The Last of The Invincibles...

"Toure dah blah dowh?"

"Ye ke? For how much?"

"14M"

"Murah sangat r..."

The conversation took place at around 12:30 last night and for some reason I refuse to believe it especially for such a meagre amount of cash. Nah, it can't be true now can it?

Fast forward to this morning at work, took the time to open up Soccernet and found out that yes, he left for 16M. With that, spells the end of the last piece of the Gunners Invincible team. Toure will be missed and if Arsenal does'nt improve this season, I dare say that Wenger is losing his touch and his head will be on the guillotine by the end of the season. Toure's departure signals the end of an era and now is the perfect time for the young ones to stand up and be counted. COME ON YOU GUNNERS!

Bye, bye Toure and thank you!

First Salary!

Bangun pagi dlm pkl 6.40. After solat and mandi, got ready for work. Just like any other day in my 6 weeks internship. Except today, Haqqa was ill and not ready to go to work. So, I went off, expecting a really busy day today. And true enough, I was loaded with LOADS of work regarding the MYR (Mid Year Review) and was feeling the stress. For once, I was practically lying on the table with a really bad headache, much like what Haqqa had earlier today. And then ,he came

"Farhan ya?"

"Ya,saya?"

"Sign sini ya"

I looked at what he was handing me. Haha, my first paycheck,baby! It was not much, only 400 ringgit but man it was a pure satisfaction once you got it!

Taraaaaaaaa!!!

Haha, now that dah dpt gaji, some of the guys around here have been nudging me to have a go at my salary. Sorry fellas! I'm keeping this one for myself!

All right, now back to my Mid Year Review. Now where was my file just now, I know I had it here...

Halfway Point Conclusion

Fazlin and Zain's birthday, the same day we joined them

Referring to the title above, it is my sincere intention to…hang on, why is this all so formal? Hmm, I guess working in an office really does get to your mind sooner or later. As for me, it has truly been an eye opening experience. From the first day of meeting the MD of Pharmaniaga, Mr. Mohamad Abdullah (who is a really fatherly guy, I must say), all nervous from not knowing what lies beyond our (Amie and me) 1 month plus stay in the company. Then, there’s this other guy named Andrew Loke. Another interesting figure really with a knack of inserting his experiences from time to time just to make things interesting and really clear.

The first day was rather troublesome. My mind was not in the office because of thinking of many stuff such as where am I gonna stay for the next 6 weeks and also how am I travelling to work on a daily basis. My parents took the initiative to look for accommodation in UITM which I did not find all that appealing. In the end, I had to turn to the one friend I hope most not to burden again, Haqqa. In all honesty, I did not feel particularly comfortable the first few nights, knowing that I am really burdening them by staying at their place (till today really). Hmm, I just hope that my KFC treat the other day will make it up a bit for their troubles. Haqqa on the other hand, seems to appreciate the company, much to my amazement. I guess the holidays can really make you so lonely. All I can say is, Thank You Haqqa.

Regarding transport, I am thankful to have Amie to willingly let me come along in her car to go to work. In all honesty, I feel rather ashamed sitting at the back (even though it was at her request) because it feels as if I’m treating her like some kind of a chauffer. The fact that she’s the one driving, and not me, only makes it worse. I hope the amount of cash I gave will go a long way in making up for her troubles, not to mention the oil and toll fares. No wonder it’s so expensive to live here! On another note, I really enjoy the religious discussions we had together and despite the troubles regarding the car, it certainly taught me to be a lot more patient and get to know about car mechanisms more in the future. All I can say is, Thank You Amie.

So, it’s back to the office. My office (haha,”MY office”) is located on the highest floor of the A Block in Bukit Raja, in a nice glass box. There are 3 main people in the department I’m attached to, Mr. Andrew, Mr. Fazlin and Mrs. Azlina. Explaining the latter two, one is a quiet but very engaging fellow once involved in a conversation while the other is a very organized and motherly like lady. And of course there’s the other staff. Kak Maziah and Ika are both pregnant, the latter expected to be around early August. Both are really helpful to both of us in terms of settling in the office. Don, Zain and Syafik are really smart guys. Don prefers to be the strong, serious type while the latter two are the practical jokers of the office, with the joke occasionally on me, but heck, I don’t really mind! Kak Sel is a quiet type, regularly helping Amie out in her tasks and me too sometimes. One practical note, Syafik, Zain and Kak Sel have at least sent me back to Putra Heights at least once!

The lessons I’ve learnt here…hmm, guys take my word on this. If you’re gonna be working in an office first of all, be prepared to have a VERY, VERY REPETETIVE life. Chances are you’ll be expected to end up in office by 8.30 till 5.30 for the next 6-7 years. And it only gets more taxing higher up the corporate ladder albeit the occasional trips abroad. As such, it is of the utmost importance you build a strong relationship with those in your office with the fact that they are gonna be the faces you see on a daily basis in you life, possibly even more than you’re wife and kids!

On the plus side, I learned that it takes some time to get used to the acronyms used in the office. During our first weekly meeting, with everyone using acronyms in making their point, we we’re literally lost for words. The fact that we we’re of pure science background certainly didn’t help much! Nevertheless, assistance was always around when we needed them for they too realize the position we are finding ourselves in. After all, we are rookies! Note to myself, KPI means Key Performance Indicator…

Besides that, I have also got the chance to experience division of labour in practise. When you wanna get information regarding the market, use the marketing personnel. Well, use is a rather harsh word really for they are really nice people especially 2 blokes called Paramme and Mahendran. Again, understanding my position, they did a lot to help me identify the market size of certain medications. In the end, I got all the necessary information I need to finish my presentation albeit with some difficulties along the way.

