Business Etiquette Seminar

I am stepping into being a dignified person...... walllaaaa.... I participated in the BE Seminar for 2 days (28th& 29th May). (Side-track - 28 Mei is harijadi TASOS, ingat la wei, sebab selalu celebrated). Back to the Seminar, it was all about how to do things properly, international standard.
I guess I knew most of the things and I have done most of the things correctly but there are a few things which were totally new to me, honest!!! I didn't know that applying lipstick at one's work desk is not good etiquette. I did that all the time (and mind you, I think it was not bad because I usually put my lipstick on without using any mirror or it is over in seconds). No one actually realise that I am doing it. It is not as if I am doing the whole make up regime!!
I know when I first joined the Company, we set up our code. The dress code, particularly, was of first class standard. No sleeveless, no mini skirts, no see through clothes, jackets and ties for meetings, court shoes all the way for the ladies, tidy hairstyles (read: long hairs to be tied in ponytails/buns, no "unnatural" colours, no singer hairdos), no short sleeves for the male executives and the list goes on...) and we were very particular about the punch card too.
But after a few years, when many new staff from other organisations came to join the Company, everything became heywire! We saw a lot of legs, arms, long hairs all over the place, a lot of jewelleries and clothes that people usually wear to discos or the market!!
And when we were taken over by a bigger Company, it was in a total wreck and the new Management thinks the worst of us all!!
But then again, we have the bosses to blame. The HoDs just don't give a shit.
So I hope the Business Etiquette Seminar will be made compulsory to everyone especially the big bosses.
And me? I have another certificate to add on to my folder and another line to write on my CV....

Pirates of Carribean - At World's End

Watched the movie at KLCC with Jan, Jo and Moon last Saturday. I just adore Johnny Depp. Need I say more? Well. I liked the plot, twisted!!! I am sure there will be POC 4!

UMRAH (the long overdue)

Insya Allah, Man, Haakem and I together with my eldest sister and my younger sister Angel shall be leaving for Saudi Arabia this coming Sunday 3rd June 2007.

Our Saudi (SV) flight is scheduled to take off at 1710hrs, direct to Medina (so, we shall save on journey time on the road). We'll spend 3 nights and 2 days in the land of hijrah and therafter shall take the road to Makkah to perform our umrah.

We have planned to go for Umrah since year 2002 but have postponed it due to numerous reasons and excuses (some valid while most are just... well.... I must say, evil!!). Last year I was pregnant with Millie so it had to be postponed (and I only accepted this one as a valid reason). Now that Allah has granted me so many good things in life (I must admit that I count myself successful in many ways) and it is more than a MUST that I go for my mini pilgrimage to express my gratitude to Allah for everything else I would not dare ask for more!! Alhamdulillah, my husband managed to squeeze some fund to pay for our journey. I haven't asked for anything for many years so I guess a paid trip to the Holy Land is not too much to ask for.

And I repeatedly told myself, Man and my eldest sister that our previous plans did not materialise because it would not include Haakem. My eldest sister has, during her Hajj in 2003, prayed in front of the Kaabah for Haakem to visit the Baitullah soon and I guess Allah answered that prayer. Only when the plan includes Haakem, all seems to be smoothsailing. Haakem had wanted to go to Makkah since he was barely 3 years old. He would watch the Hajj programmes, he would build his blocks in the cuboid shape and he would wear his dad singlet with one string under his armpits and he would go around the cuboid blocks 7 times anti clockwise, chanting "labbaikallah hummalabbaik.... !!" He gets fascinated over news of relatives going to Makkah and I guess he'd do anything to enable him to go there, hence all the efforts to learn how to pray properly, finishing the Quran at the age of 7, circumsized, reciting and learning all the du'as and of course now, reading the umrah guidebooks.

I pray that all is well!! Ameen.....

