School-lah (Sekolah!)

December 31, 2009.
Alisya & Naufal first taste of primary school - orientation day.
Nothing much but it is still a big day for them, our babies!
Their first steps....and they are taking it very well, being the minority among hundreds of Chinese friends, they made some friends quite immediately....

Good thing I somehow got extra cash in the pocket of my cargo pants on that day....total sum on the board, times 2...eheheh!


<-- The kid yg berbelit kat kaki mak dia tu is really melampau laa! Over manja case laa nih! Aku cukup tak faham apsal ada parents nak mengadap anak sampai tunggu tepi tingkap, mengganggu class, let them be on their own, you would not want want your kid to be depending on you all the time (mmg ada pun laa yg sampai dah bercucu pun still bergantung pada mak bapak!!)

Official school day starts on January 4th 2010. They were ready for action, woke up around 5:50am and with their "tapau" food they are at school by 7:20am. Picked them up at around 1pm with Aliya who finished kindergarten early at 10am. Off to studio for family lunch, mid day bath and rest until evening.
That's the daily arrangement for the first week, by second week they would be having classes till 4:30pm....at the rate they are going, they still have energy even though it is late evening!

Nini & Sparkle

Well...to tell the truth, I am not the "pet keeper" type. Actually I was, until I reached 10 or 11years of age. Used to have burung serindits with homemade "sangkar" by our beloved Almarhum Pak Uda.

Used to "curi-curi" give foods and play with stray cats - because Mak did not fancy having cats around the house when we were kids lah! (...but later we had more cats when Mak & Abah were bored - semua anak pergi college, universiti, asrama penuh!). Used to have fish (Angah yg suka sangat bela ikan!)...ok I WAS a pet keeper type back then lah!

...but in the end I let all the serindits free. I feel it is not fair to let them in the cages...and for humans to keep pets and deprive them from being free.

Anyway....my kids been bugging me for the past 1-2years - they want pet hamsters (By-george! Dey kichii your kindy Teacher kasi ikan guppy pun maximum 4 hari jer survive!)...and I kinda smell, the Mama also seems to have this kind of hidden agenda all these while I guess.....to cut the story short, instead of Hamsters, Aliya managed to "katok" me for her birthday - Angora rabbit! Cair hati bila tengok dia pegang that rabbit and keep on looking at me with her begging eyes and all....arrghh...so cute!

...and being me, I told them it is not kind if we are to keep the rabbit in a cage all alone...so I had to buy another one. Both are girls lah.

Aliya named her pet Nini (sebab dia kata nama dia Neena so the rabbit must be Nini!) and Alisya+Naufal named the other one, Sparkle....must be from one of those Prince & Princess story book or CD thingy Mama been buying them all these years....

...but I call Nini as Pot-pot, and I call Sparkle as Nyot-nyot.
Why I call them those names instead? Ehhh suka hati aku laaa, aku yg kena katok total cash Rm400 tau! :o)

...and this little Sparkle@Nyot-nyot kinda think my "jangguts" are alfalfa grass....as seen below.

The family just love to have this little ones around them...and as long as they are happy, I am really happy too! (as long as I don't have to deal with the feeding, cleaning and whatever!!)

...as Aliya turns 4, The Republik is born

1.

Alhamdulillah. We had a small makan-makan for buddies at The Republik for Aliya, on the 27th December 2009.

Thank you so much for those who managed to make it...and for those who had the heart to wish our baby girl a happy birthday. Really appreciate your friendship and support all these years. We know who we could trust and support....you all are so precious...Alhamdulillah....

Some shots of the event...

2.

On that same day, The Republik is officially operational. Ian Ahmad & Adli Ghazali were the first two photojournalists to present their work at The Republik...more to come insyaAllah.
The rest of our new equipments came in couple of days later and more will be purchased as we make our way through, insyaAllah...may 2010 and beyond be more meaningful and rewarding than those years that I have endured...

3.
Thanx to my buddies & their familes, to show my appreciation, the least I can do here is to write down their names by heart:
Rosli, Shidah, Che Lie, Nadio, Haza, Zaimu, Nazri, Ian Ahmad of NST, Aizuddin of NST, Azhar Mahfuf of STAR, Fid Fathir, Phizy & friends, Jamie & Erja, Kimberly Jean-Hee Low, Adli Ghazali, Nathrah....thank you so much to each and every one of you!

