Picnic and Panic

On 10th Jan. 2009, I had to pick up Mr. X from a hotel in Desaru. It was his turn to attend a team building program for his project. But sadly, the room was on twin sharing by attendees, so we couldn't join the fun. What we could do were gone picnicking at the nearby beach (Pantai Tanjung Balau) while waiting for his event to end, and then dipped ourselves in the hotel's pool while acting as if we were the hotel guests. My mom and 2 neighbors joined in the fun as well.


Food prepared in the original style mangkuk tingkat/sio, eaten while overseeing the deep blue ocean with rough waves and wind blowing us away. Memang sungguh berselera!

This is the beach's condition. People were still playing and bathing despite consistent warning by the lifeguard on duty. Couldn't resist the ocean's call I guessed.

See Eusoff's hair was standing all along, thanks to the strong wind from the ocean. He must have wondered where am i and what i'm doing here. Eusoff was such a darling on that day. No mess no cry.

Second round picnic on the same day, after Mr. X ended his event. This is at another beach near a resort deep inside Teluk Ramunia. The food still tasted nice amidst the blowing ocean's wind despite being 5pm.

Husna was ecstatic to get to play with the sand of the beach while having a view of continuous stream of passing by ships.

This pix may look awkward at this entry, but I still want to share how Huda looks in a baju kurung a few days before the trip. Look at her chest. I like the way the kurung fits her nicely. It was a hand-me-down of Husna's. Kesian, semua dapat second hand. Inilah nasib jadik anak kedua of same gender ya Huda...takpe, nanti raya mama beli yg baru ek...

Yesterday I decided that I want to do something new this year. I've read in a motivational article that there is no such thing as the right time to do something. If you want to do something, do it now. Hence, yesterday I submitted my application to teach part time at 2 private colleges. Ada rezeki, ada lah. Kalau takde rezeki, buat keje lain lah nampaknya. Another thing, I wish to further my study. This wishful thinking needs to be realized this year, with permission from Mr. X of course. With that in mind, I think that before I enrol in a class to further my study, I wish to write as many blog entries as possible. I'm afraid that in future, time will be very limited for me to put in my thoughts in this blog. Enjoy while you still can!

Blending In

I'd like to share a little bit of what had happened during the Petronas Project Management Forum which I attended on 18 - 21 Jan. 2009 at Hotel Equatorial Melaka.


There were 6 panels from diverse expert background who were supposed to share what makes a good project management practice e.g. from Shell, Accenture, ConocoPhillips, etc. I concluded that everyone of them only touched on the basics and refused to reveal any of their trade secrets. To prove my hypothesis, I asked a question to the management consultant from Accenture, and he responded with the exact "safe" answers as I had anticipated. Very much typical invited speakers, if you wanna know more, engage me on personal basis for 1 day sharing. More knowledge = more $$$. Even the event organizer admitted this through our lunch talk. Enough said.

Apparently, 70% of the attendees came from downstream sector (those involved in petrochemical plant and processing). The upstream community were only people from Carigali, MISC and MMHE (only me and 1 Snr Mgr, Projects attended). Hence, when it came to topics such as Deepwater Field Development, majority couldn't picture what's happening. Petronas should really encourage more staff mobility between the two sectors to produce a much well rounded staff. Oh, I gladly put this comment in the Forum Evaluation Form.

One of the most memorable experience was the trip I chose to join to Petronas Penapisan Melaka. Petronas has an ambition to be at par with world class giants such as Shell and Exxon. To make it simple, the strategic movement is depicted as a house, with core pillars and strong foundation. Normally it has been depicted in MS Powerpoint presentation slide in communication session to staff. But in Melaka, they have the house built and it looks so cute. The house actually comes to life, the Melaka traditional house way.

This refinery has plenty of stations for lorries to pick up the processed gasoline and diesel. We got the chance to ask the magic question to the expert - is there really any difference between fuel we buy at Shell, Mobil, Esso, BP and Petronas? We got the answers, satisfactorily.