My Kiwi Family Hoskins

In 1986, when I was in Year 5 of Secondary School, I was shorlisted by my school to participate in the AFS or Intercultural Programme to spend one academic year at any participating countries and my countries of choice were UK and USA, of course since all the teen idols are from there (little did I know that I would be sent to the farms, the villages etc and definitely not LA or London!!).

For almost a year, the three of us (Elena, Sheela and I) went for the shortlisting procedures of interviews, group works etc. We met a lot of new friends from all over Malaysia and that was a great experience. A few weeks before the Fifth Form Malaysian School Certificate examination (the results of which determine your future, academically at least), I received a letter confirming that I was selected to go to Taranaki, New Zealand and shall live with a family on a farm. Through Geography (a subject which is my top favourite in school, always!), I learnt that Taranaki is the farming area in NZ. Elena was selected to go to Australia and if I remember correctly Sheela did not get any place. I started exchanging news and photos with my foster family. There were Mum (Hilarie), Dad (Rodney), three sisters (Jen, Sorrell & Teri) , brother (Nathan) and 2 dogs. I was really looking forward to go to school in NZ despite the fact that it was not in my list of options. This continues on until 1987 while waiting for my exam results. In the same year, my elder sister went to Canada to further her studies and that really adds to my anticipation!

But my results came out in April 1988 and I made the grades required to apply for the government scholarship to proceed with pursuing my lifelong ambition to read law, in UK. I filled in the forms and submitted my applications. I went through all the procedures of interviews and I was quite confident that I would secure a place for A levels. At the same time I registered for Form 6 (High School). Later I received the good news that I got the scholarship to do A level and later, if successful, to go to UK to any university within the recognised list to do law. I immediately decided to decline the NZ stay and I believed that if I succeed in my studies (and later career), I would be in NZ to be with my foster family some days!

I guess my foster family was a bit disappointed but they got themselves a replacement. Lucy was from Costa Rica. I continued writing to the Hoskins throughout my student life.

In 1995, during a short return to Malaysia, I met Jennifer who came to Malaysia to teach at one of the preparatory colleges in Perak. She stayed with my family for 1 night and we went to Bukit Cerakah, Shah Alam. Later, during my summer break after my LLM, the newlyweds (Jen and Terry) came to see me in Reading during their honeymoon working holidays. They slept on the spare bed in my room in the Hall and we went to Oxford to see the Hoskins' relative. (it was quite funny to see a foreigner showing two whites around Oxford!!).

We stopped writing to each other for quite some time, the last I heard from Mum Hilarie was a few days before they went off to Australia for a working holiday). But I guess the bond was always there. I wrote to them updating of the going-ons in my life after my boy Haakem was around 3 years of age and of course Mum Hilarie would always reply my letter and she was really excited and grateful that I would still remember them!!

In May 2004, Mum and Dad were on their way to Europe and they stopped over in KL and that was the very first time I met them. It was all hugs and kisses. My husband, Haakem and I showed them around. Craft Centre, Putrajaya, Islamic Heritage Museum, National Mosque, Orchid Garden, Birds and Butterflies Parks and dinner at Crowne Plaza (for I was too exhausted to cook for them, sorry Mum!!).

In July 2004, it was our turn to return the visit and we went to NZ for a ten day tour and the eighth day was spent in Urenui, Taranaki. My husband swears that that one day was the best holiday ever in his life!! And we have all declared that NZ is the best place to be on earth and we shall definitely return!! We had great times with Grandma, Sorrell and Sam too! Mum cooked the best pumpkin soup we've ever tasted. The rest of dinner was still remembered until today. Haakem tried his English with Grandma and they got along really well!

And yes, I still keep in touch with my family Hoskins until now. Long gaps at times but we manage to keep each other posted. And 20 years on, Jen and I both have 2 kids each!! And I have yet to meet Teri, Nathan and baby Jayden as well as the in laws (except for Terry of course) and isn't that a good reason for another visit?

Exam Time Again!

