A Merry Goose Chase...

Hi all..
My leave got approved! I am in KL right now, completing my 30 day notice. Let me tell you though that I had to make a lot of phone calls and got kicked from one person to another like a football before finally being able to get any definitive answers (and sometimes, not even that).

They really tried to make it difficult for me and I think if I hadn't persevered I wouldn't have had my leave approved and I would have had to pay one month's worth of basic salary. The person at Records Department in IPK told me that I cannot apply for leave during my 30 day notice. I felt that it was weird because I don't remember reading about it in the rules and regulations of resignation.

So I called Bukit Aman and they said the same thing. They said that my remaining leave days are considered 'burned' and so are my 4 days of OT. It was only when I called JPA that I got a different answer. The lady from the Records department at JPA said that I was eligible to claim a reduced number of leave (as I wasn't working until the end of the year) as well as my 4 OT days as off days.

I called Bukit Aman again and the lady there sounded subdued when I countered what she said earlier to me with what the JPA lady said. She replied by saying that if that's what JPA said then it's fine for me to go ahead with applying my leave. Cis! Pedahal mula-mula bukan main lagi dia minta puji. Mesti hadir tugas tanpa gagal lah, apa lah.  


In turn, I called IPK Record department again and told THEM about it but the lady there still insisted that I must work during the 30 day notice because my reason for leaving was for getting a new job in the private sector. She kind of was telling me that I should just do it and not complain. In other words, forget about taking the leave. As if I would go down without a fight. No sirree!

I called JPA again and JPA said that the reason for resignation is nobody's business. I could resign for whatever reason that I wanted and it shouldn't and in fact cannot affect my right to apply for leave during my notice. Imagine if I didn't try to find out from other sources and just relied on IPK or Bukit Aman. I would be wasting almost RM1K. Dosa besar diorang ni tau.. Ei...


Itu baru pasal cuti, belum masuk bab gaji lagi. The IPK lady said that I must pay back my pay for the month of August 2011 and give back the RM500 bonus. I called Bukit Aman in the Salary department and found out that I was eligible for it since anyone who has worked from the 1st of January 2011 to the 8th August 2011 is entitled to get it. Pekeliling JPA bil 8 2011 or something. I had only started my 30 day notice on the 11th of August 2011.

Moral of the story? Mesti mau tanya dari sumber-sumber yang berbeza sebelum berpuas hati dengan jawaban yang diberi. Sometimes the people that we ask are not really well-versed in rules and regulations as they'd like to think they are. Kalau boleh tanya di HQ. Jangan la mau tanya yang setakat di peringkat daerah atau negeri jak. Bukan mau pandang rendah but you can see for yourselves from my experiences right the merry goose chase that they sent me on?

Hopefully there will be no hiccups (although I have a niggling feeling that it would be otherwise). Anyway, I am so glad to be away from that dratted office and when I heard that OPS for road safety is going to start operating today I felt so relieved that I no longer play any part in it. When I look back at all the things that I went through in that small office, I'm surprised that I stayed on as long as I did.

Oh well.. What's most important to me now is that it is almost completely over now. Hopefully I will be able to get a better job with better pay in a better place among better people. Amin.. :)

This is all for now friends. Cheers!

Phy Is Finally Resigning..

Assalamualaikum and hello peeps...
Yup, you read right.. I am finally, finally taking the big step of resigning from the Government. I don't deny that I feel somewhat scared and anxious about my future but at the same time I feel a sense of excitement about it as well.

I have made my decision known to my boss on Thursday afternoon and he didn't really stop me, although he did ask me to think about it carefully as a lot of people that he knew that resigned ended up regretting their decision. I told him that there is a chance that I may regret it in the future (we might never know), but I really think that it is the best course for me right now.

I have been saying that I wanted to resign since the month of May 2011. So you may ask, what finally pushed me over the edge? Well, a lot actually. Not that I would go specifically into each incident with too much details. Something that happened on Thursday morning was the straw that broke the camel's back..

It really wasn't too big of a deal if that was the only thing that happened. The week before saw me storming off as well from indecent policemen shouting in my face disrespectfully and the week before that my boss made my blood boil from giving me a warning for leaving 15 minutes early while letting others who went out 2 hours early Scott-free.

He even defended them saying that they do more work than I do, which made me wonder how did they have 2 hours more free time than I if that was really the case? Oh, and I never knew that discipline in terms of working hours are only for those who work at counters and not applicable for those in the administration offices. Thanks boss.

So yeah, I finally made my intention known and clear. I thought that I would just need to type up a resignation letter and submit. It turned out that there are forms to fill (download sendiri from the Internet), interrogation (which is totally unnecessary in my opinion. I want to leave cause, obviously, the place sucks), personal letter of resignation and letter of approval from the Big Boss (which again is unnecessary according to the Perintah Am).

