Miscellaneous post

It's really true when people say that time flies when you're having fun. In my case, perhaps it's more accurate to say that time flies when you're busy.

I've been occupied with many things this past week which didn't allow me to blog. Not that I wasn't online, but rather I was too cooked up with my responsibilities that subconsciously, blogging came last in the priority list.

I didn't realise that the last time I blogged was a week ago. It wasn't until Zetty pointed this out that I came to realise this fact. I suppose when you blog on an almost daily basis, people would notice when you stopped blogging.

Truth be told, a lot has happened this past week or so. But alas, these developments are not for blogging today. Insya-Allah, when the time comes, I will share some of the things that have taken place.

And a special note to blogger Zetty... welcome back to the blogosphere. As I mentioned in one of my previous postings, she was one of the victims of the flood in Johor recently. I hope things are better now for Zetty and her family, as well as the thousands of victims of the flood.

Until next time, let us all pray that we will continue to things will continue to prosper and improve for the better.

Forget-me-not

I can't believe that I totally forgot to read the news today. I'll make a quick dash on the Internet afterwards to find out what happened in the last 24 hours or so.

Actually, this was not the only thing I forgot today. This morning at about 7.30 a.m., I received a text message from my radio producer reminding me that I have a slot to fill this morning over at IKIM.fm. I rushed to the office, prepared some material and then dashed off to IKIM at Jalan Duta for the programme which is aired live at 10.30 a.m.

It has been a long but productive day today. I left the office relatively early today at 9.30 p.m. But when I got down from the office, I forgot where I parked my car!

It almost became an unsolved mystery. Talk about a bad case of forgetfulness.

N is for Novel

Alhamdulillah, another one of my resolutions is coming to fruition. I just received the cover for my first novel. It looks quite good from my point of view. The editor has informed me that the novel will be printed soon. Let me know what you think of the cover. By the way, the pen name I'm using for creative writing purposes is Amir Husaini - which happens to be my son's name. Apparently, my son's name has more commercial value than my own name. *lol*
So, not bad for the first 3 weeks of 2007.

Scientist. Student of Aikido. Novelist.

A is for Aikido

This new year, I am pushing myself to the limit. I have actually lined up an A to Z list of resolutions. Most of these include those that I'd never imagine partaking before. Never imagined, but not impossible. One of them has to do with learning martial arts. This is the 'A' on my list of resolutions.

Ask any friends of mine, they will attest that I am not the fit physical type. I've not been known to be involved in any form of physical sports nor martial arts. Sure, I play bowling when I have the time. And I do a bit of gardening at home. But these are not really the type of activities one would associate with physical fitness.

Towards the end of my tenure in IKIM, I was made chairman of its welfare club. One of the things that I started was an Aikido training session for the staff. Unfortunately, due to my tight schedule, I wasn't able to partake in its classes, conducted by my colleague then, Suzalie. [Suzalie is the Deputy President of the Aikikai Association in Malaysia].

Now, it seems that I have finally got the chance to learn Aikido. I am enjoying its lessons. It allows me to be physically fitter, increases my stamina, and rids myself of the stiffness on my back that has been nagging me for ages. I am really looking forward to future lessons.

As I stated in my previous post, one of my new year's resolutions was put to test last Saturday. I had challenged myself to pick up Aikido. And on the first day of 1428 Hijrah, I have succeeded in doing so. And I resolve to continue learning this Japanese martial art.

If you have a hard time imagining me with a lab coat on, try imagining me with an aikidogi on.

150th post: Call of hijrah

Just 20 days after people around the world celebrated the beginning of the solar new year of 2007, it is now time to commemorate the beginning of the Hijriyyah new year. Muslims all over the world remember that the "Hijrah" of the Prophet Muhammad SAW from Makkah al-Mukaramah to Madinah al-Munawarah as the beginning of a new chapter in the life of the Prophet SAW as well as a new dawn for Islam and the Muslims as a whole. All this can of course be read in the history books.

For the Muslims of the present day, there lies a challenge to emulate the spirit of hijrah. In essence, hijrah is a call for the betterment of one's self and from thereon, the betterment of the community. This is not unlike the new year resolutions made every time people step into the new year. You can dub it whatever you want - new year resolutions or call of hijrah - what is important is that we persevere in ensuring whatever we resolve to realise and improve will not merely remain empty talk.

Lest we forget, we should walk the talk, and not just give lip service. We should also not be like those who just say what people want to hear, and yet are unable to deliver the goods. Herein lies the challenge of turning our resolutions into reality.

On a personal note, I have set forth my own resolutions for both 2007 AD and 1428 H. Aptly enough, one of these resolutions will be put to test on the 1st of Muharram which is the first day of the new Muslim lunar year. In any case, I will report in this blog as to whether this particular resolution will come to fruition or just be wishful thinking.

