Sky scraper view from a sky bar

1.
For the past couple of weeks, I have been busy adapting to the new life, Alhamdulillah. It is not as easy as it seems but it is something that I have to deal with, and I sincerely would lie to say thank you for the wishes & doa from all. Alhamdulillah.

2.
So, the reality is I can only view the PTT from a distance now. No more access into the building thus no more opportunity to frame interesting views from the towers but very recently I went shooting with my partner to complete his assignment for NY Times and I took the opportunity to frame some views of the PTT from other places.

3.
The first location was the Sky Bar before we proceed to No Black Tie. Nice places but not really my type of lifestyle. Not saying that the places are not cool, they are cool to a certain etxtent but I just cannot fit in. I would not be comfortable to spend many hours there. Simply because I have my priorities set and to be in such places mean I have to use an amount of cash and time, which are very sensitive items for me nowadays. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the shooting, of course.PTT view is really nice from there. I should have brought he super-wide instead ofthe 35mm prime...but it works, can do lah....maybe not too qualified for NY Times, not yet! :)

4.
It was an interesting assignment, such a great privilege to shoot alongside a talented photographer, Rahman Roslan.

Sushimonster

Closing deal of the day, the kids had sushi.
Wifey belanja, I don't have gaji this month lah! Use to belanja them sushi at least once a month. Tak apa laa, next month and more months ahead ada laa rezeki insyaAllah... :)
Fancy sushi for breakfast everyday?? Ahahah!!
~ on Symbian mobile device

....on the other side of the line

The kids are getting better, Alhamdulillah. Mak & Abah called and asked when are they gonna be back in kampung (aheheheh!). The school holiday is in and for the first time I am going to be able to spend it totally with the kids, insyaAllah.
Yeah, Alisya, Naufal & Aliya are my buddies now. Geng borak. Geng makan. Really glad to have them around, Alhamdulillah.
Other than that, bulk of my time is spent on getting the compensation package and making Tresfoto@TheRepublik ready....the latter is much more interesting, of course....when the boredom starts to kick in there're always Facebook, Ym and the groupie mail list to divert the attention....since I have been on the other side of the line, I realized that the closest buddies other than my kids would be my partners of Tresfoto, the photographers community and the CTOsg buddies....others are probably too busy, while some - I have sensed - just prefer not to be associated with me anymore. : )
Hahahah...tak apa, hari ini hari aku. Alhamdulillah.
....time to sleep, tomorrow morning I have to shoot. Playing and get paid while at it...Alhamdulillah.

My Little Mermaid....

....is not feeling very well since this afternoon and has been asking me to carry her all the time - "...cannot walk, kaki Aliya sakit Ayah..."

That's just her, when she's not feeling well she tend to be more manja and talks a lot more...she's already talkative, so just imagine how it is like lah!!

I have been working on my WangsaWalk event shots editing all day and after sending it to WWM office we had some ice-creams and the kids played a while at the playground (tak berapa sihat pun bila nampak playground boleh sihat la sekejap!!) Then we went to pick up Mama at her office, where Aliya was already too tired to talk and wanted to sleep on the co-pilot seat of our Wira berkarat....but when mama came in out of the sudden Aliya woke up and started talking, telling what happened during the day and all...and suddenly told Mama - "Mama, Ayah is a photojournalist, Ayah tak work Petronas dah ok Mama?".

: )

...am so blessed to have her, Naufal & Alisya. They'll grow up to be better person than me, insyaAllah.

...time for some sleep...looks like I am gonna have to take leave and look after the kids...ehhhh wait se-moment....I AM ON FULL TIME LEAVE ! Ahehehehe!!!

...but I have to play tomorrow and maybe a bit over the weekend...no work it is ok, that one already history lah...cuz now the deal is - no play no money! : )

The Evolution of Classroom?

1.
For the past 2 days, I have been attending this workshop which was being set & sponsored (wahahahah!) by my previous employer. The participants would be those who are now in the same fiasco I am in. Majority (if not all) of those involved are actually happy to finally be out of the system and though some has already set their next moves, some are still handling the situation and taking it a day at a time.

The workshop went well. There are areas to improve but since it I don't actually work for "the sponsor" anymore I should probably be better off not providing them any input because it may be taken as an intimidation by those who made this arrangement.

To the consultants involved - KUDOS.

To the buddies in the session (CTOsg huh?! Kool! Hantam sajalah!)

Nice to meet you all and welcome the the bigger world and fresher air! :)

2.
Actually, I have lost count of days being unemployed.....hmm lemme see...owh yes, 9 days....

...and I don't feel like something went missing out of the sudden even though every day I drove my wifey to work and get to see the iconic PTT....I just don't have the heart to go there anymore....and I have been spending hours at any stall that I choose, editing my works for submission to clients etc etc....until I have enough to sign the contract for our office/ studio (soon insyaAllah...).