To be honest, I’m not used to being scolded at. In fact the last time was probably during Bangsawan because I didn’t act the way Pok Chek wanted. But in office life, sometimes a kick in the back is probably all you need to make yourself alert again. This particular incident happened when Zain was rather disappointed in me for not getting the prices data that he really wanted. Sure data from the US is good but what are more important are the prices in the LOCAL market. Criticized me on the spot too for what happened. Not pretty but essential, just a pinch of what office life is all about.

And another thing, lateral thinking is very much encouraged in the workplace. For example, there is data on pieces of paper regarding the Indonesian market. The task is to transfer the data to Excel. Option one is to scan the sheets and save them in PDF Format and later copy text into Excel. Option two would be to write down each and every data in to Excel, the manual way. Unfortunately for me, I did the latter one until Haqqa’s dad made me realise that the former was possible and really is the better option. Although I learnt it the hard way, it definitely made me realise the need to think more and from a different approach next time.

On a final note, take time off to walk outside with your friends. It helps to get your eyes away from the glaring computer screens and not to mention is a really good time to have a chat with them. In essence, I learnt a lot regarding many stuffs such as the reality of Malaysian football (from Fazlin), the exquisiteness of The Phantom Of The Opera play, the best tips in buying a house in KL (from Fazlin again) and finally the experience of childbirth (from Kak Maziah, not that I needed it really!)

All in all, I think it has been a very wonderful time in office for me. I learnt so much these past few days to the point that I may consider spending some time of my working life in the business area someday. Sure the traffic jams and occasional stale food may be a bummer but it really makes this whole journey the more interesting. Looking forward to the next 3 weeks here! Thank you for this opportunity, my sponsor Khazanah!

Cheers everybody! : )

For I Do Not Know...

Hello everyone! Whew,it's been quite some time already since I last updated this (3 weeks to be exact) Just some update first of all. I'm writing this at my office in Pharmaniaga Berhad in Bukit Raja under the Corporate Strategy and Business Development Division. The lads here have been very interesting especially a guy named Zain who is rather annoying at times but a real good fell to have a chat with. Enjoying my job so far except for the hemorrhoids part of course. Other than that, congratz to Malaysia for putting up a real fight against Man Utd despite the 3-2 loss. From the game, it was rather clear that they are really struggling without Ronaldo to penetrate the defence of a side currently ranked 150 plus in the world. Hope to see the same in the coming EPL season...GO ARSENAL!

Nway, back to the topic above. If you guys don't know yet, I'm currently staying at Haqqa's place for the duration of the internship and I go to my workplace by Amie's car. Well as it so happens, on one day, my heart suddenly had the urge to talk about destiny or Qada' and Qadar' in particular. As we were discussing, she handed me a small book of hadiths to ponder upon. The one in particular is shown below...

Dari Abu Abdurrahman Abdullah bin Mas'ud r.a berkata: Rasullullah yang jujur dan terpecaya ucapannnya memberitahu kami, " sesungguhnya setiap kalian dikumpulkan penciptaannya dalam rahim ibunya selam 40 hari berupa nufthah(sperma) kemudian menjadi 'ala-qah (segumpal darah yang menggantung) selama waktu itu juga kemudian menjadi mudghah (segumpal daging) selama waktu itu pula, kemudian diutuslah malaikat untuk meniupkan ruh kepadanya dan menyampaikan 4 perkara: menulis rezekinya, ajalnya, amal perbuatannnya dan akan menjadi sengsara atau bahagia. Demi Allah yang tiada Tuhan (yang berhak disembah) selain-Nya....

From this,1 question in particular intrigues me.

"If God has already determined everything for us including where do we end up in the afterlife, then where is the need for good deeds or 'amalan'?"

To be honest, despite Amie's best efforts to clarify matters, I was unconvinced with what she said and took the time to find out more. Luckily enough, the answer came to me via Amie through a website called langitilahi.com. The title of the article itself was simple enough

"Aku Beramal Kerana Aku Tidak Tahu..."

The article amazes me because of its simplicity in the way it presents the writers ideas. At last, I was at peace for finding the answer to my conundrums. The conclusion?

1.I do good deeds for I DO NOT KNOW where I will end up

2.so, we DO OUR BEST to get the best in our lives

3.we should not worry on WHAT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR US TO KNOW (the future)

4.entry into heaven and hell is not determined by how many good deeds or how many sins we commit in our lives. It is determined by GOD'S BLESSINGS ALONE

5.so, we do what we're supposed to do to get God's blessing

6.InsyaAllah, Allah will NOT BE CRUEL upon us mere humans. Those who do good deeds are promised with goodness while those who sinned will be justly punished.

7.by having good thoughts towards Allah, may His blessings be upon our souls.

This article is intended to remind myself in the future of what is meant by the Terms Qada' and Qadar. I learnt it since I was around 10 years old and yet only now I know the true meaning of it. May this article also shed light on my Muslim brothers and sisters who may also be looking for answers, just as I did.

Salam and thank you for reading! : )