On the dawn of the new Hijriyyah year, and in conjunction with this blog's 150th post, I wish all visitors of this blog, a prosperous and productive year ahead, insya-Allah.

And in the news today...

One of my daily habits is reading the newspapers in the morning. That would occupy about 30 minutes of my morning. As time is precious, I'd only speed-read most of the news items unless there is something that really attracts my eyes. For some, like Dato' Dr. Fadzilah Kamsah, reading newspapers is done only at night. He explained to me that he does this primarily because he doesn't want his day spoilt by depressing news. To a certain extent, I tend to agree that most news items in the newspapers are quite depressing. But someone like me cannot afford to read the news later in the evening. My line of work requires that I be ever vigilant to current affairs, which is why I also make it a habit to browse online news at night.

Something featured in today's newspapers made me think. The Star and Utusan Malaysia, for instance, carry the news of the transfer of the Sabak Bernam District Council president who overlooked the abuse of entertainment permits. It is good that the state government "is seen" taking action on ineffective heads. But at the same time I wonder, is this case in Sekinchan an isolated one?

Only yesterday I was talking to my boss on how certain licensed health centres are used as a front for people to solicit services of prostitutes - both straight and gay. This is common knowledge to many. Minor exposures have been made on certain television programmes such as '999' and 'Edisi Siasat' on this matter. However, it seems that the problem still persists.

I am quite sure that if a layman like me knows about this, then the council officers and president would also be aware. I know I am making an assumption here, but unless these people are living in the Stone Age, they'd know what most people already know. After all, this is not privileged information. This info is in the public domain - one that could easily be accessed from the Internet.

Since "justice has been served" to the Sabak Bernam District Council president, would the same brand of justice be meted out to the other "sleeping" council heads for overlooking, or perhaps closing one eye, to the existence of these vice dens operating under the guise of health centres? Or, are we to say that since the Sabak Bernam District Council president has been punished, then the public would be happy and forget about the others?

I hope that the other council heads would learn a lesson or two from the Sabak Bernam case. City and district councils need to be proactive, efficient and transparent. They are there to ensure the best for the people they serve. They are there to work diligently, and not to just wait for the paycheck at the end of the month.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, we have a habit of passing the buck. At the end of the day, the fault will be borne by a lower-ranking (read: dispensible) officer. I long to see the day when a high-ranking officer or politician resign as a result of his/her ineptitude without having to be removed by his/her boss.

It would certainly make quite a headline in the news when someone resigns because of his/her own incompetence. I'm not sure whether this kind of news would be regarded as depressing or not to the masses. In any case, I'll certainly have my eyes glued to the papers should this happen. But then again, that's what I do every morning anyway.

Rain

I received an e-mail yesterday from a school friend saying that Rain is coming to Malaysia. My immediate response upon reading the e-mail was, "Hang on, isn't rain here already? In fact, isn't Johor flooded because of excessive rain?" Then I read the e-mail again, and I realised she was talking about Rain a.k.a. Jeong Ji-Hoon, the Korean entertainer. That brought a smile on my face, albeit briefly. These past few weeks, news of heavy rain have literally flooded the news in the country. Truth be told, I never thought that I'd see floods like the ones in Johor, Pahang and Sabah ever happening in Malaysia.

It is indeed depressing to read and watch the news on the floods. While help is coming from all fronts, I find that not much can be done to console the displaced victims. They have lost their homes and some, their livelihood. Sure, we can extend our assistance in the form of monetary aid, but it will take them a while to rebuild their lives.

How I wish, at this point in time, the nation could prioritise. Why not channel part of the budget (emphasis on the word "part") for the as-yet-to-be-built Wilayah Pembangunan Iskandar (WPI) towards rebuilding the lives of those affected by the floods? I don't see the point of having a 221,634.1 hectares of a "new region" when many parts of the state has been flooded - unless of course you want to relocate everybody to this new growth area.

Oh, another bit of depressing news, perhaps on the other end of the spectrum if compared to the flood news. The Klang Valley is expected to experience drought from February till August as a result of El Nino. While those down south are experiencing excess rainfall, we in the Klang Valley will face severe lack of rain. So, for those of us in the Klang Valley, start stocking up on water.

I mentioned to a friend just before I blogged this entry that El Nino is coming to Malaysia. His immediate reply was, "Yes. I know. I bought tickets already."

I was flabbergasted for a while. Then I realised. He was talking about Il Divo.

*Sigh*

Destination Japan

Reading the title of this entry, one could easily jump to a conclusion that I'll be going to Japan. Not really, actually. Instead, I was away since Thursday conducting a motivational course for a group of Japan-bound students. The group of 100 students that my team is handling is a great bunch. They have been participative and pleasant. What else do you expect from straight A's students? At the moment, they're undergoing an intensive language course on weekdays.