Grr... Resigning from the Government is really like going through a messy divorce. I just can't wait to get it over with. I also requested to use up all my leave for the remaining month. Lets just hope it gets approved because I'll be going to KL on the 20th August 2011 and take time to settle my "divorce" from the Government after I come back. I guess it's really up to them whether we do it the easy way or the difficult way.

This is all for now folks. Cheers! Wassalam..

Ya Allah... Ku Mohon...

Ya Allah,
Kumohon ampun atas segala dosa
dan kejahilanku selama ini.

Ya Allah,
Ku mohon kekuatan dariMu
agar aku dapat mengahadapi cabaran
yg Engkau izinkan atas diriku

Ya Allah,
Ku mohon redhaMu
Agar segala yg ku lakukan
adalah hanya untukMu

Ya Allah
Ku mohon perlindunganMu
Binalah  benteng sekelilingku
agar dijauhkan aku dari musuh-musuhMu

Ya Allah,
Ku mohon bimbinganMu
Agar ku dapat menjalani hidupku
sesuai dengan kehendakMu..

Ya Allah,
Ku mohon semua ini
Moga-moga Engkau izinkan aku
untuk mendapat tempat bersamaMu di Syurga.

Amin....

The Most Annoying People During Ramadhan: According To Phy

Hello peeps,
The month of Ramadhan is here again and before I start bashing I would like to express my gratitude to Allah SWT for allowing me to experience my 7th Ramadhan as a Muslim. May we all enjoy Allah's Blessings and reap the benefits of this month's "Pahala Bonanza" for our time in the after life.

Now let's get back to the topic on hand. I don't know about you, but as much as I love the month of Ramadhan for all its Barakah and all that comes with it, there are certain things that SOME people do that just irks me. Among them are:

The Resenters
I might get a lot of hate for this but hey, bring it on! Seriously, I find this the number one thing that annoys me. I've seen Muslims glaring and bad-mouthing those eating a few tables away. Some even reprimand their non-Muslim friends for eating in front of them.

Hey, I'm a Muslim too. I know how it feels like to fast. The last half an hour is the hardest part and to see people eating at that time when there is food ready in front of you is just pure torture. Do remember though that they have the right to eat wherever and whenever they choose. For me, if you can't resist then save the Diva attitude and go live in a cave.. Or cook at home AND eat at home for breaking fast.


The Judges
These kind of people would see a Muslimah buying food or eating food during the day and immediately judge her as a person who skipped fasting on purpose.

Sometimes I wonder if these people slept their way through Fardhu Ain classes all throughout their school years because if they should know anything, it is that women have "special privileges" when it comes to fasting. They might be having their menstruation, are pregnant or breast-feeding, all of which allows them to be exempt BUT are required to replace before the next Ramadhan comes again.

If it's just mere teasing then I understand but this is full-on judging, sometimes without words (They use 'The Stare' method). More than that (Surprise! Surprise!) other Muslimahs does it too. They throw sidelong weird glances at those who buy food in public. What is that about? You'd think that they are the ones who would have better sense and be more understanding. Sheesh!

The Self-Righteous
This is an extension of the above. I know a lot of people who act like it's their right to know why you are not fasting. Worse of all they can be very rude and intrusive too with their questions.

"Bocor kah adek? Ataupun buat2 bocor jak?"

Ladies, never feel that you need to give explanation to such people. Yeah, you don't want them to think badly of you but if they are nice people and worth the concern, they wouldn't and shouldn't be quick in assuming the worst about you anyways.


The Not-So-Bright Detectives
This is yet ANOTHER extension of the one previous to the above but with no serious malicious intent. "Uh, tak puasa kah adek?" they would ask when they see you carrying food or a bottle of water. Uh, sure I am fasting. I'm just using this water as a mouth wash you see, and the food for cleaning my teeth.

Like, are you for real?

Sometimes I feel like saying yes, I am fasting while immediately biting into my food just to see the look on their faces. Not that I've ever done it before. Just an idea.. A really tempting one. Sigh!

Seasonal OKUs
Ah, my fave kind of people. They would go around doing their thing 10 times slower, complain all the way and every time you ask them to do something they refuse because they are fasting. Suddenly they are disabled. Can't walk to the door to close it, can't go to the next room to get documents, etc.

"Penatlah!"

"Panas lah!"

"Mengantuk lah!"

"Ish, time2 puasa macam ni la mau suruh orang buat benda tu"

Sikap sedemikian sangat ditegah dan dilarang dalam Islam tau. Allah SWT tidak suka. We are to go about doing our usual activities without complaint. Only then will we be able to reap the full benefits of fasting.