Huhuhu..view from the room. A very nice view and desire to splash in, but the event was so jammed pack with activities, even a slightest dip would only be in my dreams. From morning to nite, all had been planned for. I have learnt quite a lot from this forum via the plenary sessions as well as other activities, especially by talking and more talking to people, among others:

1. Why MISC cancelled the reverse take over with Ramunia - the real story.
2. What's happening to Ramunia now - the insider info.
3. Staff mobility in Petronas group of companies - facts and hypothesis.
4. Plenary session speakers - you think it's free - dream on.
5. Husbands and wives of Petronas - the do's and don't's.
6. Specialization vs. Generalization - which company practice which - the good and the bad.
7. You think they know better - afraid not!

All in all, I had really enjoyed the experience. Should thank the Chief General for giving me the opportunity to attend and explore. I had written in the Evaluation Form and actually spoken to the organizer for the future forum to be held in JB, to give chance for the people to see what's here in Pasir Gudang. If you want fun from challenge, here is the place.

Very Low Cut

Ditakdirkan aku kena pegi satu forum ni next week. Petronas Project Management Forum - to share knowledge and experience among the project management fraternity. Untuk 2 hari, lepas forum ada dinner, bertema pulak tu. Inilah posternya.


Nak kena pakai seluar jeans??? Baru aku sedar, dah lama aku tak pakai seluar jeans sebenarnya. Dah agak dewasa ni, banyak pakai khakis la...So, kenalah pegi carik to suit my latest body fit. Huhu..survey punye survey, rupanya aku ni dah out of fashion jugak. Masuk kedai Padini, test semua pattern, takde satu pun yg berkenan. Then masuk kedai lain pulak. A few lah jugak. Levi's tak mau, nanti sokong Jews pulakkan? Dah lelama baru aku perasan, semua pattern jeans pompuan sekarang ni jenis very very low cut. Di bawah pusat. Memang aku lemas dan geli. Ni yg jenis kalau duduk kat lantai, or tonggeng sikit, akan nampak mende yg tak sepatutnya boleh nampak. Sungguh tak patut. Bila tanya sales girls/sales boys - ini fesyen terkini kak. Yang high cut tutup perut susah dah nak jumpa kak.

Ayoyo...lastly, aku jumpa pattern satu yg tutup perut, kat Ti:zed brand Lee. RM100++ jugak lah. Baru rasa selamat dan selesa. Aku akan padankan dgn vest jeans zaman tok kaduk yg aku beli masa student yg US dulu. Terperap dlm almari dah lama giler. Boots pulak ada, tapi malas nak bawak, so pakai je lah formal shoes yg bertutup. Tudung nak match pulak problem. Kang jadi mcm Bienda, takut Mr. X aku marah...so, aku akan try jadik muslimah solehah yg rugged lah nampak gayanya.

Hmmm...adakah aku dah ketinggalan zaman dalam berfesyen? Oh tidakkkkkkkkkkkkkk....semua salesgirls/salesboys mcm pelik jer bila aku carik seluar jeans yg tutup perut...iskkk..sedih betulll....

Husna's 5th Birthday Party

We celebrated Husna's birthday by having mini celebration with family and friends on 3rd Jan. 2009. This was also to satisfy a few friends who had wished to taste my dish fresh from the new wet kitchen. Simple dish - fried meehoon (pedas and putih) and nuggets. Only my mom helped to prepare more from her own kitchen - nasi impit, kuah kacang, fried mee, bubur kacang and pudding. Alhamdullillah.

I ordered the fantastic cake from Pn Fadzilah. http://miralisya.blogspot.com/2009/01/birthday-husna.html
Unfortunately, during transportation to home, the lady had glitched and had her head detached. Imagine my surprise when opening the box for the first time. Oh my poor Lady! I had to be creative enough to re-attach the head.

Nevertheless, we had fun. This was also an occasion for a few of my high school friends to have a mini re-union. They were Aai, Yatt, Yus, Ayu, Ani. We were all educated in KTAM for form 1-3. Then only I knew that Ani actually lived a few blocks away from my home. Talk about losing contact with friends.

This is how the complete pretty lady should have looked. I got the idea after viewing a few samples from flickr as recommended by the expert Pn Fadzilah.

After eating. You can see the "tanah runtuh" incident. Husna's no. 5 figure was covered with mud, and the apparent decapitation of the lady. Poor lady. The kids all wanted to have a piece of the polka dots on the lady, and her eyes too.