...we'll have a brighter tomorrow my baby, InsyaAllah!

Chill dude!

The fridge is sponsored by our good buddy...who refused to be named here!
ALHAMDULILLAH! THANX A BUNCH BUDDY!!!!

~ Aliya grabbing a snack. She decided that she's a "Baby Rabbit" since yesterday....thus I hv to be PapaRabbit since yesterday too...ok now BabyRabbit....PapaRabbit got some calls to make and mails to send..so, go and eat your fruit @ carrot....
~ on Symbian mobile device

Smile. Sincerely.

NOTE: Delayed entry yet again. Been having time management issue to write stuff in this blog - for the past couple of weeks, more time has to be allocated for The Republik and The Family...then only The Torque's Blog a.k.a KampungPath...ahahah!

Is it really that hard to give a smile away? Some people are just too "kedekut" to smile at others sincerely (smile "menggatal" & "mengada" not included here please!) I guess that's why I just love to work with kids & babies - photography wise at least - because they are natural "smilers" and they are just so sincere in anything that they do - even when they cry, they are actually expressing the things that they have in their little hearts, full of sincerity.

..but the same kids might have difficulties to smile sincerely as they grew up to become an adult... as they age, there goes all the sincerity.

Just because they have more important things in mind, they forgot that a sincere smile might bring the extra color to life that can make the day others.

Just because the title position they have on their name cards, their smile became too expensive for mere mortals. Only meant for the "bangsawan" or the circle of people that they deem fit to mingle with them.

...but their smile has become too expensive....40kali lagi mahal daripada gula yg baru naik taraf harga 20sen sekilo! :o)

Say...have you smiled to the janitor/ tea-lady of your office today?

Owh....mahal sangat ke nak senyum kat diorang?

Balloons can make Alisya, Naufal & Aliya smile instantly!

Aliya Irdina's pet KingKong.....

.....at the new place he calls "office".

The deal:

+ No "early morning rush to be in before the stated time line (otherwise you'll get it during the appraisal time!)" required.

+ No "you must wear a neck-tie" required.

+ No "office trousers & long sleeve shirts" required.

+ No "formal & shiny black shoe" required.

+ No "ridiculously expensive parking fee" required.

+ No "wear it all the time staff identity card" required.

+ No "listening to sickening small talks in the lifts to reach the sky-high office space" required.

+ No "smiles, appreciations, greetings and laughing at stupid jokes to make the boss & idiots on the floor feel good" required.

+ No "listening to idiots trying hard converse with some other bastardos on his/her otherwise underutilized Black-fcuking-berry" required (Wei poyo! No signal how can talk to the person on the other end laa? Pandai sangat!!!!

+ No "abide-the-stewpeed-mutha-HRM-policies" required.

+ No "meeting & discussion with no final outcome but just to make some mutha-f-ers look busy & important" required.

+ No "dealing with stewpeed idiots who never actually do real work but know how to make you suffer because he/she has good relationship with the higher position monkeys" required.

+ No "fulfilling the stupid & almost non-business related requests of people who thinks they own the country just because their dog-tag carries the logo of an oil drop design" is required.

+ No "writing the appraisal and dealing it with the boss & the higher position monkeys and beyond just to end up getting the fatal drop-kick in the final rating" required.

+ No "corridor conversation on what the number of months of the fcuking bonus are we getting for the kinda shit we have to deal with this year" required.

+ No "ear-aching conversation on how-am-I-going-to-spend-my-fcuking-money by those who are gonna get a big fat fcuking bonus & merits for caressing the bosses balls, asking stupid but oh-this-will-make-me-look-so-involved-and-oh-so-important questions during meetings when higher position monkeys are around, busy directing others during an event especially when higher position monkeys are walking by & gossiping on the phone all year long..while face-fcuking-booking & Yahoo!-fcuking-messaging on the otherwise underutilized Black-fcuking-berry" required.

