy chief of staff. I like the one where he bungled up a press conference when he accidentally confirmed the president has a secret plan to control inflation. Brilliant scriptwriting, just brilliant.

I also came upon another realisation of my current situation. I believe I would still be here, working in Kerteh, for at least another two years. Me and Awi talked it out and it just dawned on me that I need to make some concessions on my part as well. Nothing is concrete so far but based on the information in hand, it is likely that I'm going to stay put for a few more years here.

Am I in the most misunderstood profession?

A friend of mine at work asked me a very interesting question today. He asked me,"What is it exactly that you guys do in your department?" The 'guys' is referring to me, Wan and Am. I was quite dumbfounded and lost for words because I just couldn't believe that such a question can be posed to me. I would think people would already see what is being contributed by this small department that I joined in mid-2002 and do not have to ask such a question. Are we so unknown to the rest of the company that they need to ask? I mean, they can check the Intranet if they want to know what we do. I guess I felt all weird about it because I've been pissing about how busy I am this whole day and I suppose to some people, I was just doing nothing meaningful to the company. Here I am, coming again to work at night, so that I can get away from people bugging the whole day, and for what?

Just for records sake, here's a summary of what I've been up to today in chronological order:
1. Get work permit for the network upgrade work at the Admin Building.
2. Security told me there was a power trip at the plant gate and the security system needs to be logged in. Went all the way there only to find they've already started up the system themselves.
3. Tested the equipment to replace the faulty micro repeater at the Ethylene VAX system.
4. Continued with resolving the many missing data problem inside e-punchcard system.
5. Boss called me into a meeting with Telekom to discuss on the discounted calls issue. Still no decision. The Telekom guy kept continuing on how we need to support Tellekom since it's 70% owned by the government. I just want to shout to him, "Be more competitive lah. Dah lah Jaring pun nak takeover. How to be excellent and preferred if you just want to be monopoly?"
6. Inspected the materials arrived at on-site for the network upgrade project.
7. Continued with downloading data for the attendance system throughout lunch hour.
8. Walked to EMSB Control Room to try out the replacement micro repeater. Didn't work, by the way. :)

Basically, that's all and in between, I called up SSM for the extended security system project, assisted in the new MSD Manager to resolve his Notes Mail problem and received more work from the boss such as on educating users on how to use projectors. It's no Prime Minister's job but it's what I do.

Lesson of the day: What people do or go through in a day should not be questioned as though one doesn't do enough work. It's all about perception. I used to be on the other side of the wall but I believe everyone has their part to play. The most difficult thing to do is changing people's mindset and outlook. Great men had failed doing so.

Should We Care?

I got a call from my closest cousin, Fawaz who's studying medicine in the UK. He calls me quite frequently since he said that it's really cheap to call from there, apparently it only cost 1 pence (about 6 cents) per minute. The call took about 40 minutes, so it costs about RM2.40. Remarkable isn't it? I pay more than that for a one minute call on on my handphone.

Anyway, we got talking on various things, basically keeping up with stuffs and on mutual friends. We got around to talking about politics and what the new PM, Pak Lah as we commonly call him is doing. I believe so far he's been saying the right things such as wanting to make the civil service more efficient and cleaning out corruption from government. I have to say that it's a humongous task but if he can do it, then I'll be rooting for him all the way. I've always believed in those things, my opinions on Malaysia is more in sync with what people in the opposition parties have been harping. I don't totally agree with what they fight for but I've always had an idealistic view on what Malaysia should be like. Must be all those 'reformasi' events in 1998/99 and a historical afternoon this one September in 1998.

The one thing that stuck in my mind was when we were talking about corruption and I was saying Pak Lah should go after the big fish who's accepting or giving bribes. My cousin said, why should we care about corruption, it's everywhere, even in the UK and US. So, why the need to do much about it? I don't agree at all with him. To me corruption is the root of the bad things in the society. Corruption caused for the police force to be ineffective when they don't dare to go after the so-called big shots in society. It also resulted in government being inefficient when those civil servants will only do things after receiving money or kickbacks. It also caused for projects to be quoted at a higher price when in fact it could be done at a lower price if the correct bidding/tendering procedures are in place and enforced. Fawaz said, all these do not affect us personally but I believe we will only get to taste the bitterness after a few years. When investors stopped pouring money in Malaysia because we're not very good at solving crime or because judges are not held in high regard or because we are just too damn inefficient.

I hope Pak Lah will put words into actions, for the sake of Malaysia and for myself and future generations.