Wah, a lot of presents. Husna and Huda really enjoyed the experience of ripping away all the wraps.

Jubilant as shown on her face. She was so excited since there were toys she had never received before which she knew she couldn't get from her parents e.g. Barbie doll. Why? That nite Barbie's limbs were detached and she was tossed in the play bin together with blocks and stuff. See...that's why we never buy dolls for our girls. Dolls are really not their choice of play. Some gifts I had to hide them away, because I know too many toys at one go will kill the interest. Let one toy be revealed each week to create excitement as if they are new (this also requires strategy people).

Thank you for guests who helped us to merry the occasion.

Of Caring, Smart and Visionary

I can't resist but to touch on this topic.

"'The most perfect Muslim in the matter of faith is one who has excellent behavior; and the best among you are those who behave best towards their wives" (Hadith Riwayat AtTarmizi).

With reference to my previous 2 entries on the related topic:
http://noraidalin.blogspot.com/2008/11/its-almost-over.html
http://noraidalin.blogspot.com/2008/12/its-officially-over.html

Yesterday, the infamous Memey was a guest on Wanita Hari Ini (I didn't catch this since it was aired during office hours, and NOT that I wanted to see her face!). This morning however, somehow I accidentally tuned to Hot FM channel on my way to work where Fafau and Faizal were discussing on Memey's appearance as a guest on WHI and they were inviting comments from listeners as their Hot Chat topic of the day. What a bomb explosion I would guess. I'm pretty much confident that their line will be jammed of people wanting to have a say on this "oh-i-am-a-casualty-of-the-public's-prejudice". Here is a snapshot of what transpired in WHI (they have it recorded and played back in Hot FM):

Question: Kenapa dalam ramai-ramai kawan artis Memey memilih Norman sebagai kawan baik sedangkan Memey tahu status dia?

Answer: Norman seorang yang prihatin, bukan kepada saya saja, malah kepada semua rakan artis. Norman juga seorang yang bijak, mempunyai visi dan misi. Saya suka berbual-bual dengan dia. Dia banyak mengajar saya erti kehidupan.

Voila! This gullible innocuous 20-year old finally had declared to the world of how she feels towards the impassive jerk, inadvertantly revealing her naivety to the crux.

Hello, dear. All married men are well known to be more "caring" to people, especially to single opposites. This is a known fact. They learn the art and science of "caring" by going through "hell" with their wives. Those who seemed to be cold during single days tend to be more friendly after they get married. Those who are already hot during single days will be burnt after they get married. They got brainwashed, cleaned, twisted and dried by their wives. You can't afford to be naive here, or risk becoming a victim of false devotion/affection/passion/fondness and all those related words to L.O.V.E.

Smart and visionary? Look at his marriage history. Isn't that sufficient to tell you what kind of casanova you are attracting to? A good husband is the one who is good to the wife. Refer to the hadith on top. Smart husbands won't cheat, especially when their wives are expecting. Smart husbands will know that expectant mothers are more sensitive, and tend to do things which are beyond imagination. Smart husbands develop vision for the family. That is fundamental. Where the family is going totally lies in his hand. He is the captain of the ship. He can't blame anyone else if the marriage fails. Especially not by saying "Oh, ini sudah suratan kehidupan". Usaha dulu bang, lepas tu baru berdoa dan berserah.

Kesianlah minah ni. Nak selamatkan ke tak, pun dilemma juga. Kahwin nanti ko rasalah, apa itu makna prihatin, bijak, misi dan visi. Tapi yang pasti, semua perempuan yang berkahwin memang sangat membenci species pompuan macam ni.

The Tiger Has Spoken

I posted my comment on Friday 9th Jan. 09 to Bank Rimau's website. http://noraidalin.blogspot.com/2009/01/pukul-berapa-pak-harimau.html
On Monday 12th Jan. 09, I got an email thanking me for my comment:

Dear Cik Noraidalin,
Thank you for your email.
Firstly, we would like to apologise for the inconvenience you have encountered. We have taken the matter into attention and have also forwarded your feedback to the relevant department. Your feedback is indeed important to us in our efforts to continuously improve our service quality. In the meantime, we would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of Maybank.

