Tidbits of the Three Tots

Abg Iqie is now into computers. But he can only switch it on during weekends. The no-device policy during weekdays still applies.

Afeeq is losing his baby teeth! Two of his front teeth are already missing and he looks funny :P





Rayna can already read - English and Bahasa books. And now she always has a book in her hands.

And me... I had an eye operation with Prof Muhaya about a month ago. And my eyes are now adjusting to the new eyesight. It was a big change for me. I still try to adjust my glasses on my nose although it's not there anymore :P  But I'm getting used to it. Just came back from a follow up meeting with the optometrist and she suggested that I wear glasses only for driving and my eyes would need about six months to adjust. Oh well...

I have also started to cycle indoor. Let's see how that goes...

Ieja

A Comeback After So Many Years

OMG... has it really been two years? My last post was in June 2013. I guess I was not that great at doing something consistently :P

Anyhow, this is a comeback from the grave. A lot has happened and a lot needs to be recorded. Let's just do a summary.

FAMILY

I cannot be happier! Those three rascals are basically growing so fast. Iqie is now 9 years old, Afeeq 7 and Rayna 5. They are like everything to me... my air to breathe and my light in darkness. My heart could just explode with so much love for them. I could go on, but I think you get the message. And they talk non-stop. 

Iqie is much more inquisitive than before. His questions range from science to religion. I am sometimes amazed at the questions that come out of his mouth. From "who is Najib?" and "how does GST affect us?" to "what is metal?" and "how do they make glasses?" kind of questions. And a lot more... And he still cries easily. May Allah bless him. He has a soft and kind heart. Quite obedient. I guess him being a prefect helps.

Afeeq is jovial. The happy-go-lucky kid. He's the kind that people come for fun or to make them feel good. He's always bursting with energy, moving non-stop. Highly inquisitive as well in an active sort of way. He can get away with not doing anything at all when everyone else is busting their butts. Highly creative. He can make up his own games and create anything that is out of this world with his Lego. A softer side of him - he likes me to hug and kiss him. He likes me to hold him. He's also the kind that will tell you that you are being too hard on him (I get that a lot from him). I learned that I need to treat him as an equal.

Rayna is the princess in the house. She's active and not too girly (thank god). She looks tough and highly competitive in a positive way. Of course all parents say that :P. To public, she is soft spoken and doesn't talk much. Her teachers commented that she does her own things at school and doesn't seem to be interested in other kids. What does that really mean? But with us, she just can't stop talking. She's also a hugger. Big hugs, small hugs, you name it. She can just go behind you and hold you tight. 


WORK
I guess things could have not been better. After I've got my heart "broken" by my last employer, I'm now with a more shariah-compliant organisation. Alhamdulillah... I guess I'm heading towards the right direction. All in all, it took me three years to come into full circle of what I intended to become. I guess you can call it a calling, but I've been given the chance.

That's it for now I guess. 

Liza

Managing Your Stakeholders

I came across executives, managers and in fact senior managers who just don't bother to vet through and validate their work before it is sent to their superior or worse, the senior management team. Data is not validated, summarised, and presented well. I would say avoid giving raw data to them (unless specifically requested), instead give insightful statistics. Something that your superior or senior management team could relate to and use to make informed decisions at one glance. That is how you could add value to them.

I seriously believe that you should be careful when you deal with your superior or the senior management team. Wrong impressions could be formed that would not do you good. I came across raw data with numbers and colour codes that I didn't understand. Documents with no headers or titles. Jargons that just made my eyes spin backwards. 

What I would be looking for would be just a simple breakdown data by department, by categories, or just a simple percentage. A header or a document title would be very useful. Some analysis on the percentages would also be nice. And if the situation warrants, some recommendations would be great too.

Funny how some executives just cannot read their stakeholders well. What they would find useful in a report. They are not being fussy or difficult. They just don't have the time to massage the data given in the report. A dashboard type of report will be very appreciated by them as they could see the different trends, glaring issues that would need to be brought up, anomalies, etc. They could then use the intelligence that they have in front of them to make decisions, plan ahead, etc.