While they undergo the language crash course, for the next 9 weekends my team will provide them with the physical, mental, psychological and spiritual inputs - mainly in outdoor settings. So, if anyone is looking for me on weekends, try finding me at a place called Perepat!

In case you're wondering where Perepat is, here's a clue:

It's not in Japan!

Been a while

I have seemingly disappeared from the blogosphere for almost one week. My usually one blog entry a day apparently was missing, and as such, I received quite a few messages from friends asking me where I am, whether I am well or if everything is okay. I am touched by the concerns of friends. But worry not, because the simple answer to my relatively long silence is that I have been very very busy with work.

You see, last Friday, my firm/company/organisation landed a consulting project, which will keep us busy until March. As the first phase of the project will take off in a few hours time, there were a lot of things that needed to be done. I was basically working from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. at the office, while continuing until 3 a.m. at home, before catching a couple of hours sleep. There were no weekends for me as I was at the office. Simply put, I had not the opportunity to blog.

For that, I apologise. Nonetheless, as was blogged in my previous post, things are looking up and 2007 has started on the right footing. The first 10 days of 2007 have virtually been the most exciting, promising and productive days in my life.

I am not sure how frequent or how often will I be able to blog. It all very much depends on how much time and energy I have left. With the consulting project, and some more to come; with the books I am writing; with my family responsibilities; with the possibility of starting a lab-based research - surely something will have to make way.

But fret not, for I will most certainly try my level best to blog as often as is permitted.

P.S. I will be away from KL beginning today till the weekend. If I manage to find an Internet connection at the place I'll be, I will try to blog down an entry or two, insya-Allah.

Return of the scientist?

We're only into the first week of the new year. Alhamdulillah, I am very pleased that so far, 2007 has been positively and encouragingly productive and full of promises ahead. But, there is a very unexpected but very interesting personal development that is brewing.

After a 12-year hiatus, there is a pretty good chance that I'll put on my lab coat again!

All these years, it never occured at all to me that there is even a remote possibility that I'd return to the science lab to do scientific research. It all began in the closing days of 2006 when an innocent conversation with my boss led to a possible research project. This led to another discussion with a professor in pharmacy which then led to yet another discussion on Wednesday, this time with a professor in biomedicine.

After discussing all the possibilities and especially the potential benefits of this research - and after giving it much thought - I have more or less decided that the time is right for me to go back to my "true calling," so to speak. My school friends would probably remember that my strength has always been in pure science, especially chemistry and biology. That is why I went on to do chemistry for my degree. After nearly 12 years dabbling in the fringes of science - particularly philosophy, ethics, history and policy of science - perhaps it is high time for me to return to my roots.

I am not yet at liberty to disclose this research that I'll be doing. Suffice to say that the general area of research is biomedicine and the focus of the research will be to develop a new bio-based material to be used in medicine.

Intriguing? It certainly is. I just hope that I can relearn the things that I need to know. This will certainly add spice to my life for the next 3 years or so.

Return of the scientist? Let's just hope it's not the making of a mad scientist.

Two-double-oh-seven

First post of 2007!

Another year has gone, and a new year begins. As promised, I will take a look back at 2006. Overall, for me, it has been a year of mixed fortunes. The year was perhaps the most testing and toughest since I started working in 1996. Some days I felt worn out and wanted to just give up. But when I looked around, amidst the trials and tribulations that life threw at me, I became thankful for a number of reasons.

I am thankful to Allah SWT for giving me the strength and good health to go on, and on, and on. People may judge me to be a workaholic. Maybe they are correct to a certain extent, but at this point in time, work keeps me going. I worry when I don't have anything to do. That is why I am thankful for the blessings given by Allah SWT in the form of strength and health. Interestingly, for the first time in my working life, I never called in sick even for a day in 2006. For that matter, I didn't take a day off at all last year.

I am also thankful to my family for just being there. My lovely wife, my loveable son and my loving parents are my pillars of strength. It is them who kept me going. Even during the most difficult of days in 2006, I find comfort in my family.

I am equally thankful to my friends. It is said that you will know who your true friends are during your hardest times. I found out in 2006 that this is very true. True friends stick around and would offer a helping hand when you are down and out. These are friends who treat you for who you are and not for what you have become. I will always treasure true friendship till my last breath.

Of course, there were a few achievements in 2006 that I am quite proud of. But at the end of the day, these achievements are just life's little milestones. No point basking in the glory of your achievements if you can't better yourself in the days, weeks, months and years to come.

So, let us bid adieu to 2006, and welcome 2007.