Salam to 2010

I'm not going to write about what I have done for the past year because I have already wrote about almost all of them in my previous entries. I only want to mention here that I am quite satisfied with my achievement thus far although I know I could have done better.

Okay, enough of 2009.

It is now 2010. A new year. Although I have no plans for anything special, no expectation or even a new resolution, I hope that this year will be a better year for me -- both my working life and my social life -- and I also hope to be a better person, InsyaAllah.

Y.E.S. and KPI

Not year-end sales but rather, year-end syndrome. At this time of the year everybody starts figuring out whether they have managed to achieve the targets that they have set last year. Then they'll start thinking of some new ones. Ni macam KPI lah jugak. Since now everyone is talking about KPI so maybe I should use those words jugaklah instead of "azam" because to me "azam" is more like wishful thinking while KPI should mean something that comes with a strategic plan to achieve your goals. Anyway, that's how I look at it walaupun my KPI is always tersasar... hahahaha

Have I achieved anything this year? Hmmm I guess 2009 has been a hectic year for me as far as work matters. Academically I have accomplished very little, or none at all as my time was mostly occupied with the admin work. But on the other hand, I was able to spend some time holidaying - something that I did not really manage to do in the past few years.

Apart from that, I made some new friends, also lost a few significant figures in my life. May Allah bless their souls, ameen.

And hey, I bought myself a "nest"! A "birdnest" is more like it since it's not really on the ground. Can't post the picture of the nest since I have not moved in yet. Maybe in the next entry which I don't know when.

So, what are my KPIs for 2010? Well I'd rather not say it although I have already set them in my mind. Just that I haven't figured out the strategy yet.

Anyways, let's welcome the new years - hijriah and 2010 - and hope that it will be better than this year, InsyaAllah.

HAPPY MA'AL HIJRA 1431 AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

I'm back in the blog...

The pixes below should be after the text. Since I'm not good at downloading pixes I kinda got them all over the page. Sorry about that. But don't forget to read the text, OK...

At Malioboro, the famous night market street in Jogja with my sis and colleagues.

This mosque in Semarang was built based on the design of Masjidil Nabawi in Madinah. So beautiful and grand...

My sister and I with our Borobudur tour guide, Atin

Me, almost reaching the nirvana. I'm on the 6th level of the Borobudur. Behind me are the stupas where can find statues of Buddha in them.

No, not the railing. The main object in this pix is the mountain at the back. It's Gunung Merapi, one of the few active volcanos in Indonesia

One of the restaurants where we had our dinner while in Jogja. Very cozy but the food was nothing near Sintok's worse!

Outside the Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik (FISIPOL), Universitas Gadjah Mada in Jogja where we had our half-day seminar.

My sisters and adik tiri on the Keraton ground. Behind us is one of the several "balai" used for royal audience or any other ceremonies.

Outside the Keraton, a royal palace. The royal aton family still leaves there.

It's been so long since my last entry. Gosh, with the facebook that was introduced to me by my closed friends, I temporarily found that updating the blog was a burden and I stopped doing that for a while. But then, one can only depend so much on fb, which I've just discovered off late after having difficulty getting access to the chatspace for the past few days. Don't know why. So much for broadband! Fb is a nice space to hook up with friends and even some long lost friends. In fact I have several friends from the past who had dropped by. So nice...

Anyways, I guess writing in the blog gives me more satisfaction as I'm able to write and share more. Maybe not many of my friends read my blog anymore but that's ok. However, if they want to know more about my whereabouts and whatabouts, then my blog would the best source.

Eversince my last update, quite a number of interesting things have happened. I was in Gemia Island in Terengganu for a short but wonderful vacation. The tiny island itself was beautiful. Clear water, colourful fishes, tiny but clean beach, cosy room and some gorgoeus food. I have to say, that was my first island holiday and it was a blast for me. I have never had an island holiday before although I live just an hour away for Langkawi. Surprise? Don't be. I was never tempted to go to Langkawi because I felt the island was so commercialised that it has lost its beauty. Most of all, I hated salty sea water. But then how would I know if I've not been there, I mean really there enjoying what the island's natural beauty could offer? I have been to the island but only for a short time, mostly as a shopper, not a tourist. So I don't know how much satisfaction Langkawi can offer a person like me. Gemia was different. It has no shopping outlets only the nature for you to savor, and I certainly did. A friend said to me, if you've been to Gemia, you wouldn't want to go to any other island. Well, maybe. But I would love to go to Sipadan. And I just might some day.

Back to Gemia. It was really a fantastic experience for me. I went on a trip to "candat sotong" or catch cuttlefish. I caught seven big ones... that was after feeding them with a good "bait", hhahahaha. I also tried snorkeling, a first after much coaxing from friends. It was fun except that being in the sea with a life jacket and not knowing how to swim gave me a creep. I always have a fear for deep water. Anyways, Gemia was a first for me in many ways - my first island getaway, first experience being on a fishing boat in the middle of the sea, first "mencandat" experience and first time snorkeling. Thank you to those who have made this holiday a happening one.