Other things that we could do to ensure our stakeholders are well taken care of include finding out in advance how they would like the statistics to be presented to them. In terms of the layout, font / font size, filtering, etc.

Just some of my observations... After all, our superiors and the senior management team would be the ones who would be looking at our performance at the end of the day. So, why would we want to give them the impression that we have low emotional intelligence?

Ieja

Life As It Is

It is that time of the year  again where employers review their employees' work performance and reward them accordingly. And of course, all this is at the discretion of the employer. So, in self reflection, do I feel like I have done my best in 2012. And do I feel like I have been rewarded fairly by my employer?

When I came onboard, I told everyone that I had never experience such extensive appraisal on my work performance. Sure I've been appraised before and sure I've been rewarded with bonus. But I had never felt this kind of level of intensity that people feel about year-end appraisal and about bonus payout as when I am with this company.

When I got my first bonus with the company, I said alhamdulillah and was very happy. I felt that my effort in that particular year was well rewarded. And I kept saying that it didn't matter to me because I had not experience this kind of monetary reward before. Furthermore, I was promoted within a year I was with the company. So, there shouldn't be any complaints, right?

Then, come the second year. I was rated as a high performer still, and the same bonus payout exercise  was done. Then, the letter came with the bonus figure. And this year, I didn't get the $$ as good as last year, and that didn't feel good. I thought, hang on... I performed better than last year and why my bonus was not as good as last year then? There is doubt...

My reaction was perfectly well understood (after a few days of self reflection). I had a good taste of bonus payout, and my expectation had gone up one notch. And when my expectation was not met in terms of $$, I was disappointed. What I failed to remember in the first place was that:

1. bonus was solely at the discretion of the employer. They have the rights not to pay any even if they make loads of money that year.
2. When the employer decides to give bonus to the employee, they have the rights to determine how much.

So, as much as I dislike the fact that I didn't get as much as last year, I forgot that I had not had this for a long time, and that I should be grateful for whatever that I receive. And that whatever amount that was credited into my bank account and was shown on my pay slip, I should have said alhamdulillah first and say thank you to my boss (which I did a bit later, and still was the first one to do so according to him). I should have also not succumbed to the culture of "I deserve the bonus, the company must pay bonus, and I deserve to get more or better bonus despite my average performance."

Thank you Allah for the rezeki you bestowed upon me.

Ieja

How's Life Treated Me So Far

I started 2013 in a high spirit, having had sent Abang Iqie to his first ever primary school, and Afeeq to his kindergarten. 

Then, on the second week of January (13 Jan 2013), I received a call in the middle of the night from my sister in Rawang telling me that my half brother Musa bin Ahmad had passed away in a car accident. We rushed back to Kluang and witness his burial. May Allah bless his soul.

When we came back to KL, I just had such bad feelings about things. I had the urge to talk to my dad about things, but I never made the attempt. I called him a few times after that, but didn't manage to talk to him. There was one time though, I think it was on Wednesday, 16 Jan 2013, that he called me back. We talked briefly, then I passed the phone to my three kids as he always wanted to talk to them, Abang Iqie especially. 

Then on that fateful Friday (18 Jan 2013), my sister text me saying that Abah was warded in the hospital. I called my mum and we talked for a while. Then, I called Abah himself. We had a good chat, and as always I tried to make him feel bad about his smoking, and he jokingly said that he had threw all his cigarettes away. But he also mentioned that he was affected by a few of his friend's deaths after my brother's departure. The whole while we were on the phone, I could hear him trying to catch his breaths. Before putting down the phone, I told him to get some rest and that I would be seeing him soon. 

After talking to him, I just couldn't shake that worry away, like I already knew. And I actually cried in the office. My heart actually sank, and I immediately called my eldest sister, begging her to go back to Kluang and see how Abah was doing in the hospital. I was crying all the time. And when I was doing my Asar prayer, I felt that tingling feeling in my heart, and I was crying in my prayer.

