The Power of Redho

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

He is the ultimate planner after all. I must open my inner sight for all this blessings. It's really a blessing in disguise. I knew that I will thank Allah later but sometimes I cannot control my emotion. My strength seems to slip away. I used to be resilient. I thought I was hardened by all the hardship that I've endured but not this time.

Source

Well, it is said that if you put enough pressure to a black, hardened graphite; it might turns out as a sparkling diamond over time. I believe a humble God's servant worth more than a diamond in His' eyes.

Speaking of time zone...yeah. We are all set in a unique time zone. According to our limited and flawed plans, we think it's time, but apparently not. We got despair and confused, and start asking why. We tend to forget that Allah already crafted a beautiful story for each of us. Beautiful or not, it lies in the eyes of beholder. It's the way we embrace every single event that occur in our life.

The pain from a freshly wounded soul will eventually turn to a proud battle scar. Not a leaf does fall but by His knowledge. Everything happens for a reason. And everything will fall into place soon. 

This too will pass. Insya-Allah. 

Cheers,

SK

Escaping The Rat Race

Bismillahirrahmanirraheem ~

Sometimes, whenever I felt so tired from work, I wish that I could quit my job, living in a kampong or abroad maybe. Living a simple life, raise animals and gardens a few shrubs of edible greens for everyday meal. Fresh air, less vehicle, less sound pollution. Minimal electronic gadgets, a TV should be okay. Internet is fine, as long as I shut down all my social media accounts. I am free from people's expectations. And no longer need to impress anyone. I wish I could have that.

I genuinely envied people who told stories how they retreat to a remote place, away from the hustle and bustle of a big city. In the very beginning, I never fancied of living in a city. Being secluded from the ever-growing civilization is one of my life goal. Guess I've been too fascinated by 'Escape To The Country' and 'Buying The Rockies' show on TV lately.

What will it takes to live a simple life in this materialistic world? Groceries price hike almost everyday. You'll need gas to fuel your vehicles and cook your dinner. To make a decent living today would drive out the sanity in every person's life right now. Everyone is working their ass off just to pay bills and stuff! I started to wonder, do we need to do everything that others did? Do we need to surrender to every stereotypes that the world had 'set'? Are we still ignorant?

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Email Enquiry: Motivation

Bismillahirrahmanirraheem ~

Today's blog post is regarding one enquiry from Anis, that originated from my mailbox. Thank you for reaching me out. After a long thought, I decided to publish my answers to my dear reader in a blog post. I hope that it will benefit others as well.

My reply as follow (it's a longgg reply):

Waalaikummussalam...

Dear Anis,

Thanks for dropping by. Firstly, Alhamdulillah that you have been selected to continue your first degree in chemistry, when a lot of people is wailing for not getting any spot in IPTAs. Be grateful for every single thing that came across your path.

Mine was...never easy. I never dream of being a chemist in my life. I always love biology and physics. Chemistry was not my preference to be honest. My late father insisted for me to pursue medicine when I was itching to take on engineering course. I just obey him, took sains hayat during my matrics (1 year program). Alhamdulillah, I aced the 1st semester. But on the 2nd semester, I suffered with depression, hence I don't study much. In fact, I cannot focus on my lessons, which leads to no interest in studying at all.

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Panduan Memilih Jurusan Kimia Bagi Lepasan SPM/STPM

Bismillahirrahmanirraheem~

Pertama sekali, saya ingin memohon maaf kepada adik-adik lepasan SPM yang ada request entri khas untuk tajuk di atas. Terima kasih kerana sudi komen dan personally email kepada saya. Maaf atas kesempitan dan ’kesemputan’ waktu untuk menulis.

Insya-Allah dalam entri kali ini, saya akan memberi sedikit pencerahan kepada adik-adik yang berminat untuk menyambung pengajian dalam bidang kimia.

Saya pasti setiap orang mempunyai kecenderungan masing-masing. Dan kecenderungan ini kadangkala di dorong oleh sesuatu minat atau mungkin latar belakang keluarga. Semasa tahun satu di USM, Pusat Pengajian Sains Kimia (PPSK) ada menganjurkan minggu orientasi bagi kami pelajar tahun satu.

Menariknya, ketika sesi latihan dalam kumpulan, seorang pensyarah kanan ada bertanya mengenai 'Why do you take chemistry as your preferred course?'. Ada satu jawapan yang saya masih ingat sampai sekarang, 'I used to watch CSI episodes, one whole season per night.' Saya tersenyum.

