"Apakah cita-cita anak2 kita, agaknya?"

Written by Ariffin Mamat for STAR dot My.

Tuesday, 23 November 2010 02:34

Tiba-tiba teringatkan anak2 kita, the young STARIANS di Tingkatan Lima yang sedang menghadapi peperiksaan SPM sekarang ini. Apa agaknya perasaan mereka? Adakah mereka juga berdebar2 setiap kalimemasuki dewan, seperti berdebarnya aku pada penghujung tahun 1975 dulu? Bagaimanakah persediaan mereka? Semoga mereka lebih bersedia dari aku dan kawan2 yang terpaksa membakar minyak di tengah malam (burning mid-night oil lah!) diminggu2 terahir sebelum peperiksaan. Kepada mereka aku mengucapkan 'Selamat menempuh peperiksaan dan semoga berjaya, dan kejayaan dalam peperiksaan nanti memanjangkan langkah mengejar cita2! Apakah agaknya cita2 mereka? Di zaman aku dulu, ramai yang bercita2 menjadi jurutera, akauntan, arkitek, pensyarah, dan tidak kurang juga yang bercita2 menjadi guru dan polis. Aku sendiri terpaksa mengubah cita2 aku demi mencari peluang terbaik untuk menerima biasiswa untuk menyambung pelajaran ke luar negara. Justeru,untuk persaingan yang tidak sehangat bidang kejuruteraan, aku memilih untuk meneruskan pelajaran dalam bidang Physics . Aku berjaya mendapat biasiswa! Bermaksud aku berjaya mendekati cita2 aku waktu itu - untuk belajar di luar negara, di United Kingdom khususnya. Perbedzaan di antara aku dari ramai rakan2 aku ialah, cita2 aku tidak merupakan 'Pekerjaan' tetapi matlamat semasa aku. Jika waktu itu untuk ke UK, kemudiannya, cita-cita aku ialah untuk lulus dalam peperiksaan A Level supaya dapat ke Universiti. Setahun demi setahun aku hanya memasang cita2 untuk berjaya dalam peperiksaan supaya aku dapat pulang dan mendapat kerja yang baik di Malaysia nanti. Apa2 kerja pun okey lah,asalkan bergaji lumayan dan mampu membeli kereta, menyewa rumah dan membayar hantaran untuk berkahwin dengan girl-friend aku, budak TKC. She later on became my ex-GF, sebab dah jadi isteri lah! Di tahun ahir mengejar degree di Portsmouth, ketika aku melamun, aku menulis cita2 aku sebagai begini: > Starting salary must be above 2000. >First car, Nissan or Toyota Corolla. >To get married within one year. > To send money to mother at least RM500 per month. > To find job in KL. Alhamdullillah, aku lulus dan pulang dengan ijazah kepujian dalam bidang Physics Industry,mendapat kerja di Texas Instruments as an Engineer dengan gaji permulaan RM2200. Tiga bulan setelah bekerja,aku telah selamat berkahwin dengan exGF budak TKC tu, dan kami sharing membeli kereta Nissan Sunny 130Y, dan menyewa di Taman Melawati. Aku juga menunaikan janji aku untuk mengirim wang kepada Ibu. Setelah mendapat anak pertama,akumelamun lagi dan menulis cita2 seterusnya: > Bungalow house.> Mercedes > Annual vacation with family > House for Mother > One house for every child > Pergi Haji > Would be nice to have a driver! Begitulah aku dengan cita2 aku. Tidak sekali pun aku menulis satu2 pekerjaan sebagai cita2. Pada aku, pekerjaan hanya the means to the end. The end is my cita2 - iaitu mengejar my own definition of what happiness is to me. Jadi di ketika our young STARIANS menempuhi peperiksaan dan tentunya memikirkan 'Apakah cita-cita mereka?' aku ingin tinggalkan beberapa persoalan. "What will make you happy?" "Why would achieving that make you happy?" "What will be the means for you to get those happiness?" Answering the above questions should lead you to visual images of what your happiness is like. In my view, and from my own experience, pursuing those images as your 'ambition' is more inspiring than focusing on a 'Profession'. Pekerjaan is exactly that -only a job! What a tragedy it is to one's life, if all we focus on is pursuing a particular job. Life is more meaningful when we are in pursuit of happiness and a higher level cause! What ever that higher level cause is for you. For some, making people they love happy and preparing for after life, are their main objectives in living. Please don't take my words as the absolute truth. All I want you to know is that, it has worked for me. For instance, when I was working in Singapore between 2000 to 2003, one of my ambitions was to come and live in Saudi to be close to Mecca. Alhamdullillah, I manage to get a job here and that has been a mean to achieve my real aspiration. Think about your ambition again. Perhaps, the profession you are focused on is only a mean to a more noble ambition! Be courageous to change - to focus on the 'your source of happiness' - and making sure you study hard as a mean to achieve that happiness! Visualize those dreams..."What you are able to conceive in your mind, you will be able to achieve! God willing of course".