Later that evening, my eldest sister called me to tell me to come home, to see Abah. She said that Abah didn't really look that good, that he was not his usually self.

When I was in the car with Hubby, I told him what I felt and that I wanted to go back that night to see Abah. But he dismissed my feeling saying that I got carried away, and that it was probably nothing. We had an argument in the car, and I will never forget what I said to him then. Though I was still feeling unsettled, I didn't press the issue.

Later that night at 2.30 am, 19 Jan 2013, the call came from my sister saying that Abah had been called by the Almighty. Only He knew how I felt, and how crushed I was...

Six days apart from arwah Musa bin Ahmad, and buried side by side...

Ya Allah, ampunkan lah dosa mereka.

Ringankan lah siksa kubur dan neraka.

Kau tempatkan lah mereka di kalangan orang2 yang beriman.

Al-Fatihah 

Mohd Syirhu bin Ahmad

Nazri bin Ahmad

Musa bin Ahmad

Ahmad bin Jaafar

Abang Iqie's School Orientation

My baby is going to school already? Abang Iqie was all excited this morning. He was going to his primary school for his standard one orientation. Awwwww... he's a big boy already... He's going to Sekolah Kebangsaan Danau Kota.

With Daddy

Waiting to do an assessment

I still think he's too small to go to school

Well.. I think he'll do just fine!

 I was a bit worried at first about him being alone at school. But he was being his usual self, chippy and all excited. Been counting the days when he could actually go to this new school. 

The orientation was OK. The headmaster was talking about the learning experiences that the standard one students will most likely go through, like having to buy own food at the canteen, missing pencils, going on the school bus, etc. I guess those will be the adventures that Abang Iqie will be having. And I'm pretty sure that he will enjoy every single bit of them :)

I'm so proud of my son... today, he was not a boy anymore. He is now my little man...

I feel like crying now... :P

ieja

The "I Should Have" Line

I know I've been neglecting this blog for almost half a year. And not trying to make excuses, my work could be the main reason. And.. I should have been more consistent in updating this blog. Yupp.. that "I should have" line..

I'm not going to write about "closing 2012" kind of entry today although that would be typical of other bloggers. That would tie to the "reflect, introspect and project" cliche line too... the one that I used to write my CEO's year end message to all of the employees :) I'd rather write my "I should haves" entry to ensure that I get my regrets recorded.

The first "I should have" that I have is that I should have been more careful with my expenses. The biggest sin so far. Those holiday packages, the new camera, the Black Friday & Cyber Monday shopping, the e-bay, the mid-year, year-end, all year round sales... arrrghhhh...!!! And the consequence.. I'm now paying more than 2K a month for my credit cards. So "I should have..."

The second one is I should have been more persistent when it comes to Abang Iqie's religious activities. I've been looking around for an Ustaz or Ustazah to give personal tutoring on Iqra', solat, fardhu ain, etc. It should have started early this year, and now it's already December and still no one giving him any lessons. I'm worried that when he has gone to his standard one, he has a lot of catching up to do. Alhamdulillah, he can recite his Al-Fatihah and a few surahs. He also knows his alif, ba, ta. He can write the arabic letters. But I don't think that is quite enough. I would very much like him to be able to read the Quran.

Another "I should have" is I should have bought more gold and silver :) For the investment I mean. I'm not a big fan of gold accessories, but I love silver or white gold. But just for the sake of the future, I should have collected gold or silver bars a long time ago. But I know it's still not too late.. so I've started the collection.

What else..? I have a lot actually. I should have just shouted at those who bitched behind my back. I should have told off a few who thought that they were better than me. I should have been more careful not to trust just about anyone. I should have just told people what I really thought about their work. And more... :P

I hope I will have a good 2013. And hopefully, no more I should haves...

Ieja