I was made to know that the promised package of cash I am supposed to receive will be delayed and I am not getting any salary in November (was told I should be getting some amount but it was put on hold due to some slack of arrangement by those in-charge, maybe it is their responsibility to treat us like this...anak-anak diorang yg involved managing this matter ni tak makan & minum kut that's why they don't seem to treat this issue seriously enough).

So, I am relying on my business now to keep afloat....cool.

Well....this is my day! Maybe gloomy but hey it is still a day being able to breathe & be with the kids & family, so, no big deal!

SMILE ajer laa Torque!! : )

3.
One of the thing that I always remind myself - if the company you are working in does not have the photo of your dead ancestors on the walls or the name does not sound like the name of your father/ ancestors - you better be prepared with "Plan E".

(E is for escape, eject, engkau-punye-sukalah!).

Plan B is ok, most of you may have it...and most of you may not be dead serious in making it work, simply because it is just Plan B like everybody else have in mind anyway....

I bet everybody is working on their Plan B all the time....heheh...

4.
The school break starts tomorrow. I have some plans for the kids...cool plans while at the same time executing the stuff for me to stay afloat and able to provide enough on the dining table for my family lah.

It is going to be an interesting time this couple of months. Adjusting, adapting, reflecting, learning....no more lamenting though Allah ajer yg tahu sakit jerih perit hati ni kena dajal dgn orang2 yg terbabit...but sakit hati tu standard la, dah memag ada Hepatits-B pun so same difference meh! :)

5.
Whatever it is, ada ramai lagi orang yg lebih susah dari kita kat luar ni...not that I have not realized it all these years....but there are many who still think the kueh served for the morning meeting did not meet their requirement, the teh or kopi is too sweet (health freak la katakan, abis office hour bukan nak jumpa anak tapi jumpa gym instructor dulu!!!) is an issue that needs to be addressed by the clerk/ secretary in charge.....heheh...rilex aa bos...kat luar ni orang tidur tepi jalan dpt minum air bersih pun dah bersyukur sgt tau....

6.
The matter of fact is, some people will never learn, because they'll always think they'll get what they want (no matter what they do to get it lah)....being in power and having so many valid reasons they made up to do stuff (like getting rid of orang2 yg mcm aku & kawan yg tersebut di atas tadi) extending their comfort zone, securing the future for the kids & relatives (owhhh this IS happening, definite!)...in the end, we'll see lah.

7.
Like I said, this is my time (and same goes for the CTOsg buddies mentioned above)....but we are happy to face it with a smile & constantly saying Alhamdulillah...

...dan bukannya susah untuk angkat tangan & berdoa, lebih-lebih lagi bila dah masuk kategori teraniaya...kan?

Street dweller near Ampang Station.
Try to understand the whole story behind this shot....
~ Khairil F. Jamian/ Tresfoto | CHAPTERSimages, Malaysia

Competition

The kids got the opportunity to join a coloring competition at Wangsa Walk Mall couple of weeks ago.

It is nice to have them in such events but I always remind them, whatever they do it is not about winning all the time nor showing off to others that you are the winner.

What matters most is the courage to try and along the way, make more friends (for them it will build their characters with more confidence & social interaction insyaAllah) and if they win any prize, it is a bonus, otherwise after such event we'd always celebrate it somewhere anyway (eat at some affordable restaurant for instance).

Some people took competition (or even a simple game perhaps!!) too seriously, thinking that they are walking example of achievers persona 24x7 or they are building their kids to become achievers perhaps...and brags about it in the office (if the kid won anything, otherwise they'd just be hush about the whole event anyway?!)

No, I am not saying what they are doing is really wrong...but it is good to look at things in totality....like this simple fact: If there are no losers, there would not be that one single winner...

Oh..my kids got some prizes and they did it all on their own.....what I mean is, some of the parents would go to the extend of telling the kids what color to use, help to sharpen the broken color etc etc....but not me & wifey (and quite many other parents, of course!)

How good (or bad) is that?

...may be it is not just at the younger ages, even at adults still "use" the "help" of their parents to place them high and above others (...well hey! look around in your workplace lah once in a while!) - boy am I glad I am out of the game already!

Think about it....unfair advantages....not abiding the simple rules....just to get that right to be proud (read: BRAG) of what the kids achieved (...not totally on their own!).

To these type of parents - oh well....let them be, as long as we are not going to be anything like them..

