What I've been up to …

Yeah, the endorsement process for the Dale Carnegie HIP’s programme.

We ended it with a group photo:

The faces of relief of those standing were clearly captured!

Sitting: Rosli, Cindy, Dato Nik; Standing: Feruze, me, KZ, Taqi

*

If I remember, and have the energy, I will continue this blog later tonight

Thank you to Cindy Benson who came all the way from the states for the guidance and coaching. Thank you to Rosli for helping to prepare us for the endorsement programme, and thank you to Dato Nik for having faith in us!

My gratitude goes to the participants who were willing to help realise the lab-class. Special mention must go to these people:

1. Fatimah, Azami & Rames of OUM
2. Siva, Gnana & Logan from Wongjin Coway
3. Badrul from Zul Ariffin
4. Rusli of TM
5. Chris of T-Systems

We surely miss “I love you guys!” expression from Logan, who couldn’t make it today. Those who were involved in this lab-class would know what I mean here

4 Comments »

Well, that basically sums up how I feel now. For the last 2 days (Mon & Tues) I’ve been attending prep sessions for the “High Impact Presentation” (HIP) endorsement. Tomorrow (Wed) and Thurs we’ll have our lab class where we actually conduct the sessions with real participants (ok, ok, they are not paying participants, but volunteers).

I just feel like I don’t have the energy to continue

Just now I dozed off unintentionally. The kids are sacrificing too since I’ve been ignoring them and their needs. They are on auto-run! Well, big bro and big sis take care of Aina’s welfare. I really appreciate it.

It’s sooo damn difficult to be a Dale Carnegie trainer! Even IF I pass this endorsement, I will have to underdo a few rounds of tandem training sessions before I can become a full-fledged DC trainer!

So, friends, if you attend a DC program, you can be rest assured that the trainers are fully qualified, and uphold a high DC quality standards.

11.45pm, Tues, 29th AUg

No Comments »

Being just admitted into the “family” of Dale Carnegie(DC) trainers, I had the opportunity yesterday to join in their annual “Refresher” session.

It was very educational and informative to a rookie like me, as well as a fun session to be able to meet up with other trainers (some have been in the business for over 10 years!). Some of them are “Master Trainers” as well as “Master Trainer-to-be”. I just admire their commitment and calibre. The VIPs were Dato Nik Aziz himself (he owns the Malaysian Franchise of DC) and Cindy Benson, from all the way from USA. Cindy who is a master trainer herself is the Vice Presiden of Training, Dale Carnegie & Assoc, Seattle.

The group yesterday was indeed a special bunch of people. Not a second was left boring, and time seemed to fly so fast. Before we knew it, it was time to go.

By the way, if you are keen, Cindy will give her seminar on “Being a Talent Champion” at Cyberjaya on 1st Aug 2008. More details here. It’s organised by MDEC, and it’s free!

some of the pix:

Cindy starting the session:

Dr T making his presentation, with Cindy facilitating:

More “fast-phased” discussion:

And soon, it was lunch time (forgot to snap any pic during tea break ):

More of chow time:

The only pic with me in it:

Caught Zul with his new toy:

The big guns of Dale Carnegie Malaysia having some serious discussion:

When it was over, most of us seemed refuse to leave:

One for the album:

And another:

See you guys again next year!!

No Comments »

Could this be my dream home?:

source: developer’s brochure

Well, of course my dream home is much better and much bigger (with bigger compund ) than this, but the dream home is just too far-fetched This one on the other hand is more achievable to us.

And, by the way, the above, is the artist view of the back. The real one doesn’t have that much space at the back.

The front looks like this:

Source: Developer’s brochure

Or on close-up:

source: Developer’s catalog

I really hope everything goes to plan, and the family gets to move into the new home by the end of 2009.

No Comments »

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).

No Comments »

Yesterday I was home from morning until about 5pm (apart from the 45 min dental appointment in the morning).

A few months ago, the main underground water pipe leaked. We noticed it when our water bill was too high – sometimes over RM180! So, our immediate measure was to turn off the main tap (outside the house) whenever we didn’t need the direct water supply, e.g. when we travel, and also at night. I couldn’t get any plumber to come and repair because I couldn’t afford to be around when they do the repair.

So, yesterday, I thought since the big “kids” were home I should call the plumber to get solve that problem. Like most houses with similar problem, Ah Lim, the plumber, suggested that we have new water pipes going straight into the roof (well, the space between the roof and the ceiling), to the tank, as well as to the kitchen taps from there.

Ah Lim ensured me that he could finish the work on the same day. I left home (for Dale’s Class) before he finished his work, but by then DH was already home.

When I got back just before 11pm, as I entered the house I asked them about the new piping, and DH’s immediate remark was “Disastrous!”. I was clueless, until he told me that at about 8.30pm, the pipe above our bedroom must have burst (later we found out that the glue between poles of pipes were not strong enough) because water was gushing out of the ceiling into the bedroom like a waterfall!!

So DH and the kids had to turn off the main tap, and did a lot of mopping

By the time I got home, all was done, and apart from the damp floor, and several wet items such as books and some dresses (CPU, monitor, and keyboard too!), the house looked normal to me.

DH said that we were lucky that that happened when there were people in the house. Just imagine that happening when we went away for the weekend. Can you imagine the shock that we’ll get when we return?

Lesson learnt – turn off all taps and switches (except for the few selected ones) whenever we leave the house!

4 Comments »

HM as in Head Mistress, or in the west they call it the the school head.

