Semangat Baru!

The octopus is enjoying a great celebration made especially for him now and for the next few weeks, maybe. Yes, he is just another living octopus, but 'special'.

Since day one of this year's FIFA, football fanatics from all over the world turned for Paul's prediction on the winning team for the most-looked-forward games.

For football, Paul has done a great job. For the past one month, we got the answers, although Paul's prediction was said to be only 80 percent accurate.

However, it is just a football game. Even if we choose to listen to Paul and say apparently he made an inaccurate prediction, it does not cost a life, still. Football fanatics could live in frustration over the results, but technically, it will not last forever.

But, what if we made a wrong choice for our lives? Do we choose to use the psyche octopus to tell us about our future?

A definite no.

Bookies say they are the biggest suckers as Paul has cost them up to half a million squid. But hey, losing half a million dollar is nothing to compare with losing half of your soul over the wrong decision made for our dear own future.

I've been there and done that. Once is enough. Twice made me a loser. But, what if my case is five? Complete loser? Tell me about it.

Some decisions I made in my life had cost me a lot. But I am not losing grip, still. With constant prayers, hopes, big-time efforts and iman, I managed to pull through the hardest and most challenging paths in my life. Nothing will come to you easily - I totally understand this.

Amidst the major flaws that took place in my life, Allah SWT has granted my doa and brought me closer to my ambition. Alhamdulillah.

Education, checked. Career checked.

I am contented.

However, I can still see a gigantic question mark on the other side of my life. Somehow or rather, I have made a promise to both of my parents about this. And I have also made an important promise to myself. I will rather see the question mark for the next few years, rather than making a wrong decision.

What if I manage to decipher an answer within a short time? I will then kill the gigantic question mark. And he will get a name. As being promised.

I need no octopus' assistance for this.

Fingers crossed!

Yes, I am so BACK

It has been a few months since my last post. Or even bad than that.

The job has taken too much from me. But I am loving it though. This is what I really want to do.

To teach, to share knowledge and to gain precious experiences are things I insisted doing. I have been teaching for almost a semester without I am actually realizing it. How time flies! But yes yes, I dearly love what I am doing now!

It is always good to understand that everything is in place now though it was quite rocky in the beginning. I think learning it the hard way is the best approach to learn life better. So I did.

Each single things that took place throughout the process were too new for me. Meeting the students, teaching, composing and marking assignments, consulting, preparing the tests , examination questions and marking and scolding the students - everything for the 'very first time'!

I did get upset over the students' attitude at times, but most of the time I love them more, or I must say EVEN more!

I have come to realized that working in a private institution is way more challenging than working anywhere else, let alone being a government servant. If you question a why, take a read more: the students are demanding, different ways to approach students from 150 distinctive cultural backgrounds, language barriers, competing philosophies with the employer and to fit in an eco-system which is TOTALLY different from the conventional higher learning institution.

I resist to consider my students as mere clients. To me, they are CLIENTS to a better world. Therefore, I always believe that they should not be treated like a king- instead,they got to be trained to be KINGS and LEADERS for a brighter world.

They should not be spoiled and over-pampered. They should get the chance to unleash their wisdom, expand their knowledge and be the man for their nations and for the world.

Don't you think so?

A Doubtful New Week

"Bila nak kerja? Asyik belajar je...", many have asked me this.

And I remember, I used to answer it this way, "Er, Intan belum mentally prepared to work la".

But when I come to think of it again and over again, I was not that 'mentally unprepared' to enter the next phase of life. It was primarily because 'I hold so tightly to my ambition' and could not compromise it with anything else, not at all.

Obstinate! Yea, tell me about it. Tell me whatever. I knew that I had to hold very tightly to my ambition and in order to be there, I have to follow my long-term plan- something that is neither written in a diary nor on a board. I kept it safely inside my head.

No, I am not saying that I've successfully achieved my dreams and ambition.

But yes, I am still making steps before I can finally 'be there'. From baby steps to where I exactly stand today. Navigating myself towards the direction is the toughest task I have ever had. But yes, the results tell me that it worth every single pain.

Tomorrow will marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life- I'll be in office! It will be the very first working day in my 25-year life! This is what I recognize as a 'nauseous excitement'.