Regards,
Irene Chua
Corporate Affairs and Communications
Tel. no. 6 03 20747785
Fax no. 6 03 20722504
Email add. chuamk@maybank.com.my

Yesterday, the Pasir Gudang's Assistant Branch Manager by the name of Jalil called me to clarify the matters and promise to take action. Since he is new in PG (just transferred from Mersing), he indicated that this may take some time. Hey, it's not that easy to adapt from being in class B branch to a class A branch of bank rimau. Or so he claimed. This is his contact numbers - 07 - 251 2628/252 5954. If anyone has grudges in future, feel free to call him directly.

Observation :
Quite efficient in handling customer complaints, but poor in anticipating and fulfilling of customers' needs. Let's see if they improve after this.

Car or Number?

Scratch again???? Oh no....................

The Myvi can be considered as a hot item. Not for good reason though. When I owned the Wira Aeroback for 7 years, only once it got caught in an accident. That was at Jalan Taman Molek when it was raining around 9pm. I swerved to the right and accidentally "touched" the back of a bus. It was minor and I did not even stop my car, because I know the bus suffered no harm. That was all.

The Myvi is a different case totally. First, Mr. X accidentally hit a motorbike when the biker went out of the junction from the right lane at Hiway PG. Second, a car went out from a junction while the Myvi was speeding at Tmn Impian Emas. This happened in a rainy day of January 2008 while I was driving and 7 months pregnant on the way to work at 6.30am. And yesterday, someone hit the back of the Myvi while trying to change lane under the flyover of Tun Aminah. It's like a deja vu. Now I am afraid to drive the Myvi in January. Is it going to happen again January next year?

Should I change to a new car? Helping the economy? It's not like I'm going to get a Chrysler/GM/Ford's make of car. It'll be a Japanese car. Time for a change perhaps, but Mr. X totally disagreed with the idea. Perhaps a Vios will be cute. Or a City. Or an Accord.

Or should I change the car's registration number? The number 687 signifies the total sum of 21. This was encouraged by Mr. X's family as it'll be good for the car owner. I'm not that savvy in terms of numbering and what it signifies, but I am well aware that the lucky number really does not help at all in this case.

So, should change car or change the number???

Pukul Berapa Pak Harimau?

Hari ini kesabaran saya sungguh tercabar dengan bank rimau. Saya rasa dalam banyak-banyak bank, bank rimau paling hebat dari segi membuat untung, terutama untung tersembunyi tanpa pengetahuan pelanggan. Tapi hari ini saya tercabar dengan cara bank rimau melayan pelanggan. Bank rimau ni saya teka cita-cita dia nak jadi setaraf dengan bank-bank antarabangsa. Tapi kalau beginilah kelakuannya, jangan harap nak duduk semeja, duduk kat lantai pun tak layak seadanya.

Saya pulak ada banyak akaun dengan bank rimau ni. Gaji masuk sini, pinjaman rumah kat sini, Encik X punya pinjaman kereta pun kat sini jugak. Dulu siap buat pinjaman ASB dan ada kredit kad dengan si pak belang ni. Tapi memandangkan layanan pak belang ni dah semakin teruk, saya jadi tawar hati nak jadi pelanggan setia. Sedikit demi sedikit akaun saya dengan bank rimau saya kurangkan.

Entah kenapa tengahari tadi saya rasa sangat kecewa dengan bank rimau. Is it that time of the month? I don't think so. Untuk melepaskan perasaan kecewa ini, saya telah melayari laman web bank rimau dan melepaskan geram saya. Saya tak harap jawapan, cuma saya harap akan ada perubahan minda pada pekerja dan pengurusan bank rimau ni. Inilah komen saya:

ASB Number Quota and Cash Deposit Machine at Maybank Pasir Gudang, Johor.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I went to Maybank Pasir Gudang, Johor branch at 1.00pm today (Friday, 9th Jan. 2009) to do ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputera) transaction. This was what your front desk personnel said “ASB tak boleh buat, nombor dah habis” = “ASB, can’t do. Running out of numbers”. I was stunned upon hearing this statement.