.....oh I can do this all day long man.....but...the best deal is:

+ No "back-stabbing-low-life-cowardly-animals who knows how to fondle well the balls & butts of the higher position monkeys, parading around and claiming glory built by the sweat & commitment of other person who used to be called a friend, who in the end gets the fatal drop-kick passing through the rugby post @ PETRONAS TWIN TOWERS (and some moolahs just enough to survive a year without having to starve)"....all are forgiven, but never forgotten.

So what is required to be in this place where Aliya Irdina's pet KingKong calls "office"

Simple....only a big heart filled with fun and dedication, to play and get paid for living a decent & honest life...insyaAllah.

So, WELCOME, to wherever you are.

Woohooo!! I just love being a part of The REpublik Studios @ TRESfoto.

NOTE: The intention is not to make others feel bad but just stating the obvious, definite.

So, if anybody felt bad after reading the words above, too bad...it's your bad, not mine!

Taking a Break

By-george...no wonder the image looks kinda weird, apparently the LX3 was on 16:9 Aspect Ratio!!
Lunch break after a hectic morning. (My feet still ache as I wrote this!!!). Great days ever since we started the venture. While busy running around to get the office studio ready, we managed to secure some projects - big fish and small fish - more to come insyaAllah.
TheRepublik should be operational within this week, insyaAllah. Simple set-up, just enough to get moving and bring the moolahs back home for my babies!

Colorful beads

1.
Caught using a Panasonic Lumix Lx3 on full manual mode on Leica DC Vario-Summicron 1:2.0-2.8/ 5.1-12.8 ASPH (35mm equiv.: 24-60mm).
The Lx3 is my recent "walkabout point & shoot camera" which I shall carry everyday & everywhere! ☺
Beedn wanting to have a decent and reliabe P&S camera ever since the P5000 was lost. The choice was tough - G10 (or G11) and Lx3 are top of the list...to the last moment, the options are open. The deciding factor was simply the superbrandnew condition of the Lx3 (just a month old with 3 yrs warranty) and a vision in my dream couple of hours before the deal!

Anyway, it is a photographers camera and very similar to the Leica in the same class as it is. Shutter-lag is almost none, the colors are superb, handling is great, the built is tough. The price is below the market and warranty is more than I could bargain for.
So, am happy with it lah!

Why not a Leica?
That one will come from the business I am doing now, pure photography money.

2.
Sometimes people gets overly tangled up with devices (or gadgets) to do stuff and they forget that what matters most would be the result or the outcome and the purpose of it.
In my case, some people who does not really knows me well tends to label me as a gadget guy - especially related to PDAs or mobile phones. Totally untrue because waaaaaaaaayyy back when PDAs are only in monochrome screens I have been keen to learn about these devices (my first was IBM WorkPad C3) and I spent my money of those devices where majority of other workers around me are still in the mindset of "those are just techy-toys".

I never change what I have just to have the next new available production - I only change when I know the platform has evolved enough so that I can benefit from the change and/ or I just somehow "outgrew" the performance of the equipment in have in my hands.

As a comparison - others may have to (or just simply must!) change their smartphones every year but my last smartphone lasted 6 years....and I don't think I am going to need to change my Nokia E71 in the next couple of years....but just maybe, I might get another E71 for my other business line! ☺

3.
Come to think of it, all of my cars are more than 10 years old!!

Horseland revisited

"Ehhh! Horse tu mata juling laa!!" ~ Neena
She still enjoys seeing the horses at the UPM place.
~ on Symbian mobile device

Cowland revisited

Used to bring them for weekend drive to this place in UPM as early as their first year of age....as written in this blog.
Time really fly fast.
~ on Symbian mobile device

Introduction To Photojournalism: Shamshahrin Shamsudin | CHAPTERSimages

Tea break. Workshop co-sponsored by SHALINI GANENDRA.

...at the same instance, the works of Rahman Roslan, Vignes B., Adli Ghazali and my own (CHAPTERSimages) on homelessness are being exhibited at Annex Central Market.

More good stuff from us and for us in 2010, insyaAllah.....

Nice notepads huh?? Heheheh!-->

~ on Symbian mobile device

Halfday @ the pool

Neena and her new friend Farra.
~ on Symbian mobile device

Work and play and having a holiday....



Except for Aliya, the rest of Tok Mak & Tok Abah's cucu are in kampung, apparently wrecking havoc! Ahahaha!! But Tok Mak & Tok Abah are enjoying the time with them. We miss Alisya & Naufal...but hey... that is part of life, they need to be with the rest of the family, not just us all the time.