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Bertabahlah Wahai Graduan

Bismillahirrahmanirraheem ~

Sejak kebelakangan ini, emel saya diketuk oleh beberapa graduan yang sedang berusaha mencari pekerjaan. Apa yang memeranjatkan saya, background mereka ini sangat cemerlang! Tetapi disebabkan dengan keadaan ekonomi yang teruk buat masa sekarang, graduan muda sukar mendapatkan pekerjaan. Baru-baru ini sahaja, saya telah kehilangan beberapa orang rakan seperjuangan. Mereka telah ditamatkan perkhidmatan serta-merta dalam tempoh 24 jam. Semua ini berlaku akibat keputusan pihak pengurusan yang mahu menjimatkan kos operasi.

Kontrak yang masuk untuk projek-projek 2016 sudah ditangguhkan ke tahun-tahun hadapan. Sekarang memang waktu goyang kaki di pejabat. Industri oil & gas memang terjejas teruk dalam permainan spekulasi harga minyak kali ini. Saya tahu bukan mudah untuk menerima hakikat apabila kita sudah kehilangan pekerjaan. Apatah lagi jika kita adalah tulang belakang ataupun breadwinner dalam keluarga.

Ada rakan sekerja yang menangis sebaik sahaja menerima surat 'keramat' tersebut. Namun ada juga yang tersenyum lebar kerana sudah menjangkakan namanya akan tersenarai dalam senarai penerima VSS atau MSS. Bagi yang mempunyai secondary employment mungkin tidak terlalu gusar. Ditambah pula dengan amaun pampasan yang diterima agak lumayan, ada yang mengambil peluang untuk bercuti bagi menenangkan fikiran.

Bagi yang belum menyediakan payung, pampasan yang diterima boleh menjadi penyelamat untuk menyelesaikan hutang yang ada sebelum mencuba nasib di syarikat lain ataupun memulakan bisnes secara kecil-kecilan.

Berbalik kepada adik-adik yang baru sahaja bergraduasi.

"Kami nak kerja kat mana?"

Saya cukup simpati. Namun ini bukan masanya untuk adik-adik mengeluh dan menyerah takdir secara bulat-bulat kepada Tuhan.

Salah satu approach yang baik dan sopan yang membuatkan anda tidak teragak-agak untuk membalas pertanyaan beliau. Kekuatan bahasa Inggeris juga penting. Saya print screen daripada message di LinkedIn.

Dalam entri sebelum ini yang saya tulis khas untuk graduan kimia (klik di sini untuk pautan), saya ada bercerita bagaimana untuk menambahkan kebolehpasaran graduan muda dalam sektor pekerjaan. Di sini saya akan menambah sedikit tools yang adik-adik boleh gunakan untuk meningkatkan peluang untuk mendapatkan pekerjaan di waktu gawat ini.

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Three Random Murmurs

Bismillahirrahmanirraheem ~

I seldom write about my personal life in this blog. Today's post is just a random event and thoughts that keep lingering in my head. Sometimes I find that it is healthy to vomit everything you feel on a single paper. It's okay to put on written words rather than conversing with others. It soothe my over-saturated brain.

1. Oil plunge

I worked in O&G sector. In the state of current market, I am anxiously keeping track of the oil price everyday. Economic turmoil - or whatever they call it. There had been 2 years in a row without salary increment. And this has been bugging me a lot lately. Well, actually it's a blessing in disguise for the mass. The industry should adapt to a new system where cheap oil at cheap cost in the future. At least that's what I have been thinking.

2. Invitations

Wedding invitations has continued to flow in. My close friends are gradually settling down with their respective spouses. I truly congratulate them for their marriage. I was genuinely happy. I got another wedding card today, from a guy. There was a quite interesting story about this guy. I knew him from a professional networking site and we changed each other's cellphone number. I thought it's just for the sake of getting better job opportunities (at least for me), but apparently for him, it was not.

The moment he got my number, he called me. I did not pick up. I do not entertain a stranger's call. Most importantly, I have no idea on what sort of conversation will came up afterwards. We end up chatting on Whatsapp instead. We discussed mostly on work-related matters. Only boring and serious matters were on the plate. Well, I thought I had just portrayed myself as a cold person hence he will stop texting me. Guess what, he was persistent. He kept texting even though it's just a mere "Hi". Or this...

Guy: "I am in KL. Just touch down from Labuan. I'm thinking of you."

Me: "...."

Guy: "Let's meet up."

Me: "I'm sorry, I don't hang out with strangers."

