Back to Basics

Laptop, Handphone and Internet - The necessity of live. We are so dependant on technology to the extend that we sort of can't live without them. One friend told me that her life is in a mess because she didn't check her emails for 3 days due to some problem with her laptop. Well I understand what she means, especially since my mailbox will get approximately 20 emails per day, so 3 days would mean 60 unread emails. Those are on normal days, during peak period I could get around 40 emails per day. I have to admit, I am part of the cause for the 40 emails per day but right now, I am feeling the pinch. Why? Because I am serving back my NS and at my workplace there is no internet access nor a personal computer for me to use.

So life is back to basics. Back to paper and pen instead of Microsoft Words. Back to using books as reference instead of Google or Wikipedia. During the starting period, I felt so restless that I went around the garage to check on each and every single car. Hahaha... But now the effect has mitigated. And furthermore I got work to do now. Yeah you heard me, I DO have work to do at work.

Talking about work, yes I am serving back my NS and I have been deployed to serve in the transport office. Usually those who work in the transport office possess a police driving permit(PDP) but I have none thus I am not allow to drive the police car. So my job there is just like admin work. Issue vehicles, record movement, plan deployment and more paperwork. Well what can they give me afterall I only have 19 days left to serve. ORD lorrr!!!! Hahaha....

It a great feeling to be back at my old division. It has been four years since I left them for my studies. Now that I am back, all those colleagues that once work with me have now been promoted to higher ranks. And having them regconise you after so many year is more rewarding feeling. Some of the new NS boys thought I was someone new there but when they saw me talking in a friendly manner with their superiors, they do give me some respect. Well afterall I am older than them. Even though 4 years have passed by, some thing just never change. The work attitude and culture there is still the same, if you know what I mean. That's all I can say. Any longer I might be held for internal security act violation.

This is what I did on my first day there. Cool right. Hope I can get one for Saff. Hahaha...

Blank

Suddenly blank. That describe what I am feeling right now. Ever since my last paper which is like 3 weeks ago, I have been feeling a sense of blankness. Not knowing what to do everyday. No sense of direction. Of course other than reading the tons of email from Saff, I can't think of anything to do. I just can't imagine that my 4 years of studies have not come to an end(InsyaAllah). All that sufferings, all that travelling, all that scarifices, now all gone. What next for me? What challenges do I have to face next? Maybe Allah is giving me time to breathe before the next challenge begins.

Talking about challenge, my next upcoming challenge is my disrupted National Service. I have just got my posting. I will be going back to Airport Police Division to resume my National Service and a Staff Assistant. I wonder which department I will work in. Hopefully its at those 2nd level. Oh in case some of you might be wondering, Airport Police was my division before I disrupted from NS. But I was from the patrolling teams doing patrol duty and shift work. Now I will be office hours. Well, both got its good and bad points. Oh well. Let see how my life goes...

A great person is someone who can control his or her emotion and desires. He or she will be aware of his or her surrounding and be aware the consequences. Agree or not?


This is what I have to endure for the last 2 semester. A roommate that showcase all his stuff at the side of his bed. Like the space there is not cramp enough and like there is not other storage places in the room.

Screwed-Up Interview

Screwed is the word to describe how my interview went today. I totally screwed up the whole interview since the beginning. Fancy me taking the bus to the PSA Building which is like half an island away from my home. I should have known that the morning traffic is always bad and traffic jam are always the major cause of that. Alas, I came late to the interview. The second person had already went in when I reach the interview room. When to the toilet, put on my father's tie(which I had to borrow in the early morning) and fix my hair because it was raining from the busstop to the building lobby. I look at myself in the mirror and realise that my tie totally didn't match my shirt. Well, too late for that now.

Came my turn for the interview. Went in and saw four person sitting behind the boardroom table. A quick glance, I guess they are from the senior management but I didn't know how senior they are till I got out of the room. They were actually Chief Operating Officer(COO) PSA Singapore, Director HR and Head Operation, Singapore Terminal. Wow! Here a snippet from the interview conversation.(just an re-enactment. I forgot what I said exactly but below is roughly what I said)

A: So Hafiz, why you want to work at the port?

Me: Oh, actually since young I have always wanted to work at the port because my father is a ship captain and he would always tell me stories about the singapore port. From there I got my interest to work at the port and also the job really interest me.
Model answer: I believe Singapore port is the best port in the world and I always wanted to work with the best. The port of Singapore is very reputable and is known for its efficiency. That is what actually interest me to work at the port.

A: What makes you want to choose this job?

Me: I don't really like desk bound job. For me, I like to see the things that I do like in operation, I am able to see the whole process and from there I would be able to suggest improvement to the whole operation.
Model answer: This job give me the ability to maximise my whole potential as I have experience in operational work. I like to see through the whole process till the end so that I am able to troubleshoot efficiently should any problem arise. I work best thinking on my feet and this job give me the opportunity to do just that.

A: Haha, then I suggest you go and work as an air traffic controller.

Me: I don't like the shift working hours.(I got this from my friend who went of an interview for ATC) It is like you work for 6 hours in the morning then you need to come back again in the night and work 12 hours and they also have some weird working hours. (at this moment the lady refuted and inform that PSA is also like that in term of the working hours and I was caught surprised. Don't know what to answer after that)
Model answer: I don't think I know what an air traffic controller does and I am not interested to be one.