How can a commercial, profit-making, business entity emulate the practice of government agencies e.g. National Registration Council, Immigration, etc in restricting fulfillment of the customers’ needs? Not all customers have the luxury of time to spend to do transactions in banks, and when we do find the time and visit the bank, we want things to be settled. It is well known and Maybank should have anticipated that there will be greater crowd than usual for ASB depositors to do transactions in early January. Maybank should have found better alternatives and strategized to fulfill this need, rather than restricting customers’ access for service. If Maybank thinks that it is a service of low value and non-profitable to process ASB’s transactions, by all means you can withdraw from being the so-called authorized agent for ASB. Because I couldn’t process my ASB at Maybank, I went instead at the neighboring bank – CIMB. They entertained all customers equally – whether doing ASB or not. I simply couldn’t understand that your personnel would rather have idle time at the counters, rather than processing needs for ASB customers (I did go up to 1st floor, only around 4-5 customers were there).

Next is on the Cash Deposit Machine. Maybank Pasir Gudang has 3 such machines, but all are in terrible miserable shape. Slow in processing and always “Out of Service”. I tried to deposit some amount at 2.00pm today, but the machine (unit no.2, in the middle), kept on telling me that my notes were “rejected”. After trying many times, only half went through in the 10 minutes duration. Frustrated, I cancelled the transaction. I did think about doing the process at the counter, but when thinking about your imposed charge for such service, it really turned me off completely.

Here is my proposal for you to improve:

1. Never ever impose numbering quota for ASB customers. Strategize for better ways to fulfill ASB customers’ needs at early January every year. If you think it is of low value service, stop from being the authorized agent.
2. Upgrade the Cash Deposit Machines and ensure regular maintenance. You encourage customers to use the machines by charging a fee for all counter transactions. Hence, it is paramount for you ensure that the machines serve their purpose to expedite transactions, not slower the process.
   

I really hope that you will take actions on this matter. As one of the most valuable brands in Malaysia, it is a disgrace that such petty missteps could bring down your reputation and goodwill. Your service really leaves much to be desired.

Time to Piece the Jigsaw

I have to admit that since I was small, the news of Palestine-Israel conflict has always been on air and in newspapers. Most of the time, I would ignore it, since I know there's nothing that I can do. What can you do when Israel is backed up by the most influential superpower of the world? What can you do when all the Arab nations (except Syria, Iran & Iraq) have been bought by this superpower? As a tiny contribution, we can offer our prayer for all the Palestinians. Or we can donate to various NGOs which are intensively trying to help the victims e.g. Mercy Malaysia. But most importantly, we must feel that "hatred" towards the cruelity of the Israelis. Read www.zaharuddin.net for more reflection on this.

The current war however has changed my view a little bit. Somehow I am more interested to find out the real hands behind this current war. Among all the articles forwarded to me, this particular article published in US-based magazine Vanity Fair is such a wonderful source to discover part of the truth.

www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804

Surprise, surprise. It is a case of Bush's wicked foreign policy went bananas. You must read this to know who the real Bush is, Clinton is, Condy is, and all of their cronies. Let them all die the way the ex-Israeli Prime Minister suffered on bed in his dying days. AMIN.

True Love

A friend told me of a theory shared by his friend. The theory says that the most genuine true love is when you fall in love during school days or college days. Why? Because at that time, you love the person for who he/she really is. Not for his status/power/money, etc.

Fast forward a bit. Working era. If you are still single and want to find partner during working days, of course being a little smarter, you'd look into the person's money, status and power. It is expected.

And hence, there are cases in which people in their 40's, would divorce their partner and leave behind their children just because they accidentally/purposely find their old flame way back during college days. It is not surprising. The feelings are mutual for both male and female.

So, how do you extinguish the flame if it is still burning while both have separated and lead separate lives? Maybe we need another hypothesis to solve this theory.

Starting of A New Leaf

Let me start the new year 2009 with a wish for my first daughter's birthday.

Husna Eka - born on 2nd January 2004.
Likes - Powerpuff Girls, Ben10, internet games (Barney, Sesame Street, Playhouse Disney), beach activities.
Dislikes - dirty toilets, belittling her teachers.

HAPPY BIRHDAY HUSNA! YOU ARE 5 TODAY!