My firstborn, Haakem starts his mid year exam (standardised papers & time table throughout the state) today with Pendidikan Jasmani & Kesihatan (PJK) / Physical & Health Education, which is not under the standardised scheme so i am not that worried and the marks for this paper is also not included in the average percentage, not that I have to worry about this though.

Monday 21st is BM and Agama. Tuesday 22nd- Maths and Science and I have been coaching him with his Maths exercise (rigorously) since his marks dropped for the first test this year (anything below 90 would cause me to add another three lines around my eyes) . He improved tremendously in the second test and I hope he maintains his highest mark of the class for the mid year and end of year exams.

BM Writing is also another problem. I guess boys being boys, are not really bothered with all this writing thingies..... scoring 90 is just enough for me although a full mark would be best. As for Agama, he would usually come top of the class regardless of how low his mark is (A of course!). As for Science, I am not that worried (for his first test in Year I, Haakem spelt "LUNCH" as "LUCAH" and his dad scolded him for being obscene without explaining why and it's always Mama who had to explain things to little baby boy).

Wednesday 23rd - English and Pendidikan Seni Visual. I hope he'll make no silly careless mistakes in English and for PSV, he has chosen to draw and colour Malaysian Fruits. I hope he'll manage any one of the top 2 seats for this year's exam.

Little Miss Millie And The Two Boys In Her Life

Need I say more.... the two boys have another lady in their lives now... and they just adore her... who wouldn't?

Millie Is Eight Months ++ Now!!

My Little Miss Millie turned 8 months 4th May and is well approaching her 9th month now. Here are some shots of her taken during the Malacca & Muar trip middle of May 2007.

How They Have Grown!!

Last weekend 12th May, we went back to my hometown Muar, accompanying my aunt to go back to her late husband's kampung for a house warming kenduri of her adopted step daughter's son's house..... hehehhehe (my late uncle adopted a chinese girl during his first marriage and he married my aunt after the wife died). The chinese girl was bred a Muslim, married to a Malay diver who died (of drowning) when her youngest son is only 2 years old. I knew the little boy Hazrin (the house owner) since he was 6 years old. He has 2 elder brothers, now age 34 and 32 respectively. Hazrin or Boyin as he has been affectionately known is 30 now, married and has a 4.5 year old daughter. While his 2 elder brothers had left the kampung on and off for jobs in KL and JB, Boyin remained loyal to his mother's request to stay and this was especially so when my late uncle was bedridden. Together with my aunt, both him and his mom looked after my uncle... and very well so.
Now, it could be seen that all his patience and loyal service to the family paid off!! Considering his age, experience and ventures, he is the successful one of the 3 brothers.
We took some pics of Millie and Haakem and a few of hubby and me.... bibik and atuk too of course....
For more on the events of last weekend, read future posts.....

Breastfeeding

My little Millie is 8 months old (4th May to be exact) and she doesn't take formula. Well, she did only thrice. Once during the first few days after me returning to work and twice a few days after she turned 6 months. She just refuses formula, period. But she is still breastfed. I must say I am really proud that I equalized my record of exclusively breastfeeding my babies. Haakem was also exclusively breastfed until he was 6 months old and continued to be breastfed until he was exactly 2 years old (he stopped the very next day without any attempt from me to stop it) and he gulped his Dumex too, until we weaned him off the bottle when he was 5.

But Millie eats expensive stuff (to my standard la kan... nasib baik la dah ada salary adjustment). She finishes her Gerber and Heinz in no time. At 7 months old, she will finish a bottle of pureed food in 2 feedings but now, it's down to 1!! She loves all flavours but macaroni & cheese and pumpkin & corn are her favs!! And Nestle and Milna Rusks too. I also mixed a heap spoonful of wheat & honey cereal onto her rusks and she'll finish it. Millie would simply tighten her lips and shakes her head profusely if she is not hungry no matter how hard we tried to feed her. She is also a pear and apple juice lover. Ribena and plain water are okay with her too. Yesterday, my aunt mixed 2 tsp of honey into her formula and guess what??? She shook her head and screamed!! Offered the pear juice and she downed 4 oz without a blink!