Last night I got an sms from Kak Gee (my high school senior) informing that my primary school headmistress, Cikgu Rabeatul Ab Majid, passed away last night at Tawakkal Medical Centre.

I have special memories of this HM, and was looking for her high and low, without knowing that she’s Kak Gee’s first cousin!

When I finally found out, I immediately visited her – that was in 2005. It’s a pity that with the hectic schedule of our lives, I never got to visit her again after that

Cikgu, who had her training at Kirby College in UK, was the HM in Tanah Merah, when I was attending my primary school. During my last year (Year 6), cikgu got a transfer back to KL. What stayed in my head was that, when we were having a farewell prefect photo, cikgu was trying to figure out the year that my friends and i would finish our primary school, and ready for higher education in KL. What she didn’t know then was that later I went to a boarding school, and ended up studying in Australia instead.

When I visited her in 2005, she told me she did receive a postcard from me while I was in Australia. I sent that card to her school (not knowing her home address).

Though in a minor role, she did influence my outlook in life. Seeing her so successful then (well-dressed, with well-decorated house, driving a huge car, and very fluent in English) made me want to strife hard to succeed myself. Being a village girl then, she was my model of how a successful lady should look like!

May your soul rest in peace, cikgu!

No Comments »

It’s always like this – the few weeks before I’m due for a trip, I’d be very busy with office work and other matters.

This time round, I’m going to spend 5th – 14th August 2008 in Kiwiland, and right now until the day we take the flight, my diary if full!

Next week I’ll undergo the “High Impact Presentation” endorsement program from Monday-Thursday. From my experiences of undergoing similar programmes, I can imagine how busy I will get. At the same time I also need to get a few tasks done at the office Now that I only have Friday (for next week) to be at the office, many meetings/discussions/tasks need to be conducted this week instead. So, I guess this week is going to be eventful too. Today I left office at 7.15pm, and tomorrow our last meeting will be at 7pm, when (and hopefully) we finish a meeting prior to that. C’est la vie!

I have to admit that, sometimes we need some “busy-ness” to keep work and life more interesting

I just hope when I come back on the 14th aug, I’ll be fresh enough to start work the following day!

No Comments »

I knew almost 30 years ago that there’s a big difference between interest and ability. I was very much interested in Chemistry but however hard I tried, I hardly scored in my Chemistry examinations. On the other hand, Mathematics was the subject that would normally help push my overall grades up. So, even though I was supposed to work towards a degree in Chemistry, instead of opting a complete Chemistry degree, I chose to do a mixed double of Chemistry and Mathematics.

Hence when I was at the end of my 3rd year, and deciding on which subject to take up for my honours year (i.e. 4th year, and I got the offers for honours year from both the P&I Chemistry and Applied Mathematics), I told myself that I had to be practical. So I opted for Applied Mathematics, and said goodbye to Chemistry.

And today I guess I experienced something else that shows the difference between interest and talent. It’s nothing new, I know. I love to sing (hence my interest in singing) but I do not have the talent nor the voice to sing. I don’t really give a damn, I sing to please myself, esp when there is nobody around me. I sing in the car when I start to get sleepy

(But now  Rosli, our Dale Carnegie mentor/trainer wants us to practice our presentations in the car )

Today, I spent the first half of the day in KL (for my Dale Carnegie prep for the coming endorsement). Rosli was nice enough to help us with our understanding of the material. I took this pic with my handphone just as he finished the session:

When I got home, i played host to the in-laws. They were gone by 4.30pm.

Soon after the Asr prayer I decided to spend some time on my sewing hobby. I promised H & S from my office to sew them little bags for them to put their purses and phones when we go out for lunch, something like the ones I’ve sewn before.

I thought I should try some machine applique, so I tried to lay them out:

I also wanted to try to have a little pocket inside the bag. For the first one, I used some silk remnant, but it was just too soft to handle, so the product was disappointing:

But I was too lazy to unpick and redo, and continued to start the 2nd bag. This time i used sturdier material.

Finally I did manage to get 2 little bags for H & S:

Oops! that was the inside of the bags. When I turned them over to the right side, I got these:

Yes, I got fed-up with the applique, so I decided to have only one flower for the 2nd bag too

At the end of the session, I came to a conclusion that maybe I was more talented when I was younger, but for the past decade or two, I’ve trained too much of the reasoning side of the brain (math & Programming and the likes of sudoku, solitaire, etc..), that I’ve lost the ability to utilize the creative part of my brain. No wonder even my singing is getting more out of tune and tone-deaf as time goes by!

But does that mean I will stop these hobbies of mine (including singing)? NO WAY!

No Comments »

Last night I finished my programme on time. I then called home, asking someone to come and fetch me. I was told that Ayi will come to fetch at the nearby Dataran Shah Alam.

While waiting for Ayi, I looked around. It was almost 11.30pm and yet it was all bustling around me. The nearby Char Kuey Teow stall was still in full house:

As I look further to the right, The fountain area was obviously not deserted yet:

The clock tower further to the right, with the Darul Ehsan building in the background:

Looking across the road, towards the steps of the dataran, there laid a few rows of bikes:

Further to right (still across the road) the well-lit MBSA building:

It was Saturday night, and it’s obvious that Shah alam had not gone to sleep yet.

I also found out that the Shah Alam own Uptown (formerly  known as Kompleks Muhibbah) in Section 24 is still open, all the way into the we hours!

Maybe I’ll visit it one day.

No Comments »