Going the extra mile..

Through out my career I have seen, again and again, people who go the extra mile find it easier to move up their career ladder. They are happier and more confident with themselves too!

Going the extra mile may sound trivial and simple. However only a few actually go the extra mile as a matter of habit. For this group of people, it is part of their DNA. Let us discuss what does it take to make 'going the extra mile' a way of working that comes naturally, a habit!

I suggest there are three elements which need to be considered, which I will call the ABC of going the extra mile.

A. Anticipation!

- When you think you know what is expected of you, challenge that very mindset. Stretch it a little further. Anticipate and find out what will the output of your work be used for, by who, and when? Beat expectations on all those three fronts.

Let me illustrate.

The assignment may be given by your boss, but he may use the report to brief his boss, who in turn may use the information in his meeting with an investor. Your boss want the report to be ready by Monday morning.

Being an extra miler, you research the context of the report - and prepare it in a format which your boss can present to his boss, and include an executive summary which his boss can extract and use for his briefing with the investor. You have the report ready a few days in advance! That way, there is time for you to even do extra bit of work should your boss need additional information.

That is going the extra mile. An ordinary good employee finish the report by Monday morning as asked, in a format meant for the boss as the end user.

Similarly, going the extra mile in service is doing more than expected. Anticipating what your customer wants which is different from the other customer. Once, the hotel I was staying forgot my wake up call request. As a result I was late for my pick up. When I came back to my room in the evening, there was a cowboy hat filled with expensive chocolates and a letter from the manager, apologizing. It was a hotel in Dallas Texas, hence the cowboy hat! That happened way back in 1994, but to this date I still remember.

B. Basic!

In going the extra mile, make sure you cover the bases. The basic must be done very well, such as grammar, spellings, formatting, presentation, etc. Go the extra mile even in finding our what kind of fonts, and fonts size does your boss normally use when he writes his report for higher level. Going the extra mile in the basics ensure the effort you put into content will not be diluted by some silly mistakes!

The manager of the hotel, in making the gesture with the hat and the chocolates, did not forget the basic. He apologized! Apologizing for the mistake and my inconvenience was basic, the hat and the chocolates were the frills to thrill~!

C. Critical!

Be critical on your own work. Challenge it like your boss does, and better still challenge it like his boss would! Being critical and not easily satisfied with the outcome of your work is a crucial part of going the extra mile.

The manager of the hotel in Dallas Texas did not simply place some chocolates in a box on my bed, but he placed it in a very nice cowboy hat! In fact I brought home the hat as a souvenir. He empathize with me, and was critical on his hospitality standards.

It is in going the extra mile that we gain satisfaction, feel good about ourselves, and may even be rewarded for it. In the end, we gain trust from the people we deal with, and we differentiate ourselves from the rest!

If you are still in doubt, just think of what the initials of Going the Extra Mile spells!

- GEM, it is!

Haziq and friends - doing it their way~!

Haziq and two of his friends are on a mission! The video below tells a story ...



Their first project is 'Put out the flame...~!', a call to youngsters to say NO to smoking.



I hope to see many more in the near future...~!

The limbs of Sujud are seven...

A Friday morning sharing...

Cara Sujud yang betul , gambar ter atas!

Dan di bawah, cara yang betul ialah yang cara lelaki yang berjubah !

"Waktu yang paling hampir dengan Allah ialah ketika kita sujud kepada Nya!"

This is based upon the Hadith of Ibn Abbas who reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

"I was commanded to prostrate on seven bones i.e. on the forehead along with the tip of my nose (and the Prophet -pbuh- pointed towards his nose), both hands, both knees and the toes of both feet, and not to gather the clothes or the hair."

Common mistakes are

- the tip of the nose not touching the sejadah.

- the toes not curled to touch the sejadah.

- having hair or cloth between forehead and the sejadah.

Bimbingan Solat boleh di baca di sini.

Lihatlah bagaimana, janin di dalam kandungan juga sujud apabila mendengar bacaan ayat-ayat suci Al Quran. Klik Di sini.

