What I've been up to …

Yesterday (Monday) I managed to have lunch with a close friend, Aisyah, who was my colleague during my UNISEL days.

She wanted to have Curry Mee so we went to one of the outlets at SACC Mall (arg, forgot the name of the restaurant). I became a bit adventurous and ordered Thai Laksa. It was not that bad, really. Here’s my lunch yesterday:

I also had a glass of soursop drink which was a bit too sweet to my liking. Aisyah paid the bill! Thank you, my dear friend.

And today, I had lunch with 3 of my current colleagues at one of the stalls in front of our office block. I seldom have my lunch there simply because it’s usually full during lunch time, and it can be a bit hot on a sunny day. Today we were almost famish and went out slightly earlier, hence we beat the normal lunch traffic. By 2.10pm we were back in the office (note: our lunch time is between 1pm-2pm)!

Unfortunately, of all days, today it rained .

So, there we were, sitting under one of those gigantic umbrellas, but next to me the bench was wet (wiped it up just before we sat down):

My lunch was very simple, “Nasi goreng kampung” and plain tea:

Tomorrow will be my last day of work for this week, and I wonder what I’ll have for lunch then….

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Sad, that’s what I think.

UNISEL has always been “hot” with so many news and controversies, even since I was there, all the way until now .

Even though I’ve left Unisel for over 3 years now, I still receive news about it from my former colleagues. Unfortunately most of the time the news are quite disappointing.

Even the above piece of news, when I heard about it, I thought to myself “Finally?”. I was thinking of the same incident in 2006, but a few hours ago when I actually got to read the news, I was really shocked to find out that the same “misconduct” happened only last year!

You see, in 2006, I heard the same thing, and it was reported. I am not sure how far up the report went to, but eventually nothing really happened – well, at least until the above news came out. But the above news is about what happened last year, and not in 2006!

Though the news above didn’t mention any name, but being an x-Unisel staff, I know very well who that person is. Honestly, I am not surprised when I read the news. This guy is very sleek, and he managed to maneuver his way around so that most of the time whatever damage he had caused, others will get the blame .  And many good things that happened, he got the credit, despite being done by others! I personally think that he was uncapable to hold such high post in Unisel, but somehow he survived in Unisel (with such high post and high salary) that long!!

When I was still in Unisel, many colleagues tried their best to get me to stay put, but when it (my faculty included) moved to Bestari Jaya, I just couldn’t cope anymore (especially with the travelling).

Unisel has the potential to be great, if only it can rid itself off those hopeless people (also the “kaki bodek”s who are clueless on their roles and duties there. There are still many others who are dedicated and work hard, but most of the times, these people are either overlooked, or over-worked!

I remember in 2005, a few months before I left it, I was offered to be the dean of the faculty. I thank him for the trust that he had in me, but I politely declined it. I told the VC that I was not good enough to take up the post, and the faculty needed someone more experience and wiser. What happened after that? A junior took it instead. I was hoping that Unisel could get someone suitable from outside. This new dean couldn’t even converse in English, and the university has foreign students!! Some how this person is still the dean! Can’t Unisel find a better person for it? No wonder the quality of the programmes are deteriorating.

Another quite recent news that I heard about the faculty was about the acrreditation process where MQA sent some officers to evaluate the diploma and foundation programmes. One of the officers is actually my friend and last week she told me of her dissatisfaction about the programmes . I told her, “Don’t complain to me, I am no longer there!”

Update on 16th March:

News form Bernama today (16th March):

Reading the above, I supposed the offence was the one that I’ve heard of then, not another one as I was made to understand.

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Sometimes friends can be closer to us than our own flesh and blood!

I have several friends who would do almost anything for me, so it’s only natural that I reciprocate

Nury has been my friend since 1979, together with many others of the same batch. My InTEC friends are still close to me. In fact tomorrow morning I’m going to have our monthly breakfast session with a few of them. My UNISEL friends are still in touch with me (some regularly read my blog ), that lately they’ve complained that I’ve not visited them for quite a while now! Ladies, unfortunately I’m just too busy Will catch up with you after Raya ya?

Today’s story is about 2 great friends:

Today, I had a full day workshop at Carlton Holiday Hotel. During the 2 hr 15 mins break, S had to go to  Kuala Selangor to fetch her daughter form her hostel. I felt for her, and decided to accompany her. We got back to the hotel just in time for the 2.45pm session. I only got to know S for about 1 month now, since she joined our company. S is such a great lady that within such a short time, we already feel like we’ve known each other for years.

The workshop only finished at 6.50pm. On my way home, I stopped over at A’s house. Her son, A***n is flying to Canada tonight. I just wanted to send him off from his home even though A**** keep on asking me to send him to KLIA. I had to decline because the headache that started at 3pm today had not subsided A, is a special friend. I only came to know her when I was in UNISEL but now we are like sisters. when I was at her home earlier tonight, I unashamely told her that I didn’t have lunch, and got some rice from her kitchen LOL! Both A and I would do almost anything for each other. Last raya, A came to our house daily to feed the cats and clear the litter for 5 days when we went back to our hometown!

I’m too tired and the headache is still very strong, so, I’d liek to sign off and put on record here for A****, Good luck in your studies!

Friends and friendship are like antiques. They just got more and more precious as time goes by!