A week or so after Gemia, my UUM colleagues and I went to Indonesia on official visits to several universities there in Jawa Tengah. We visited Universitas Gadjah Mada in Jogja, Universitas Diponegoro in Semarang and Universitas 11 Maret in Solo. A very interesting trip this time, I must say. We had a similar trip a few years ago to Bangkok but to me, it was not as enjoyable as this one. In fact it was not enjoyable at all. In Gadjah Mada we had a joined half-day seminar with the faculties from the FISIPOL. Although a few of UUM papers were good, but those from UGM to me, were fantastic and very well-defined. Maybe partly because those papers were about cultures, a topic that I like so much.

On the way to Semarang, we stopped at one of world's famous heritages - the Borobudur. I got the chance to climb the temple. Although it was not something that I looked forward to doing during the trip, but hey, it was already right in front of me! Should I just ignore it? Of course not! I managed to reach the nirvana, the topmost level of the temple and snapped some pictures as proofs that I was there. Not bad for a 40+ woman with bad knees huh!

Well, those two trips kinda filled up my leave from the office. It's nice to be able to get away from the books and the computer for a while to do things that I hardly get to do. And now the thought of doing all of those again or something of the similar surely turn me on. Ask me if I want to go for another getaway and I will surely say YES! .... if the time and price are right.

Right now I am embarking on a new project. If everything goes well, I'll be doing a lot of deco-hunting within the next few months. I guess this year, although has been a hectic and heart-aching one where work is concerned, it has also been a happening, fulfilling and rejuvenating one so far. I surely hope for more wonderful things to come my way in the next few months...

things to do....

The next few months should be a hectic period for me. I have loads of things to do -- things that I HAVE to do. Once I'm done with all the exam scripts which would be somewhere around the end of next week, I will have to put all of my attention to all these:

1. conference paper for the Jogja visit in June which is due on 31 May.
2. proposal for the 3K research, due mid-June
3. proposed syllabus for IMC, already overdue but I'm giving it a new deadline, 25 May
4. book chapters on Corp.Comm, due mid-August
5. Notes for my upcoming PLK class

But of course, I do need to take a break which will be the most important thing that I need to do, and must do. May be the list can be altered a bit...

Can't wait....

I'm so looking forward to a long break away from all these craps that are around me. I've not been feeling enthusiastic about going to work like I use to (yeah right!). Betul. Selalunya I would leave home at 7.30am and will be at the office by 8.00am. I will leave for home around 7.00pm. Well, bukanle spend all those hours faithfully buat kerja. Ada gakle masa bersukaria. But off late memang I have lost my rythm. Maybe it's because of the work that gets growing every second. Maybe it's the people yang many of them selalu get on my nerve. May it's the place... Or maybe it's ME.

God, I really need a break before a strangle someone. That is why I am so looking forward to a long break in June.

A good friend of mine once told me that at this age (hmm) we have to get away for a good long break at some far away places. So we have decided that our annual KPI should be one international destination a year. I totally agree with that and in fact we have already made that agreement. Tapi masalahnya whenever I have the time, no fulus maa. Whenever ada fulus (cukup makan je), no time pulak. So, camno... and now that friend of mine baru dapat kerja baru. I don't think she will get a leave easily. Nampaknya Xian, Seoul, NZ, Aussie, South Africa & yang sewaktu dengannya will have to wait. Apa-apa pun, Cotton Island, will be seeing you soon!

I'm looking for a...

PUNCHING BAG!!! I am full of anger right now. Dah lah the other day pi meeting I was bashed for other people's inefficiency. Balik meeting, gave the feedback to this inefficient person and she gave me a 'like-I-care" look. Relayed to her the message from the Dean that the we (the section) had to submit the the report on program review by the end of the month and her response was "well, just say that we don't have any changes". GOD, it's been six years and a half-dozen graduations since the last review and she said we don't need to change. Anyway, I insisted that we made the review and suggested the dates to sit down and do it. These dates happend to fall on a weekend. These dates were suggested based on the knowledge that many of us would be invigilating the exams on other days. BTW this was last week's episode.

Yesterday, got to know that the dates that I suggested were not accepted. Reason being, this particular person needs to do the marketing and washing and cleaning and.... Helllooo. Like I and the rest don't have to do all that??? The point here was we need to do this with everybody's presence.

This incident may not be important to you but to me and my colleagues who have to endure her selfishness all the time (FYI this was not the first time she gave selfish reasons to many things) and the thought that she's the program coordinator who once held a senior post, her action is so unbecoming.

GOD, please let me not deal which such person anymore. I have been doing this since my 1st day here. Should this continue, I pray to you GOD to spare me from any insanity. Amen.

hooray hooray...

I'm almost done for the semester. Accept for my Master's classes yang studentsnya best, I'm done layanning all those b******g students. Now I'm able to concentrate on marking the assignments yang I know will again get on my nerve. But at least they are just pieces of papers.

I'm also done with writing the module. That was also another burden yang I manage to get off my shoulder. Kalau tak hidup memang tak aman sebab kena haunt selalu dengan u-don't-have-to-know-who. It's not over yet sebenonya. I have another module to write and it is due in August. Heiyya! So the semester break will not really be a break for me as I have a list of things to do. Anyways, at least there will be less people for me to deal with!

P/S Karnivall, here I come. Lama tak main air!