May your prayer be accepted by Allah.

Allah hu Aklam.

Online marketing...House for Sale!

Sudah bertambah ramai usahawan berjaya sejak berkembangnya -internet- sebagai satu saluran sales & marketing.

Ada yang buat bisness tudung2 dan berbagai jenama pakaian, ada yang mengambil tempahan berbagai jenis masakan, ada yang menjual pinggan mangkuk. Tak kurang juga yang mengiklankan rumah untuk di jual.

Untuk menepati internet marketing, sudah tentunya kemahiran mengambil gambar dan video juga di perlukan. Sebagai contoh, kami menggunakan perhidmatan professional juru video untuk mengambil clip 4 minit video rumah semi D untuk di jual.

Mutu video yang di berikan kepada kami amat memuaskan. Bayaran amat berpatutan.

You may watch the video below.

Country Height, Kajang and you may contact propertyhdv.com for further details about the professional service. This advertisement is available on Vimeo.

Rendah Hati~!

Menjadi rendah diri hati.

Ketika kita berada di mercu kejayaan, kita biasanya tidak berfikir tentang situasi sekiranya kita jatuh ke bawah. Kita sering terlupa kepada mereka yang menyumbang ke arah kejayaan kita, terutamanya jika mereka lebih cenderung menyembunyi diri dari 'spotlight'.

Ironisnya tak kala berada di puncak lah kita harus lebih memandang ke bawah, memerhati dan mengambil pengajaran daripada cara "orang2 kecil" memberi perkhidmatan mereka dengan perasaan bersyukur dan rendah hati.

Amalan ini dapat menyedarkan kita dan sentiasa berjejak di bumi nyata. Sekiranya di takdirkan kita menempuhi suasana yang kurang bergemerlapan, dengan menghampiri mereka di bawah ketika kita berada di puncak, mungkin ada di antara mereka yang sudi meminjamkan cahaya harapan dan bantuan ketika kita memerlukan.

Saya mengucapkan 'Selamat Hari Raya Eidil Adha - Maaf Zahir Batin' kepada semua rakan2, pembaca. Semoga amalan dan doa kita di terima Allah.

27th anniversary!

"Happy Anniversary !"

This is a special month for my wife and I. Tomorrow, 13th November, we will be celebrating our 27th Anniversary, as husband and wife, a life-long partnership. And if we add to that the three years of our friendship prior to our marriage, it means we have known each other for 30 years. I have not spent as much of my life time with anyone else - than with my wife. We are as happy today if not happier, as we were during the care free students days in Portsmouth, South of England when we first met.

Alhamdullillah!

Our marriage had gone through the ups and downs, perhaps like most marriages would. While a few could not survived the tests, ours becomes stronger. We become aware of our limits and adapt. We become appreciative of what we have, and less envious of what we don't have.

I was once a young man who were more interested in chasing rather than nurturing. She was once a young girl who have read all about love from thousands of pages of Mills & Boons.

We met, and the term 'odd couple' couldn't have found a better example than us. I was out-going, temperamental, always broke, and prefer to spend my days sleeping and my nights seeking entertainments. She was homely, diligent in her studies, down to earth and stable, and at peace with herself and contented just to spend her time with a book and some roasted chestnuts.

We were aware of our differences; but we were also aware of the similarities. We were attracted to our differences; and bonded by our similarities, one of which has been mutual respect. That, in a nutshell, has been the secret of our longevity and happiness.

Lately, we have been talking a little about our life post my retirement. We are both excited with all the possibilities.

In the mean time, we are enjoying our life in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Mekah is an hour drive away, and Medinah is the same distance by air. We are very fortunate indeed.

Enjoying life as it comes, with healthy dosages of humor and a sense of adventure, have been the oxygen of our marriage.

This month is also a special month for all Muslims. To all our friends who are performing Hajj, we wish you 'Haji yang Mabroor'. InshaAllah, we are planning to travel to Mekah during this Hajj season, and jika ada rezki, dapat kita bertemu.

Paintings...~!

At the top of my list is the above painting adorning a special corner in our house. It was her very first painting. Since then she has painted a couple more...as farewell gifts for her friends in Dubai.

This special painting was created by Lil's fingers, following the flow of her heart! :-)

Painting: Taman Syifa'

Artist: Abu Bakar Idris

Studio: Galeri Chandan www.360kl.com

Purchased at an arts exhibition in Dubai, in 2009.