And the interview went continues. "A" is actually a middle-aged lady who is the director for Human Resource Department. The next few question still came from the lady which I can't remember how badly I answered. The questions from the guys were better and I think I answered better. They asked again about why I want to work as an OE when I am an Engineering graduate. This time round I think I managed to calmly answer but disappointingly using the same point.

The interview ended with me asking "what are the character and attitude that I need to build in order to succeed in the job." This actually led to a really down to earth explanation by the Chief Operating Officer for a good 5-6 mins. He really paint the picture of what life will be if I were to accept the job. My god, it is really scary and to hear it from an chief himself mean that he requires that of whoever taking the job. It is really a tough and super demanding job. The job is a front line officer job. One small mistake made, the whole world will know about it. If I am not mistaken, he mentioned the word hard and stressful a couple of times. And this actually makes me think twice about accepting the job. No wonder they are offering such a huge remuneration.

Well, all is done now. Mistakes made and experience gained. It is in God's hands now. Allah knows best if the job is suitable for me. Whatever it is, let wait for the result.

On another note, went to CMPB and got my PES status(those who think I just mentioned some alien word, well its NS stuff, guys would know.) I got PES C2L2. I had informed PNS and they should be getting back to me soon. Wish me luck guys.

Say: "O Allah! Lord of Power (And Rule), You give power to whom You please, and You strip off power from whom You please: You endue with honour whom You please, and You humiliate whom You please: In Your hand is all good. Verily, You are able to do all things. (Ali-imran: 26)

Expectations

As humans living on this dying earth, we need to interact with each other. To some people, this task can be very easy and simple but to other, it can be hard and torturing. The former group of people are the extroverts and the latter are the introverts. Interacting with people require some form of intelligence and some skills. The level and depth of interaction also depend on who you are interacting with. However in all interactions, one thing need to be managed and that is expectations.

Managing expectations can be hard especially with someone whom you are not familiar with. It is hard to think and try to figure out what is expected of that person whom you are interacting with. Some say that to have a fruitful relationship, it is good to lay down on the table what each other expects from one another. From there, both parties must learn to accept and tolerate.

Then come the issue of what can be accepted and what can be tolerated. This is where the tricky issue comes in. The very reason why most couple fight and can't stand each other after marriage is because they fail to manage each other expectation. Marriage is all about managing expectation. Does your wife expects you to sms her where you are? Does your husband expects you to give him some free time after coming back from work? What does your wife or husband likes or dislikes? These are just some of the expectations that we need to manage.

However sometimes, even after doing that, one person just stick to his or her expectation of the other person. When this happened, usually a fight will breaks out. One scenario that really happened.(No relation to anyone dead or alive)

"Guy A and a friend, Girl B and girlfriend Girl C. One day, Guy A message Girl B asking whether she knows the answer to some tutorial questions. Girl B never get back to Guy A. Next day when Guy A meets Girl B, they interacted as usual and Girl B gave a passing remark that she was busy yesterday. Then Girl C message Guy A asking for his opinion on something but Guy A was caught up with something and forgets to message back Girl C. Guy A only manage to message back 5 hours after Girl C message. However Guy A thinks nothing about it because for Guy A, replying sms on time is not a must because you never know what the other person is having at the time of sms. But to Girl C, it is important as it shows that the other person care for her. Thus a quarrel breaks out between Girl C and Guy A." THE END.

As you can see, the couple didn't managed each other expectations. What happened after that, I can't tell you. Hehehe... For me, I just hope that me and my future wife can be tolerant to each other expectations and learn to give and take to each other weaknesses.

Life after marriage is different and we need to manage well our spouses expectation. I know a lot of my guys friends are those "happy go lucky" type where they don't care what others think of them. Heck, they don't even care what others expect of them. To them, they control their own life, they don't like when they need to adjust their life to match another person expectations, especially their girlfriends. For me, I would say that both the girls and the guys need to compromise their expectations. Put yourselves in each other shoes and InsyaAllah you will able to see the world from a different view.

Tomorrow is my final interview at PSA. Getting nervous by the seconds. And my hair is long and I haven't cut them! To those who are reading these, please pray for me and May Allah guides me and give me a job that is suitable for me.

Till Then...

Yes. I have finished my examinations last Wednesday. It was a weird feeling because it was indeed my last paper that I will be sitting for, InsyaAllah. And yet I do not really feel excited about it. Part of me feel glad and the other part feel blank. Weird right?

Nevertheless, my other friends have not completed their papers. I managed to hold the bragging right of finishing my paper first for one day because one of my friend finish his paper a day after me.

First thing I did after my exams was to go home. Yes I have not "visit" home for like 16 days. Finally I got a ticket out of NTU. Then on Thursday, did my routine "jalan-jalan" to Sim Lim, Bugis and Suntec City. And yes I was alone. People say how can I walk alone. For some it is unthinkable but seriously I am used to be on my own walking alone. Friday went to school for Friday prayers then hang out with some friends who were still studying at school. Actually my main purpose to go to school for prayer was to meet my friend who promise to pass me a cd but in the end he did not bring them. Later in the evening went to a friend's house to take a look at his computer then went for meeting. Saturday was outing with parents, Sunday partying at Costa Sands Chalet, Monday was Perdaus Staff Bond Day and Poofff, its Today. Time is moving so damn bloody fast.

Shall stop abruptly here. Will continue later.