I have officially accepted the offer by the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology as a lecturer and expected to report duty on January 25, 2010. Alhamdulillah. Me myself still hardly believing that I will step into a new phase in life and which is due in couples of hours from now.

I am forever thankful to Allah SWT for all of his blessings. I am a sinful servant of His, but He has granted my prayer and eased the winding path of this life. Despite the challenges, the strength and iman He has given to me have brought me to where I am today. Alhamdulillah.

As a person who has zero teaching experience, I am not hoping for a wonderful first day in office. But yes, I am hoping a big hope that everything will falls in place for me tomorrow and the following days. I am still reminding myself that regardless how ugly it could be, the hardships will be a beautiful experience for me, thus added meaningful colors to my life.

InsyaALLAH.

Teaching is my biggest passion. I consider the position as a lecturer more than just a 'career'. The notion is ultimately noble, thus there is a pressing need for me to bear in mind that I should perform it responsibly. Ameen ya robbal 'alamin.

Though I will start working tomorrow, but I am still after my biggest dream.

Climbing, still.

Yes, You May Write

I may not be the right person in the right position to talk about this. But hell yes, the new media has enabled everyone, including me to have our says online.

That means the new media is giving everyone who has the access to the Internet an equal chance to speak their minds. In this case, I thank the new media a million thanks. I believe that everyone else is thanking the new media likewise.

The impacts of thew new media, especially blogging activities is compulsive amidst the very fact that the presence of new media isn't meant to be a mean to harm one another or to create 'war online'. I strongly believed that it depends on us- the 'active media users'- how we take the means available with us in our daily lives.

If we take them as means for all noble intentions, then we'll definitely enjoy the pleasuring results in the end. In the other hand, if we use it as a weaponry medium, than we should be mentally and physically prepared to anticipating the possible consequences. Before going deeper, I would like to emphasize here that for this post, I specially focuses on 'blog'- the most pervasive means made available by the new media.

Fine. I do totally understand that in the course of triggering something to change, there will definitely be certain consequences that should be taken into account. In other words, there is a price to pay for whatever we said. Not everybody will buy everything we say because opinions tend to be very subjective, accordingly to how the individuals perceived things.

It's important for all bloggers to accept one simple rule of thumb- everyone does not root for one same idea. Why? One simple reason to justify this- people do have their own perceptions, thus mold their individual opinions.

Reasonable bloggers eventually succumbed to this rule and shouldn't be way too offended. Take the differences as meaningful colors to this life. Or in simpler words, just take it positively and things gonna be a-oke!

There's another pivotal something which has always been in my head. It's all about how we write or speak about things we concerned about. For those who came from journalistic background, there's one common saying- "Mata pena lebih tajam daripada pedang". Whatever we write can help to 'make or break someone' and this has added a pressing need for all bloggers to be able to write rationally and without engaging too much of emotional expressions.

We write to make things better. We write for what's right and it's our definite right to write anything in the blog. I root for that very philosophy because I personally understand the importance of creating a free marketplace of ideas for a democratic country like Malaysia. People's ideas could be a precious assets for the country to achieve its log-term vision.

But the citizens need to be able to write inoffensively. We aren't up for creating an online war which will jeopardize the people and the country altogether. Based on my experience, I find it easier to write inoffensively rather than writing to showing flaming anger. So, why would we choose the hard way to get things done, innit?

Many hidebound professional journalists are reluctant to recognize the works by bloggers primarily because they believe that bloggers aren't writing professionally. Accordingly to the journalism rules, a professional writer (be it a reporter, columnist, blogger, etc) should be writing objectively; without engaging his or her personal judgments and emotion. Well, professional bloggers who understand this normally came from journalistic background or they understand the notion of doing journalism the right way.

Based on my observation, I firmly believe that someday somehow our people who are actively blogging will get to this point. It's just a matter of time. We are still very new to the new media if compared with people from developed countries. So, eventualities like these are part of the learning curve for all of us.

Blogger need to be responsible for everything they post in their blogs. Bloggers need to anticipate the possible consequences over what they posted online. On top of that, bloggers need to be able to understand journalism to avoid undesirable outcomes. After all, we aren't writing for ourselves. Innit true, people?

Yes, we may write.
But write with brain.
Not with emotion.

Happy blogging, everyone!