I love looking at this painting. It has a kind of soothing, calming effect just like the title of the painting suggests.

Below, at the center, is a painting which has travelled places. I bought this in Hanoi in 2003,

from the artist himself. I visited his studio in Hanoi, and was instantly attracted to the painting of a spring time garden at the Buckingham Palace. The painting was already included in the brochure for the artist's solo arts exhibition in London, so with my permission the painting was displayed at the exhibition with a SOLD tag on it. A few weeks later, the painting arrived at our then home in Singapore, extremely well packed in a wooden crate. From Singapore the Painting has followed me to Jeddah, then Dubai and now Jeddah again.It has been in the back ground of many photos!

Middle: in Jeddah the first time. My sister and her mates after Hajj in 2006.

Above: On the wall of our Dubai residence!

The walls of our current residence in Jeddah are covered by more paintings. I am sharing random photo shots here, as a way of sharing how cluttered it may look - but to me, they are all nice to look at.

If there ever were ONE painting which has started my imagination and fascination of paintings, it must be the "Mona Lisa"

Three for the Mona Lisa

by John Stone

1

It is not what she did
at 10 o'clock
last evening

accounts for the smile

It is
that she plans
to do it again

tonight.

2

Only the mouth
all those years
ever

letting on.

3

It's not the mouth
exactly

it's not the eyes
exactly either

it's not even
exactly a smile

But, whatever,
I second the motion.

My perception about re-union~!

"Shame on me!" No doubt about it.

Since I left STAR, I have been back only once. That was in 1997, soon after I acquired one of those re-conditioned imported used luxury cars! "Double shame on me!" For having a little hidden motive in making that effort to attend the re-union - to show off my latest new toy. That was the feeling when I left my humble home in Gombak starting the journey.

However...

When I arrived at the school gate, all the motives of showing off dispersed into thin air...whoooossshhhh, like a balloon been pricked by a needle, my ego left me. Every palm tree I passed from the gate to the famous little round about reminded me of my humble beginning and how the alma mater had unselfishly nourished me, physically, emotionally and educationally. I felt small in front of the majestic STAR!

And....

As I drove slowly around the school compound looking for a parking space, i began to feel ashamed of myself for even letting the thought of showing off to find a place within my heart.

I parked my car, the source of my pride, and the symbol of my success, hideously behind a tree next to Pak Hassan's house. I took off my brand new Nike sneakers and slipped on my worn out sandals which I had kept in the boot for Friday prayers. I also changed into a plain green T shirt. I wanted none of those worldly symbols to misrepresent me! I was the same kampung boy, and i didn't need any recognition for what i was not!

But....

Boys when they turn into men, inherit a few things from their fore-fathers of the cave days! They become unnecessarily competitive with each other. They compete for women, for spot lights, for thrones, even for stones and scones! So beware, when your long lost friends ask you, "Hang dok mana la nie?" He actually want to assess what type of house can you afford to buy, and what type of neighbourhood you live in. From those, they infer what types of people you rub shoulders with! More pointedly, what kind of salary are you drawing! ho ho ho, I hope it is only my perception lah, not reality!

"Gombak!" I answered. My friend sniggered. He said, "Oh, that is a Malay area right, many squatters too!"

And made no mistake. When he asked me the question, he expected me to return the same.

"Hang dok mana?" I asked. His nose went way up, as he looked down, he replied, "Taman Tun!"

I was supposed to say, "Wow! Mahal tu rumah kat situ!" So I did, "Wow!" I said.

"Yep, I bought it for 2 million, took only 50% loan!" He answered, making sure a few friends nearby could also hear!

Once I realized he has not changed a bit from the days we were in school, I carried on, "Hang drive kereta apa laa ni?"

"Hang agak?" He asked. Wow, by this time his nostril was pointing towards the sky! Hahaha, I chuckled silently. Boleh pulak dia tanya kita suruh teka-teka! Apa kes~!

I slapped his a shoulder as a way of joking, "Kereta lembu kut!"

"Tell you what, later when we are going for the lunch at the lake, you come with me. I drive you in my car!" He said, and by this time dangling his car key! A Beemer!

I did! It was one heck of a car, and he deserved every ounce of pride to own one. At one traffic light, another friend pulled along side. The friend was driving an old Nissan. His plush electric window went down and he gestured to the old Nissan guy to do the same.

"Hoi, hang bawak kereta hang tu jauh2 sikit dari kereta aku boleh tak! Hahahaha!" He sniggered and laughed.