And she has not lost her chubbiness, crawling all over the place now and she's now sitting unsupported. She's got her upper incisors at 7 months of age. The lower incisors are full grown and boy!! do they hurt like hell when she accidentally bite my nipple!! But do I stop breastfeeding? NO WAY!!!!

And to all the mothers out there... unless you are medically/physically unable to breastfeed, please do not miss this opportunity to do it and do not be too lazy to learn how to correct your method. This is the baby's right. You may not feel anything now but on your 70th birthday, when you suddenly realise that you are sitting all alone by the window with no one to celebrate despite having 2, 3, 4, 6 kids you never breastfed religiously...... don't start telling people stories of your uncaring children.......

Some Good Quotes From The Richest Man Himself

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! To anyone with kids of any age, here's some advice. Bill Gates gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality
and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain fore st from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you agree, pass it on. If you can read this - Thank a teacher !

Khidmat Negara

Yesterday Man, Haakem and I visited Man's niece Atiqah who is undergoing the Khidmat Negara (Natrional Service) training at Pasir Panjang Port Dickson. It was a tiring journey. We pushed off at around 2.45pm (lepas solat zohor, lunch, bibik dah siap solat zohor jugak, Millie dah makan and my aunt dah balik from belajar tafsir kat Jln Semarak), stopped kat Petronas kiosk along PLUS Highway and bought Dunkin Donuts and finally arrived at around 4.10pm. We chatted for awhile and I guess Atiqah is enjoying herself. We left at 5.00 pm after Man asked if I have RM100 and I only have RM50 in my wallet, that she gave to Atiqah... seronoknyer jadi anak sedara Man... hmmm.....
On the way we stopped at the deserted R&R along PD highway. Solat and toilet business, of course. Arrived home before 7 pm.
What I actually want to write here is about the Khidmat Negara Programme. My eldest sister used to be a facilitator there and so was my baby brother. Altogether ada 2 modules. One is physical training. Another is self development (psychological, team building semua2 tu la) and last but not least is khidmat masyarakat (social service). I think the Khidmat Negara Programme should not be limited to 3 months during the waiting period of the SPM school leavers. It should be extended to those SPM school leavers and the drop outs so that training can be given until they get something else to do. During the training they can be "used" to do charity works and other tasks at government offices, corporate offices (buat la mcm temp ker.... the khidmat negara can run a temp agency, maid agency, labour agency). Kalau musim2 nak raya, leh kerja kat post office as additional workers utk sort out kad2 ucapan... kalau ada mana2 industry nak pakai extra general workers... contact jer khidmat negara...... budak2 ni pun ada elaun kan..... they can generate income for the khidmat negara programme as well...... kalau yang nak pergi balik kampung motong gotah or buat padi.... let them go tapi bila diorang takde kerja, panggil balik duduk dalam kem..... mak bapak pun tak risau.... mana2 yang suka rempit, khidmat negara tarbiah la diorang and chanel their energy properly. Boleh create peluang pekerjaan jugak for the management, facilitators... kalau tak cukup yang part time resource people tu...... boleh explore this proposal la.....
Uish, wa suka la cadangan wa ni.....

Double Birthdays In the Family

Celebrating double birthdays has always been a trend in my family..... I used to celebrate my birthday with my late father. Mine is on the 14th Dec and his is on 16th Dec and we would do it either on the 15th Dec or anytime after the 16th. And now that he he's left us, I celebrate it with my niece Amirah who shares his birthday. My son Haakem's is on th 7th Nov and celebrates his with my younger sister Angel whose birthday falls on the 27th Nov. My eldest sister's birthday is on the 7th Aug and my brother's is on 13th Aug. But it has been a few years since we celbrated birthdays in August. The last we celebrated that was in 2005 together with my husband's whose birthday falls on 30th July.