Tapi memang ada laa orang yg anak dia dijaga oleh orang lain almost all the time, giving the reason of being busy with work etc. etc. to them, I have nothing to say but they just don't know what they are missing in life. Maybe not, cuz they might not even have life after all kut!!!☺

They have been looking forward to balik kampung and the Eidul Adha celebration would have been too quiet without the gathering of the cousins! For the first time the kids had a taste of the cool (cold!) water of Gunung Ledang (Mount Ophir). I really enjoyed the moments with Aliya explaining to her about the fish in the stream, the leaves floating etc etc etc....Aliya observes a lot and she would join the crowd if she feels like it, otherwise she'd be sitting near them and do her own stuff or just observe them...and jump in when she sees or hears something interesting.

The kids are just too cute in their baju raya...especially Aliya & alisya when they put on their telekungs for prayers!



Since Alisya & Naufal are back in kampung, Aliya has all the time and access she want to me and wifey. And since I am not in the corporate arena anymore (whoohoo!!!) I can plan my time so that I have all the time I want with my little baby. We'd go swimming in the pool or play at any park we want to after sending Mama to her office, sometimes until almost mid-day. If I have to do my stuff I'd bring her to an indoor park and I can work (read: play) while she makes new friends at the park. We'd grab our lunch and continue until late afternoon.

Really am enjoying the conversations and conversations and conversations with Aliya!

The precious moment that would happen often is when she'd suddenly hugs me and says - Neena sayang Ayah, Ayah sayang Neena tak?

She's growing up well and she's a smart little lady. No, I am not bragging but just stating the obvious. Of course I would never claim my kids are my achievement, they are not objects to claim glory from...but I will always be there for them when they need me as best as I could possibly be...

Today I will spend half of the day in the pool with my baby. As Neena would like it - she'd be The Little Mermaid and I will be King Kong, assisting her in her voyage (in her inflatable boat) to imaginary islands hunting for dinosaurs (with her water gun) in the deep pool.

According to her, dinosaur meat tastes like strawberry.....hahahah!!

So, I understand you have to work, good for you but please excuse me while I enjoy my life.....☼

Swim swim!

Aliya Irdina having her tuna spread sandwich break after an hour in the deep pool. Gonna do kiddy pool after the break.
~ on Symbian mobile device

Ta-taaa Petronas!!

My baby Aliya Irdina playing at the KLCC Park. Waving goodbye, with the washed-out background of the PTT...intentionally...because my baby is much more better looking than the PTT! ;o)

The past couple of weeks been fun & rewarding. The past couple of days been more rewarding - since we got out first payment for professional service....and more to come insyaAllah.

Laughing and having fun with my babies, and playing with my cameras (and get paid while at it)....and laughing all the way to the bank with my partners, InsyaAllah.

Just 2 entries below, I mentioned about not receiving the salary & package to that date..and now, I can lepak SFCoffee for breakfast everyday if I want to...but no, why should I? :o)

....ALHAMDULILLAH. Murahkanlah & berkatilah rezeki kami semua Ya-Allah!

Doa orang yg teraniaya....

Ta-taaa Petronas!! Good luck ajer lah in the Global Championship (now that I am out here it sounds like some sort of tournament la plak!! Ada mau shooters for that specific "championship" kah? We'll give good rates - at global champion punyer level lah....but our cameras cannot shoot some of your staff cuz they are not worth to be shot except by a glock! Whahahahaha!!!)

MasyaAllah!! I am a happy dude!!!!!!

Recent conversation as we were sending Mama to her office:

Aliya: Mama look, KLCC Mama...

Me: Pandai baby Ayah, tapi Ayah tak jerja KLCC, no more work with Petronas, Ayah kerja apa sekarang?

Aliya: Ayah....Ayah is a photojournalist!

Mama: *chuckles

Me: Apa nama company Ayah?

Aliya: Ermm...aaa....haaa, TresFoto!

Me: Good girl....(*pats her head)

...yeah, for the past couple of weeks since I left the towers, I have trained my kids to tell people that I am a photojournalist and my company is TresFoto.

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