The friend in the old Nissan gave him his middle finger and shouted back amidst laughter, "Up yours lah with your Beemer!"

I gave a thumb's up to the friend in Nissan!

All three of us laughed. Yes, but what dent was left on the Nissan friend's ego, we would never know.

That was the first and last time I attended a STAR old boys re-union in STAR. I came home feeling rather disturbed. I asked my wife about her TKC old girls re-union, if similar competitiveness exist?

My wife answered, "Nope! When old girls meet we just wanna have fun like the good old days!"

And...that is the way it should be.

(The writer is from Batch '75 STAR, and he also writes HERE)

One of life pleasure is....

One of life simple pleasures is teaching my son to ride a bike!

My eldest son learned from his (arwah) grand-pa! My daughter, simply followed her survival instinct and did it herself. My son number three and number four share a little secret - both of them can't ride a bike! I missed the opportunity to teach them when they were younger, and now they are too self conscious to learn! Son number five was challenged by his friends, and a few bruises later he was a victor~!

I was quite determined to be involved in Luqman's learning experience.

Luqman, at ten is a late starter. Inheriting my DNA of being a cautious over-thinker of any given new situation, Luqman develops a fear of falling. The first time around when I was pushing and holding him along the cycling track, he rode the bike white-knuckled. He imagined the worse - what if he were to fall! I asked him to relax, not to think and to just follow the motion. Occasionally I let him go and he continued riding okay until he realised I was no longer holding him, then he immediately became fearful and lost his balance.

Tonight, for the second lesson we lowered his seat, then Lil and I took him to a tennis court behind our house. Seeing the open space and softer turf, he developed a sense of security and his confidence rose. He went off like a pro!

Lesson: Minimize causes of his fear!

Way to go Luqman - congratulations! Tonight, not only he learned how to ride, but more importantly he learned that he can conquer fears!

Memarut ubi...~!

Malam ni saya memarut ubi kayu, ker

ana isteri nak masak kuih Bengkang Ubi~! Sudah lama sungguh saya tidak memarut ubi. Dolu2 semasa masih zaman budak2 selalu lah juga membantu ibu. Sejak dolu2, inilah salah satu kuih tradisional melayu yang paling saya gemari.

Anak2 pun kehairanan melihat saya memarut ubi. Mereka tertawa kecil, lucu agaknya melihat ayah membuat tugas yang selalunya dilakukan ibu. Semoga ada kesinambungan dan anak2 juga nanti akan mencuba untuk memarut ubi...seboleh2nya, jangan lah luput warisan membuat kuih muih tradisional sebegini.

Memanglah isteri saya sungguh gembira kerana saya dengan sukarela meng

ambil alih aktiviti tersebut. Bermakna, beliau boleh membuat aktiviti lain di dapur. Seronok juga sesekali dapat bekerja sama begini...Untung2 malam Jumaat ni, ada lah bonus! hahaha.

"Dah agak dah, ada udang di sebalik ubi!" Kata isteri apabila saya berseloroh. GGGrrrrrrrr, semakin laju saya memarut! hahaha.

Ah, lenguh2 juga ibu jari dan bahu. Tetapi seronok~! Dan akan terasa lebih nikmatnya, apabila memakan kuih bengkang besok sambil bersantai di tepi kolam renang bersama keluarga ...Itulah rancangan nya, kami akan ber BBQ besok bersama beberapa kawan2 di sini~!

Tetapi itu besok. Malam ini, setelah anak2 masuk ke bilek masing2, hanya saya dan dia~!

"Tolong picit bahu, boleh?" hik hik hik.

Sampling dulu malam ni, sedap wooo, makan panas2 baru keluar dari oven~!

Risipi Bengkang Ubi Kayu:

Bahan-Bahan:

2 kg ubi kayu, dikupas, diparut dan disejat
300 g gula pasir
1 camca teh garamSedikit pewarna kuning, jika perlu
2 biji telur, dipukul sebentar
500 ml santan daripada 1 biji kelapa

Cara:

Masukkan ubi kayu parut di dalam mangkuk. Kemudian masukkan gula pasir bersama garam, pewarna kuning (jika perlu) dan telur. Kacau hingga ia sebati. Masukkan santan, kacau hingga ia sebati dan tidak berketul-ketul. Lengserkan sedikit minyak masak pada loyang bakar dan tuang bancuhan ke dalamnya. Bakar ia pada suhu 300'C, 30 minit atau hingga permukaannya kekuningan. Biar ia sejuk sebelum dipotong.

Risipi from mesra.net.