The Exhibitionist
This one is almost the same as the above. The difference is that they don't complain too much but really, really show that they are fasting. They would have their long face on, talk about the good deeds that they do because of the month of Ramadhan and end almost every other sentence with "Ya lah, bulan Ramadhan kan. Jadi kena la buat baik,"

Habis, kalo bukan bulan puasa boleh jadi hantu balik la perangai tu? Heraaaaannnnn....


Actually there are more but maybe I'll save them for the next post. Haha... Cheers peeps..

A New Journey..

Hi all..
I know I haven't been blogging much this month. The truth of the matter is something MAJOR has happened this month but unfortunately I think it's best for me not to talk about it at the moment. All I can say is that I am setting sail on a new unexpected journey filled with worry, anxiety, fear and hopefully, joy.

I really apologize for the lack of posts. I will try my best to do more next month. For those who are still reading and keeping up with my blog, thank you. Your support means a lot to me. Till the next post. Cheers!

Weight Loss Update (As At 13th July 2011)

Hi there!
I totally forgot to update you guys on my weight loss journey and my experience with Herbalife. Yes, I am continuously taking Herbalife. I can't seem to go by without drinking it at least once a day now. Anyway, lets get to the weigh-in results first before anything else:

7th July 2011

Weight: 71.5KGs

% of fat: 39.9 

% of water: 44.0

Muscle mass: 40.3KGs

Physical Level: 3 

Metabolism: 1367

Biological age: 50 

Bone mass: 2.6KG

Visceral fat: 7

My weight didn't budge compared to the weigh-in previous to that. My percentage of fat increased by 0.5%, percentage of water decreased by 0.4%, my muscle mass decreased by 0.4KG, my metabolic rate decreased by 10 and my bone mass decreased by 0.2KG. Crappy numbers, I know. The only great thing was that my visceral fat decreased from an 8 to a 7.

After my 7-day Herbalife program I decided to do the 10-day program which ended today. So my health coach decided to weigh me before starting my 30-day program tomorrow (which program you choose is up to you.You can keep doing the the 10-day or 7-day program for as long as you like. I just decided to take the 30-day one as it's more cost-effective in the long run). So here are my most recent results:

13th July 2011

Weight: 70.1KGs

% of fat: 38.5 

% of water: 45.0

Muscle mass: 40.5KGs

Physical Level: 3 

Metabolism: 1364

Biological age: 48 

Bone mass: 2.6KG

Visceral fat: 7

I lost 1.4KG, lost 1.4% of fat, increased the water content in my body by 1% (it took hard work, dedication and tons of trips to the loo to achieve this I tell you!) and increased my muscle mass by 0.2KG. Best part of all, I decreased my biological age by 2 years! Yay!!! My metabolic rate decreased by 3 and my visceral fat didn't change. I'm not going to let that get me down though. 

Here's what I noticed that I did differently as compared to the 7th July 2011 weigh-in that maybe helped me in some way to lose the weigh:

1. I started drinking the aloe vera and lemon hibiscus tea mix twice a day instead of once a day.

2. I regulated my eating pattern by taking lunch with lots of veggies, a bit of rice and a source of protein just like the picture of the plate in my previous post. (During the time that I lost my initial 1.2 KG, I hadn't started taking Herbalife yet but I was taking regular meals with lunch as the above).

3. I try as much as possible to reinforce 'treat day' every other day to limit yet still get my 'naughty food' fix. 

Just a reminder, Herbalife is not a magic product that enables you to eat whatever junk you like, be a couch potato and still make you lose weight. If such product exist believe me, Oprah Winfrey would have found out about it and made it one of her favorite things to give away to her audience during Christmas eons ago.

So, yeah. That's my weigh loss update so far and I am really excited. Am really hoping to get down to the 60KG range by my next weigh-in. Chaiyo!

How Old Are You?

Question
You will be turning 26 years old  in 2012 and your birthday is in the month of June. If someone enquires your age in the month of March 2012, do you:

a) Tell them that you are 25 years old because you not your birthday yet.

b) Tell them that you are 26 years old because 2012 is the year that you would turn 26 anyway so why bother with dates and birthdays?

c) Say "I'll be turning 26 years old this June".

I know the "how old are you?" question is such a trivial thing to spend too much time thinking about but I always pause when I get asked this question by a nurse or by anyone where the age in my record would count. Do I need to be technical about it (a) or do I just generalize it (b)? Preferences aside, is there even an actual 'correct' way to answer?

I have a tween cousin who, when she was a kid, would answer that question with "3 bulan lagi mau 10 tahun" if it was for example, 3 months to her 10th birthday and so on. If she gets asked a few days before her birthday she would say,"Dekat sudah 10 tahun". Haha...

So how would you answer if you get asked this question? Do you answer (a), (b) or (c)?

P/S: I would choose (c).