Long overdue

I know I have been away from the blogosphere for almost a week. That's a relatively long time for me. Since the beginning of the year, I have been very busy, comparatively speaking. It wasn't like this last year. Nowadays, I would be lucky if I get around four hours of sleep.

Office hours are between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. However, since the beginning of the year, I have been clocking in at around 7.30 a.m. and clocking out at around 10.00 p.m. on a "normal" day. The month of February is worse as I find myself clocking in at 7.00 a.m. and clocking out at 1.00 a.m. on most weekdays. It feels like I'm working double shift. On weekdays, chances are you'll find me at the office as well although I'd only spend about 6 hours working.

It's exhausting, but I don't have much choice. I have a deadline to meet. Yayasan Ilmuwan is in the midst of publishing a 600-page (approximation) book entitled "Ke Arah Umat Hadhari". This is actually one of my first assignments when I joined Yayasan Ilmuwan. There are 22 chapters in this book. The on-again, off-again, on-again status of the book contributed to its delay. There are a few chapters that were challenging because of the difficulty in finding writers. There were also writers who have agreed to write but changed their minds without informing the publisher. There were quite a few chapters that needed to be rewritten.

In any case, I am glad that the agony of getting the book out is almost over. I am fortunate to have the able assist of Norhanizah (on editing) and Rohaizad (on layouting). Hanizah has the unenviable task of proofreading the whole manuscript, while Rohaizad has been patient enough to work with me on minimising errors on the book as well as making the book presentable. I'll put up the cover once it is finalised.

We have also identified a very credible company to do the printing. And I hope, come the third week of March, the book will finally be out after a long gestation period of two years.

I can breath easier when it's all done.