...are you the same type of parents/kids? Maybe not...cuz you are my buddies, right? : )

NOTE: No I was not the OP (official photographer) but it just so happened that I had my 35mm with me and nobody was seriously covering the occasion so I took some shots for WWM, got in touch with the personnel in charge and gonna send a CD of shot to them, hoping they'd want to use my team in the future....insyaAllah!

FW: Kamaiii!!

~ on Symbian mobile device

-original message-
Subject: Kamaiii!!
From: "Khairil Faizi Jamian
@ torque" <torqxic.b@gmail.com>
Date: 2009/11/05 09:10

Such fun to work with kids no matter what arena....this Aikido class is at Little Tots, one of my client.
...used to train kids for Taekwon-do, when I was much younger & fitter lah! : )
~ on Symbian mobile device

Flash of life

*Aliya running across the living room in the morning as the family prepares for office & school.


A recent conversation with my babies:
+Me: Listen here, Alisya, Naufal, Neena, Ayah nak cakap. Nanti tak lama lagi Ayah dah tak kerja kat KLCC ok? Boleh tak?
+Alisya: Kenapa Ayah tak kerja kat KLCC lagi?
+ Me: Sebab orang kata Ayah dah tak pandai lagi, kalau tak pandai tak boleh kerja kat KLCC, orang tak nak Ayah kerja kat KLCC
+Alisya: Tapi Ayah kan pandai. Kenapa orang kata Ayah tak pandai?
+Naufal: Naufal suka KLCC. Kenapa Ayah taknak kerja kat KLCC Ayah?
+Me: Sebab orang dah tak suka lagi Ayah, Ayah nak buat camana kalau orang dah tak suka? Ayah tak bolehlah lagi kerja kat KLCC, tapi Ayah kerja sendiri, boleh?
+ Alisya: Yayyy! Alisya suka kalau Ayah kerja sendiri Ayah tak payah pergi office lama-lama.
+ Neena: Neena nak Ayah dgn Neena sahaja
+ Me: Ok ok...so tak apa lah kalau Ayah dah tak kerja KLCC lagi kan?
+Alisya: Yes, Ayah tak payah kerja KLCC lagi,
+Naufal: Ayah boleh jaga kita.
+ Me:(Alhamdulillah...) OK nanti Ayah boleh hantar Neena pergi TSCH, lepas tu hantar Alisya & Naufal pergi sekolah, Ayah work kat studio. Petang Ayah jemput semua orang balik & masak kita makan sama2, ok?
+ Kids: Yaay!

The past 14 days have been like a dreamy surreal episode in my life. Being handed the VSS option out of the sudden really took me off my feet and to consider it within just a couple of week, before I can even get a proper performance rating for the first half of the year, is nothing short of being asked to jump the boat without having a proper safety vest fastened to the body.

It is not an exaggeration if those affected would define this decision of the powers that be in one word - cruel.

...but c'est la vie. KPI, PPA of those involved have to be met.

The truth is - humans are nothing but just part of the resources needed to run the show and achieve the desired end-state.

So, for me, there is no point staying when I have no more respect to the organization & system that seems to focus more on the greediness of some at the pretext of being a global champion.

Too much already, after 13 years, it is time to end the journey.
Too many false promises, too many back-stabbing incidents, too many manipulations.
The final glory belongs to the few who seem to be excellent professionals, so to say. Bludgeoned victims are deemed as worthless weaklings, whose effort & contributions would somehow or rather end up belonging to these glorious elites...for them their survival in the journey is the key game they play on daily basis and when that time of the year come, they will do what they can to stay afloat above and beyond the rest. No matter how one would try to go against them, they will end on the victorious stage and those who tried to go against the grain, will end up with a bad reputation and horrific scar for the benefit of them to easily give the rating for the next cycle.

For the vast majority, playing save is the ultimate rule of the game. Standing the line with the glorified masters, continuing to be the creatures of modern enslavement with a bountiful reward that acts as a comforting blanket of fear and insecurity....a tunnel vision, only one way to live the life, i.e. continue to be attached to the whole system....the matrix.

I do not fancy coming to office as a whitehead in the age of 50 still being a servant...I should already be framing the beautiful colors of the world and enjoy the company of my kids & grandchildren by then.....and spend more time preparing to meet The Maker instead of still clocking long hours on some project!!

Only those with dignity & pride would not succumb to the ordeal.
I would not. I do not deserve to continue being in such filth. As for the rest: to each, his own.

....it seems that my journey to the middle of the Peruvian jungle, center of the Moroccan Souk will start much early than I have anticipated.....heheh...but let's settle the more important priorities first...insya-Allah!

Semua taruhh!

Banana leafs lunch....kids first and they love it.
~ on Symbian mobile device