I never went 'doki doki' to him ever since my first encounter. Which I can conclude that I have no special feeling towards him. He keep sending me messages; during Hari Raya and other festive season. I copied whatever people forwarded during that time, and send back to him. Guess the cold shoulder treatment worked, he stop texting me. This lasted for half and a year.

Unexpectedly, I got a text from this guy this morning. It was an invitation to his wedding. Glad he'd found his bride. I'm sorry. I don't know why, I feel bad for turning down people even though it's not a crime. 

3. Changing job

It has been almost 4 years I've worked in the same company after graduating from uni. I need some new challenge to work on yet I was so petrified to move on. I am in need of new experience. But the current situation doesn't light so much hope to fulfill my wishes. Oil price is tumbling down every single day. I adored my current workplace due to its flexibility. On top of that, I'll be missing some good friends here. All of them were good people even though you can't avoid a little flaw here and there.

Secebis Za'ba

Bismillahirrahmanirraheem ~

"Demikianlah orang yang merdeheka hati dan berhemah tinggi, sentiasa bergantung kepada dirinya sendiri walaupun masa ia masih budak lagi.

        Kebanyakan budak-budak dari masa kecilnya pun lagi sudah ada nampak bakat perasaan hendak bersendiri dan bergantung kepada kebolehan diri sendiri itu. Jika ia sudah mulai tahu berjalan umpamanya, ia suka hendak berjalan sendiri sahaja, tidak suka didukung atau dipegang-pegangkan tangannya oleh orang kerana hendak memelihara jangan ia jatuh, kecuali jika ia sudah penat. Maka kecenderungan demikian, sayugialah ditanam dan dilatihkan pada mereka. Misalnya jika budak itu jatuh yang tiada parah, maka tak usahlah dibangunkan, diambil, digosok, dipujuk dan sebagainya; biarkan dia sehingga ia bangun sendiri dan diam daripada menangisnya itu sendiri.

        Walhasil kita sangat-sangatlah berhajat mesti menggalakkan perangai bergantung kepada diri sendiri ini mulai dilatihkan diri masa budak-budak pun lagi. Anak-anak mestilah dilatih perlahan-lahan membiasakan dirinya tahu membuat apa-apa sendiri, tahu berusaha sendiri, tahu berikhtiar sendiri, tahu berfikir sendiri, tahu menimbang sendiri, tahu menyelenggara dan memutuskan apa-apa halnya sendiri - hingga akhirnya tahu bersendiri dan merdeheka pada segala hal-ehwal yang berhubung dengan dirinya sendiri. Adapun jika pada orang yang sudah besar, yang tidak ada atau yang telah hilang daripadanya perangai bersendiri dan sifat merdeheka diri itu, kita wajib mengikhtiarkan dengan segala daya upaya supaya perangai itu hidup semula dan kembali padanya. Kerana faedahnya perangai ini amat besar bagi membantu kemajuan diri seseorang, dan dari situ kepada sesuatu bangsa yang terjadi daripadanya kumpulan tiap-tiap seorang itu."

[Petikan asal daripada buku "Perangai Bergantung Kepada Diri Sendiri", mukasurat 22]
[Tulisan Pendita Za'ba, Cetakan 1982.]


Buku ini halus tulisannya. Saya belum habis baca. Baru bab keempat. Namun ada sesuatu di mukasurat ini yang menjentik minda saya. Apa yang saya dapat rumuskan berdasarkan fenomena zaman sekarang:

1. Jangan terlalu manjakan (baca: spoil) anak-anak kita sehingga mereka sukar untuk berdikari. Benarkan mereka merasai kesusahan dan erti kehidupan sebenar. Agak menjelekkan dengan budaya zaman kini bila mana budaya "Saya-benci-saya-viral" semakin menjadi-jadi.
2. Sifat berusaha sendiri tanpa mengharapkan bantuan orang lain untuk berjaya mesti dimulakan dari rumah; iaitu ibu dan bapa.
3. Untuk menjadi bangsa yang berjaya, harus bangkit dengan usaha sendiri. Jangan terlalu mengharap keistimewaan, kuota dan bantuan. Namun, kepincangan dan penyelewengan pemimpin yang terang lagikan bersuluh tidak boleh dibutakan mata dan pekakkan telinga.
4. Perlu berani dan kadangkala agresif dalam mencari ilmu dan kebenaran. Tidak hanya mendengar sesuatu tanpa menyelidiki ia terlebih dahulu.


Entri serius untuk permulaan tahun 2016 yang suram dan kelam, dari segi ekonomi dan sosio-politik semasa.