Touching Message

A follow up from my previous entry. Awi forwarded my blog entry to Abah who then replied her mail. It's quite touching, I have to say...coming from Abah.

Awi's email to Abah
Assalamualaikum Abah,

I just want to congratulate you on your award last night. Alhamdulillah.

Terharu baca tulisan Hafiz dalam blog dia pagi ni, teringat nak share dgn
Abah,
just want you to know that your son is really proud of you.

Abah & Mak...you are his utmost priority.

Wish Haziq will grown up to be just like him:)

Wassalam,
Awi

Abah's reply to Awi's mail

Awi - thanks for your message . I was informed only on
Saturday and it has been a well-kept secret by everybody and photos
including family photos were sent without my knowledge . To me it
was a small matter because i have never expected any awards for
my 27years of service to the Board bbecause I felt that whatever I
have achieved over the years are due to me being a QS. therefore I
must give back to the profession .
Syukur Alhamdulillah , I shall send the citation later . Tell Hafiz , we
never never never forget that he ,yourself and Haziq as being part of the
family .God Bless You all .
I am rushing home to catch the flight to KB at 3. pm. TQ for looking
after Cu .
Wassalam
Abah

Hehehe, not feeling sad anymore......

Feeling Kinda Sad

I was told by Adiknor that tonight Abah will be receiving a Gold Award by the Malaysian Board of Quantity Surveyors. Of course, I do feel proud of Abah's achievement. He has his own practice as a chartered quantity surveyor and had done considerably well along the years. This award is a recognition by his peers and he would've been happy to receive it. I'm just a bit sad that I was informed quite late about the whole event. I suppose being far away from home does result in news coming along this way a bit late. I guess I shouldn't feel bad about not being informed, but there's a tinge of sadness. I would've loved to be there to witness Abah receiving the award. Heard there's a even a slide show being shown during the dinner. I'm sure an introduction of his achievements and professional milestones would be read out before the award is announced.

Oh well, I guess we're just not destined to be there tonight. I've gone through this missed-out-opportunities many times, I suppose other people think I don't care about it anymore.

Congratulations Abah. We are so proud of you and do regret we can't be there to share it with the rest of the family.

Little (Er not so little anymore) Brother In Town

My younger brother Cu is here in town. It's the second time he's been here, the first visit was about 8 months ago, Haziq was not even born yet. He just finished his semester exams so he wanted to do some traveling and chose to travel along the East Coast. He's here for a few days before going up to Kuala Terengganu to visit the relatives there and finally, he'll be in Kota Bharu where he'll meet up with my parents there before returning to KL.

Me and Cu have a rather interesting relationship. I have another younger brother, Ucop who is 12 years apart from me. Cu is 8 years younger. I still remember when I was in secondary school I used to be annoyed with Cu all the time. At that age of around 8 years old, he liked to brag and talk big. I suppose I took up a bit on him, bullying and being quite nasty to him, like kicking him out of my room when I'm not in the mood. And then I went overseas and during that time, he got into Malay College. Another reason for me to be annoyed with him because he made it into that school, while I considered myself a failure for not being able to do so. I used to believe that Abah was disappointed that I didn't get into his alma mater but over the years, Allah knew better and I ended up on a not-so-bad path.

During my university days when I came back for summer holidays, we meet up once in a while and I realised that my attitude towards Cu had changed for the better. We could talk more openly and I don't feel any hostility towards him anymore. I suppose there could've been some siblings rivalry back then but I can safely say that we're the best of brothers and friends. I try to give him encouragement and support because I can see there's a lot of potential within himself, even if he might not see them himself. We're quite different, he's more talkative and I'm the more quiet one. He has scores of friends while I stick to a handful only. He's the joker while I prefer to be the man behind the scenes. Nevertheless, Cu has helped me in many ways and I only pray success and happiness for him. He went through quite a lot in the past two years or so. I hope he's recovered since then and he seems to be, from what I can observed. I would've liked to spend more time with my siblings because I felt, while studying overseas, I missed out on many opportunities to do so. The trip to Adelaide in Dec 2001 was such an excellent and enjoyable experience, even though it ended with Cu spending a few nights in Pantai Medical Centre. :)

Whatever it is Cu, if you're reading this, thank you for being there and I hope we will continue to be best of brothers and friends in the years to come.

Don't You Just Hate Meetings!!