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When Bok brought home his own Kirby, as blogged by Nuni here and here, I really felt more motivated to try to produce my own amigurumi of Kirby. What more when only yesterday I met up with the crafty ladies and Paul.

So last night, in between using the computer and watching the kids playing the game on TV, I started to crochet Kirby. It’s very small:

I finally put the finishing touch this morning, and the result is:

Bok’s Kirby loves my new Kirby (which I’m planning to hang to my keychain, or handphone) :

My Kirby may not be as nice as Bok’s (which was mass-produced), but one thing for sure, mine is the only one in the world! .

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Have you heard of the fantastic Secret Recipe’s offer? It’s here:

I’m not so much into chicken chop but at RM10 for it WITH ice-lemon tea? That’s really cheap

And since the offer started a few weeks ago, I’ve been there twice (both during lunch time). You can have the choice of 3 types of gravy i.e. mushroom, black pepper and barbeque. I am not so much into black pepper, so I’ve tried mushroom sauce, and yesterday I tried barbeque sauce. I prefer the mushroom sauce to the latter.

With the “Durian-durian” cake in season, this offer has caused Secret Recipe outlets to be so crowded every day during lunch time!

Today, I accompanied a friend to buy some carrot slice to be taken to another friend’s house. And who did I bump into? A gang of my former office mates from UNISEL!

After some brief greetings (as I was in a hurry), I took these pix as mementos:

I’m pretty sure they were there to catch the same offer

(even though I didn’t get to stay long enough to find out).

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Lately UNISEL is again in the spotlight

It started with the non-continuation (in other words – sacking) of its 4th VC, Datuk Dr Razali Agus. I read in the online news about it last week, when I was still in HCMC.

A couple of days ago somebody introduced me to the KPPR’s website where a few postings are specially dedicated to UNISEL.

After reading all the postings, I have to agree with most of them (not all). Why am I so interested in UNISEL’s affair? It’s because I was once a lecturer there (from 2001 until 2005). I know what the staff there are facing. I left UNISEL partly because the main campus had moved to Bistari Jaya, and partly due to some frustration on the condition there There are many dedicated and abled lecturers there, but at the same time (just like in most establishments) there are some who are just interested to manipulate things/situation for their own benefits, without much thoughts of other people’s welfare

Unlike most establishments, the politicking and manipulation can be really really “outstanding”!

Ever since I left UNISEL (in Sept 2005, to be exact), I’ve been following its development/news from afar. I As late as early 2007 (or was it late 2006), I was still teaching on a part-time basis at the Shah Alam campus. (Many times, former officemates asked me why didn’t I come back to UNISEL, and each time I’d say that I am happy as I am now.) Most of the stories that I heard all these while were not so good, especially on the manipulations done by the very top management (parent company, shareholders, etc).

I am still waiting for some good news to come to UNISEL. There are many good employees who are still patiently waiting for some good news. And there are students whose parents alike have high hopes on UNISEL. UNISEL has produced many excellent graduates (some of them whom I taught are still in touch with me). For the sake of all these paying students, I really hope that UNISEL long saga will end soon.

As for me, I am praying from a distance for the new state government to finally do something (and something right) for UNISEL – get rid of those bad apples, and let UNISEL prosper as it should.

Good luck, UNISEL!

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Not a very interesting topic, eh?

But the above two have kept me busy the past couple of days.

On Wednesday, I had to man our booth at WCIT 2008. OK la, not really OUR booth. It’s the e-government booth, but since our company develops the HR system for the government, we had to be there too with JPA to show the system and demo to any visitor who’d be interested in it.

Our booth was just a small part of the huge “e-Government” booth, so it was not that spacious. Initially I wanted to bring my “newly acquired” 3rd hand (Lumix) camera, but thinking that it is a bit too bulky for my handbag (I really need a new handbag!) I decided against it. Furthermore I really need some time to familiarise myself with that Lumix. So, I didn’t take any pic at WCIT except for this one which I did just before I left:

I met a few familiar acquaintances during the WCIT:

1. Nazrah – my x-student in UNISEL who’s now working in HUKM.
2. Naza – Nuni’s x-schoolmate whose mum later became my friend.
3. Kamil Musa – my x-schoolmate from secondary school days.
4. Sharifa@Sherri – another x-student from UNISEL who now teaches English part-time and sells Prudential insurance and takaful full time!

I should have brought the camera, then I would (hopefully) have remembered to take more meaningful pix of these meetings.

The WCIT thingy was only one day. Tuesday night and last night I was in KL until very late (as late as 11pm) to be with a few friends. We are preparing ourselves for the endorsement to become Dale Carnegie trainers.

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It’s Tuesday night and Aina’s piano class in on again. Normally I would go home first, then only both DH and I will send Aina for her class. Unfortunately today I only managed to leave office at 8pm

So, instead of going home, I went straight to Shah Alam Mall to meet up with Aina and DH. As I was rushing into the mall, I saw Aslam, my former student at UNISEL. He was holding his baby, Iman . The last time I talked to Aslam was on the phone quite sometime ago, when he had just started working at Karangkraf. Iman’s mum, Liza, was also my student there. In fact Aslam and Liza were coursemates

Since I was rushing, I only managed to ask Aslam to convey my salam to Liza, and promised to meet up again some other time. And I am glad I took the above pic

Anyway, I am so happy to see both father and son

To both Aslam and Liza, you’ve got one cute son, indeed!

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