Who likes to attend meetings? It's just a time to waste time, where people talk and discuss and assign actions. At the end of it, you'll get more work to be done, on top of the work that you already are struggling to complete. I have to admit I'm struggling at the moment with the burden of work. I don't want to sacrifice the limited time I have with my family, so I try not to bring work home. And then, this week we had the 'pleasure' of a sudden appearance by people who want to wreak havoc on our already critical computer network. And we had to just drop things and attend to these people. It really sucks when you have to attend to unplanned work. I suppose I'm in the business of attending to unplanned requests and work. Everything is urgent and needs to be done yesterday. Perhaps it'd be nice to get some recognition and understanding by people that I only have two hands and one brain. It's hard enough to compartmentalise between e-punchcard system, the ZEN deployment, the network upgrade, the security system, the CEO's iPAQ and even someone's stupid Notes Mail. The work is fun but at times these people really make me mad inside and I would like to e'punch'card someone's face. :)

Sometimes I really think it must be great to have loads of money so that I don't have to work like a dog anymore and just go on a cruise or take rides in Disney World for endless times. It's not wrong to dream, right? Anyway, at the end of the day, I can just switch off the PC, get into my car, put on No Doubt 'It's My Life' at full volume and drive home at 140 km/h, which I don't think many KL people can do. Too bad. Tell me if any of you KL-lites want to switch places with me....

Confused with Bottles

Awi put me through a series of tests today....to match Haziq's many bottles with the correct caps. I'm sure you all know about milk bottles for babies. They come in various sizes and colour, some are even branded like Mothercare and Pigeon. I suppose Awi had noticed that when preparing Haziq's milk I sometimes put the wrong caps on and when the bottle was shaken to mix the milk powder with water, some of it will spill out. Each of the bottles has its own corresponding cap, depending on brand, type of bottle and colour. At first she showed to me once the right match for all of nine bottles. During the first try, I only got three bottles correctly matched. Hehehehe, I can remember the names of all the cabinet ministers or the jersey colour of all Premiership teams, but when it really mattered, I just can't pull it through for Haziq's bottles. On my first try, I only scored 33%. Awi had set for me a passing mark of 7/9 correct matches. So, I sat down, put on my thinking cap and finally, I managed to get them all correctly matched. Hurray, I am now certified in matching Haziq's many milk bottles. I just hope Awi won't buy more bottles for him, I might have to go through a refresher course. Nevertheless, I still am not sure I'll get the bottles-cap combination correct when I am preparing milk with eyes half closed at 5 o'clock in the morning. I suppose that is why God got it right by making women to be mothers and not the men. :)

ROTK at last

Went to watch Return of the King at the cinema yesterday, after more than 2 weeks being shown on the big screen. Thanks to Am for making it happen. Actually he wants to 'belanja' me for my birthday. I had to leave Awi and Haziq in Kerteh (I wasn't too happy about it but I told Awi it will be just this once. Hehehe). It was good to hang out with the guys once in a while, doing something together for one day. It has been a while, I have to tell you that.

A bit on the movie. To me after you strip off the story about the ring, Gollum and Sauron, it all boils down to friendship. It's about sticking with your friend no matter what, like what the man (Hobbit) of the movie, Sam did with Frodo. Rescuing him in his moment of needs, even fighting and risking his own life. It's also about not letting your friend being left out in the limb, even though by helping him it would result in yourself being in danger. This was portrayed by Gimli and Legolas when they accompanied Aragorn into the realms of the Undead Souls. Heartwarming indeed but can we emulate such noble acts in real life?

Not sure when my next trip to the films will be. It kind of sucks because Kuantan is almost 2 hours drive away from Kerteh. I suppose Awi won't mind too much if I can just go off for a few hours to catch a movie and be back for lunch. Instead I had to be away for almost 12 hours. Hmmm, another reason to......

Another New Year! Ho Hum or Hurray?

First, need to mention that yesterday was Awi's birthday. For the first time ever, I sent her flowers at the office. It's unbelievable how difficult it is to get a florist to deliver in this area. Nevertheless, the flowers reached her office, intact and she was pleasantly surprised. Even managed to envy some of her officemates. In the evening, we went to Awana for dinner, I had lamb chops and this large bowl of ais kacang. It;'s so huge, 10 people could've eaten it and it would be enough for all!! Went home around 10, caught the KLCC Countdown concert on TV, fell asleep before midnight and only woke up at 12.30 am. So, I missed all the fireworks, countdown bla bla bla. Do I sound like a sore loser? Hehehe, maybe but I just don't really care about the new year celebration. What counts is what will happen in this new year.

Oh yes, believe it or not, it's a working day here on New Year in Terengganu. I've gotten used to the idea similarly to working on Sundays. It's weird but what the hell, it's just the rules, the norm over here. So, either get used to it or leave town. I'm inclined to choose the latter option sooner than later. :)